Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, December 10, 1921, Image 10

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Morning Oregonian., December 10, 1921, Page 10, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text10 THE MORXIXG OREGON! AX, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1921 Jltornmjpgmtttftt KSTABI.1S1IED BY 11 1 Mil I.. PITTOCK Published by The Oregonian Publishing Co.. iso sixth street, Portland, uregon. C. A. UUHDZN. K. B. PIPER Manager. Editor. The Oregonian la a member of tha Aim elated l'res. Tli.- Aoclaled Press la a ciuslvely eotitled to -hs-uae. to pub.lcatlon of all new 11-t . h-- credited to It or not otherwise credited In this paper and Alao the local newa published herein. All rights 01 puoiicatl. .1 or special utspaicoas uereiu ore a . reserved. subscription Rule Invariably In Ailrjsce. (By Mall.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year ... laly, Sunday Included, six months . Dally, Sunday Included, three month Daily, Sunduy Included, one month . Daily, without Sunday, one year .... Dally, without Sunday, sis months . . Oally. without Sunday, una month .. . .8 00 . . 4 . XI . 2.23 . . .75 . . O.UO . . a jj . . .40 . 1.00 K ly, one ye ar . I - w ...... ' Sunday, one year 2. 30 ( Bv Carrier 1 Daily .sRunday included, ona year 18.00 Dally, Sunday Included, three months. . 2.23 Daily, Sunday included, one month . . . .73 Dally, without Sunday, one year 7 80 Dally, without Sunday, three montha. . 13 Daily, without Sunday, ona month 03 How to Itemlt Send poatofflca money order, express or personal check on your jural bank, stamps, coin or currency are at owner's risk (Jive poetofflce addreaa In fuI. includl'.ir county and atate. Posing Kate 1 to 16 pages. 1 cent: 18 to paax-a. J centa; 34 to 4H pages, a ellts; 50 ti H4 pages. 4 cents: 86 to 80 PMgea, 5 cents: tt2 to 06 pagea, 6 centa 1 - Ign postage double rate. Kafftern Business Of flee Verrse Conk I'.n. 300 Madlso . avenue. New York; Verree av Conklln. Sieger building, Chicago; Ver ree & Conkiln. Pre Press building. De trct. Mich.: Verrea & Conklln. Selling building. Portland. FOR A KKKOIIMKIt COIXTY GOVERN MKNT. The most conspicuous govern mental weakness disclosed by the in vestigations of the tax supervising and conservation commission, is, we think, in county government. The commission . works pretty largely with dry statistics and involved cal culations. It may not have been in the thought of those who conceived the body that it should unearth in sufficiencies and inefficiencies in the plan of local government, but Its work, in practice, leads in that di rection, and It will be welcome and proper if it shall make recommen dations in these particulars as a re sult of its inquiries. Untortunately we have been tardy about the creation of such a board. It may be able to guard against fu ture grave errors, but mistaken poli cies that are under way are difficult to retrace. There Is the great million-dollar hospital on Marquam hill, not yet completed. It might have been held down to proper propor tions if we had had a tax supervising commission at an earlier time. Now it is a question whether it is wiser to go ahead with the plans at once or proceed gradually. The commission investigations have also disclosed tlfht there Is an absence of co-operation with the sheriff's office by the county commissioners, and that a similar condition exists as between the commissioners and' the county auditor. Unbusinesslike conduct of county affairs is not a new thing, nor does it wem to depend a great deal on personnel in office. Acrimonious di visions among the commissioners, failure to co-operate with other of ficials and absence of a well-ordered financial policy have long been ele ments that have worked against economy in county affairs. -Men arc elected' commissioner who make of their public duties a mere avocation, devoting, their best talents to their private affairs. 'there are elected who look upon the office as a step toward higher po litical preferment. Attempts to erect political machines. Ill-considered en terprises, higher taxes, and an ex hausted treasury such as we now have in .Multnomah county, are the inevitable results. The system is wrong. County affairs are of a pro portion that demands control by men whose hearts are in the public service. Consolidation of county and city has often been suggested as a way out of the present difficulty. It has an attractive aspect, but upon analy sis the plan reveals certain ex tremely difficult obstacles to sur mount. They include involvement of titles, segregation of the public debt, distribution of taxes, and other prob lems. No plan has ever been sug gested that has not aroused a fire of opposition, not against the principle but against the details of the plan. There arc two other plans that so fa"r have not been widely discussed, line is establishment of a county manager system; the other is a co ordination of county and city govern ment, rather than a consolidation. The city manager system Is suffi ciently well known to make plain the meaning of the first-named plan. By the other it is meant that the entity of city and county would be pre served but that the government would be co-operative in certain particulars. A beginning in co-ordinated gov ernment could be had by creating two commissioner districts for the county of Multnomah, with one member chosen to represent that portion ly ing outside of the city of Portland, the other district to be the city of Portland wherein two of the regu larly elected city commissioners would act as ex-officio county com missioners, A board so created would have all the powers and func tions of the present board of county commissioners. The county would still control its own finances, issue its own bonds, pay its own indebtedness, equalize its taxes and in all respects remain a county. The city would similarly preserve its entity, but there would be within the governing bodies of both city and county an intimate knowledge of each other's needs, and a lesser disposition by one to grab all it could of the taxpayer's resources at the expense of the other. The plan is suggested for consider ation only and as but a beginning In co-operative government, i If It suc ceeded it would open the way for further co-ordination of offices. The community waited until the situation ffiifl almost desperate be fore creating a supervising tax com mission. The commission has to take things as it finds them and, pred icates Its reductions thereon. It can not change laws, or systems that are founded on laws. The present sys tem has grown from small and In consequential beginnings into a mass of expensive duplications. Reforma tion of some sort in the latter par ticular Is needed nlso in the Interest of lower taxes. An opportunity to be of service to Kurope in the present food crisis was lost when the campaign of education In the use of Indian corn was per mitted to lapse just after the war. Now. although corn is a drug on the home market and hunger Is wide spread abrond, difficulty la experi enced iu establishing a liaison of these two Important facts. The objection to corn for shipment on the ground of Its perishability hav ing been largely overcome by ship ping it unground and milling It after Its arrival, nothing would seem to have remained to do except to get people to accept It and to enlist foreign relief agencies in the cause. But although a large pa'rt of central Kurope Is fit for corn production, and cofaV has inestimable value be cause of Its large yield of calories per acre, conditions there are pre cisely where they were before the war forced Americans to eat their own corn in order that wheat might be shipped abroad. We shall be only casting an anchor to windward If we begin at once a campaign to Intro duce corn as a food for all the world. xKNHITIYK TO A LOOK. Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field rTngwlth their im portunate chink, whllat thousands of great cattle, repoaed beneath the shadow of the oak. chew their cd and are silent, pray do not Imagine that those who make tha noise sre the only fnhsbitants of the field, or that after all they are other than the little shriveled, meager, hopping though loud and troublesome Insects of the hour. Reflections of Bdmund Burke. The loud and troublesome insect of the hour is the alcoholic Watson of Georgia, whose latest tantrum wag due to the insult of a mere look by a silent army officer. Watson has the sensitiveness to the unexpressed opinions of others that comes some where between the fifth and tenth drink. It will be recalled by those atten tive readers of the news who have not permitted even the small perform ances of a Watson to escape their notice or their memories that during his campaign for senator last year he got drunk at a country hotel, wandered about the corridors in scanty attire, -"threw a woman into hysteria, engaged in an altercation with several men and was arrested and thrown in Jail. Yet Georgia elected him as senator. Evidently a majority in that benighted state wants such a senator. This sensitive plant, who has been insulted Into an alarming spasm of near-tremens by a look. Is the man who has maligned the whole Ameri can expeditionary force in France by his astounding charges. If he is so fearful of looks, let him Retake him self to a becoming solitude, where nobody can see or hear him. TAKK NO KOOI.ISH KISKS. Some congressmen, in their anx iety to gratify the popular mood, keep at least one lap ahead of events. Kor example. Representative Kelley assumes that, if the naval reduction plan should be adopted, the navy will need proportionately fewer men. and proposes to reduce the present force by one-half. Captain Dudley W. Knox, of the navy, writing to the Army and Navy Journal, points out that the ships which it is proposed to scrap are al most exclusively not completed or I out of commission and that, with re gard to cruisers, aircraft carriers and submarines, we are far below our quota under the Hughes plan. Scrapping of ships will permit no re duction In number of men, while making fcood the ships in which we are deficient will require 8600 men and 4 36 officers additional. Further, the battleships which the Hughes plan would leave us have only xs ... per cent of their complement and other types are worse off. Reduction of our navy to an agreed ratio in tonnage with the navies of other nations will be an added reason for maintaining it at the highest standard of efficiency. Our ships should be of the most mod ern type and quality and should be fully manned with personnel of per fect training. We cannot reasonably expect that other nations will fall short In these respects, certainly we should not calculate on it, and if we should fall behind, our ratio of naval strength will prove fallacious. We might easily fall so far behind tha. some other nation's defensive navy would be capable of successfully tak ing the offensive against us. KCONOMY IX PORT TRAFFIC Remarks of the captain of the Hutch ship Simaloer on the cost of moving his vessel In order to take cargo from several docks open the whole question of economically handling freight by either rail or water and between rail and ship within the limits of the port. It seems that in the case of the Sima loer the quantities of cargo to be picked up at different docks were so large and the movements of the ship were so short that the ship could be moved to the cargo at less cost than the cargo could have been assembled at one dock by either car or lighter. Consideration Is due, however, to facilities for more economically assembling at one dock a number of small lots of freight for export or for delivery from one dock of a number of small lots of imports. At present the bulk of our ocean traffic consists of large lots of a few staples, but the full, healthy development of our commerce should bring a far larger number of lots, imposing in the aggregate but each too small to Justify moving a ship. This kind of business will grow and it should be encouraged. There is not yet enough of It to Justify use of lighters, though these should be more economical than rail movement if they could go from doclc to dock, pick up freight and deliver a full load at a ship's side. This plan of assembling cargo is followed at old ports, where many mercantile houses and factories have warehouses fronting on their own docks, either on the main harbor or on lateral waterways. Movement by lighter up or down the river would certainly be more direct, therefore cheaper, than movement by rail up one side of the river and down the other, probably passing over the lines of two or more railroads. Cr.til the volume of such traffic is sufficient to warrant use of lighters, it will be necessary to rely on rail roads to a.ssemble It In cargo lots. There is room for much Improve ment, both In the speed and cost of this service. Frequently In passing from one part of the port to another a car makes a long circuit and pays switching charges on one or more railroads besides the rate on the line where the shipment originated. De lay may occur, as each road Inclines to give first attention to its own traffic rather than that which a rival delivers to it. The way to eliminate delay and discrimination of this sort and to bring charges down to the minimum is to concen trate all terminals and all tracks within the city under a single owner In other words a belt line with unified terminals. This Is the plan followed in other large cities, and it was recommended to Portland In particular, by General Lantring H. Beach, chief of army engineers, on his recent visit to the city while on a tour of investigation of ports and traffic facilities. We cannot escape the fact that there Is keen competition among ports for ocean traffic, and that the port with the lowest cost and shortest time of handling will get the business. That is the final re sult. If the ship pays the cost of movement between docks, that cost figures in the charter rate. If the shipper pays for assembling cargo by lighter or railroad, the cost figures in the price of his goods, and It helps to decide whether he or a competitor in some other 'port sells the goods, consequently whether Portland or some other port shall do the shipping business involved. The interest of this port as a com munity is served by the closest economy in moving traffic by either rail or water in the port, for by that means we shall swell the volume of business done by all merchants, manufacturers, banks, shipping lines, docks, railroads. We have entered an era of intense competition where every nickel will count, and success will depend on watching the nickels In port and terminal charges as well as all other costs of business. CONTROL OF THE OIL SIPPLY. Alarm lest the world's supply of oil should be exhausted within a few years after that fuel has supplanted others should give place to alarm that the supply of the Cnited States will soon fall short of this nation's needs, in the opinion of a recognized authority. This is the result of in tensive development of American oil fields for many years before any thing was done with foreign, fields. Americans have supplied not only themselves but all the world, and they have expanded use of oil to a far greater degree than any other coun try. Hence we are now largely de pendent on foreign fields, especially those of Mexico. Hints of a very practical kind have been given that control of an ade quate oil supply may soon carry with It control of the shipping bustnets. Attempts have been made to extort exorbitant prices from American ships at foreign ports, and have been defeated by shipment of American oil by the shipping board in Its own tankers to those ports. We may In fer what would be the position of our ships if we should be unable to supply them and if they should have to draw on foreign supplies, which foreign governments and ship own ers would husband for, their own hips. There was good cause for our gov ernment to claim for Americans an equal opportunity to develop oil fields in territory opened to enter prise by allied victory in the war. There was also good reason for a settlement with Colombia by which the virgin fields of that country would be opened to American enter prise. Having taught the world to use oil and having supplied it to all countries,- the United States may fairly assert a prior claim to that of the western hemisphere. VERSA1I.I.KS TREATY AND Ot It Dl'TT, Those- writers who magnify the causes of disagreement which have arisen between Great Britain and France, who accuse France of a pur pose to cripple Germany ahd thus to wreak vengeance on Its enemy, and who say that the treaty of Versailles should be scrapped or revised, do poor service to Kurope, therefore to the I'nlted States and to the world. Inevitably Great Britain and France view the subject of German reparation from different angles. Great Britain depends on foreign trade, a large proportion of which it had with Germany before the war. It wishes to revive that trade in order to rertoje its own prosperity. For that reason it desires the eco nomic recovery of Germany, and wishes the indemnity to be paid in uch manner as will not injure its own trade and as will not hinder the recovery of Germany. It has no cause to fear a German navy, fdr there is none. France desires as large and as prompt reparation payments as Ger many can make in order that it may restore its ruined war zone. It does not live on foreign trade, as does Great Britain, for it Is practically self-sustaining. It sees in the acts and temper of the militarist party in Germany menace of a new attack. It has not the support of the defensive treaties with the United States and Great Britain, as these have not been ratified. Therefore it considers a large army necessary to its safety. The Versailles treaty provides that consideration be given to the limit of Germany's ability to pay. It pro vides that, if Germany should fail to make the payments as fixed by the reparation commission, "any bal ance remaining unpaid may wlthir the discretion of the commission be postponed for settlement in subse quent years" and shall hear what ever Germany has to say "on any question connected with her capacity to pay." In case of default, the com mission must report to the powers "and may make recommendations as to the action to be taken." Herein is plain evidence of an intent not to put the screws on Germany, to cripple it or to play Shylock with it. The real difficulty is that Ger many has not so acted as to estab-. lish a safe basis for judgment as to its ability to pay. It has not reduced expenses or Increased revenue of the government to the point where Its budget balances, much less has it made provision for reparation pay ments. It has not adopted "a scheme of taxation as heavy proportionately as that of any of the powers," as the treaty requires. It maintains rate I on state railroads and for postal service which cause two thirds of its deficits, not having raised them as have the allies. It has greatly in creased the number of employes in civil service and on railroads. It pays subsidies to promote foreign trade. It meets its huge deficits by Issuing more paper money, which depreciates Its currency and impairs Its credit. Yet Premier Briand ac knowledges that the present Ger man government makes an honest effort to meet its treaty obligations. The explanation ot these apparent contradictions is that we have to deal with two Germanys. One sup ports the Wirth government, wants peace, to fulfil the treaty and to maintain the republic. The other, of which Ludendorff and Stinnes are the spokesmen and which comprises the militarists and industrial chiefs, vio lates the disarmarie.,1 clauses of the treaty, openly arms, organizes and drills men for "the next war," through its host of adherents in gov ernment employ prevents reduction of expenses, and through Us power in the reichstag prevents enactment of new tax laws or collection of new taxes. The Wirth government is not strong enough to enforce disarma ment and taxation. The militarists hope it will break down, but delay Its collapse and their own return to power lest they provoke interven tion. The industrialists block tax bills, as they would have to pay the new taxes, and they hope, by hook or crook, to escape payment of rep parations altogether. The Internal troubles of the allies and the discord among them encourage the militar ists and industrialists and withhold from the Wirth government the pressure which might drive it to es tablish its authority over those who defy it. The great need of the allie3 Is an influence among them which would reconcile their differences, and could bring them to agreement on one policy to be consistently pursued to ward Germany. That influence could be exercised by the United States. Our treaty with Germany makes us a party to the reparation and dis armament clauses of the Versailles treaty. We have small direct interest in reparations, but we have a gTeat indirect interest. If we should join the allies in a demand that Germany put its finances in order and estab lish a condition by which we can judge of Its capacity to pay, the Wirth government might muster enough firmness and strength to re trench and to raise enough revenue to pay its way and at least to begin paying indemnities without disor ganizing world commerce. By unit ing with the allies in a demand that all militarist organizations be dis armed and disbanded, we could se cure obedient, could allay the fears of France and could make a begin ning at reduction of all European armies, which are the worst obstacle to industrial recovery of both Eu rope and America. Both the demo cratic and the militarist Germany yield when they find the United States standing with the allies and when the allies act in unison. Certain definite steps are plainly marked out by which Europe can re cover financial solvency and can re store industrial and commercial ac tivity. These are: 1. Reorganization of German fi nances by which revenue meets ex penses and provides for some annual payment on account of reparation. Financial control by the reparation commission would be justified on the lines adopted by creditor nations when Turkey and Egypt defaulted in debt payments. 2. Revision of annual reparation payments to accord with Germany's capacity to pay. the -amounts to be come larger as that capacity in creases, but the total not to be re duced. 3. Provision of gold-secured cur rency for other central European states by means of gold loans con ditioned on their making revenue equal expenses, stopping other paper money Issues and wiping out their present worthless paper currency. i. Funding of the debts owned by the allies to the United States and to one another for long terms, possibly deferment of interest payment for two or three years. 5. Active co-operntlon and leader ship by the United States in this work, this being the one great cred itor nation, the one nation having a gold surplus, therefore the one best able to help and most interested in setting Europe in order. With the prospect before them that the United States may become a party to a four-power compact to keep peace on the Pacific, the irrec oncllables must grow restless and their jaws must work convulsively in the effort to protest. What a strange world it would be if they ran it, re fusing to make agreements with anybody about anything. But that can never happen, for they could not agree among themselves long enough to get the power. The people of the world seem to be unanimous in opposition to secret treaties, no matter which party they favor. The party which loses by them always betrays (the secret and often' starts a war, so that secrecy makes them ineffective. There is no use talking at a bandit who will beat up a very old man who has out a little .money on him. When thievery was young there might have been honor among thieves, but they know not chivalry. The prohibition enforcement squad has opened a campaign to make New York dry by Christmas, and it has just about as much chance to suc ceed as the kaiser had of eating that Christinas dinner in Paris. When a Hungarian, admiral's daughter prefers a simple llerrtenant to a Hapsburg, the stock of the de posed dynasty Is as badly depreci ated as Hungarian money. 4 The rule forbidding seals on the address side of Christmas letter or package has been suspended and one can say it with the little stickers and say It loud. How can chemical warfare be abolished by international compact when red pepper is always ready to hand for mobs to throw Into people's eyes? The packing-house employes ltfst their strike when violence began. Tlrey cannot win in a contest with laws they .violate." It's a pretty slick "dip" who can lift a watch from a railroad detec tive, yet that is what is reported in police circles. Those "high army officials" who object to abandonment of all forms of chemical warfare have never been gassed. If the war was not over the chunk of wood that flew up and hit the ex kaiser in the head might be cited. Bend is more favored than other cities. It has enjoyed the second grand "snort" of the locomotive. A store Is advertising "gifts for a woman to give to herself." What a labor-saver that Is to a man! You must admire "a port commis sion that can remove half an island to make a larger harbor. Time for the poets to begin work ing on a swan song for Swan island. It may be De Valera has a few 'fourteen points'' of his own. FACTS AS TO RESfcRVE BANKS U here Capital la Araulre-d and What Become of Profits. VALE, Or., Dec. 8. (To the Editor.) 1. Where did the federal reserve bank get its capital? 2. What is Its surplus at this time? 3. What per cent profit did it make last year? Also what per cent profit did the San Francisco district make? 4. What doe it do with Its tarn ings? 5. Is the federal reserve bank a preferred creditor? Would a deposit made 15 minutes before the doors closed be held as security against loss by the federal reserve bank for a loan, made three months previously? DEPOSITOR. (1) The entire capital of the fed eral reserve bank Is subscribed by the , member banks, namely the national banks and those state banks which desire to become members of the sys tem. Under Hie law each bank sub scribes for stock In the federal re serve bank equal to 6 per cent of its capital and surplus. Only one-half of this amount has been called for payment. (.2) On November 16 the combined surplus of all federal reserve banks was approximately $314,000,04)0. (3) The federal reserve bulletin of February, 192 1, page 153, states: Current net earnings of the bsnks. L . the exceaa of earnings over current e penaea. totaled $151,408,081. compared with $82.038. 7K5 for 1919. Calculated on an average paid-la capital for the year of $94,234,000. the net earnings for 1'J0. constitute 160.7 per cent, compared with 98. 2 per cent on the average paid-in cap ital In 1919. If net earnings are related to the average of paid-in capital and re serve balances combined, L e., to the total amount contributed by the member banks, or $1,924,838,000. the rate of cur rent net sarninga works out at 7.9 per cent for the syatem as a whole. The fe'deral reserve bank of San Francisco's net earnings for 1920 were 159.1 per cent calculated on average of paid-in capital, or 8.2 per cent cal culated on average of paid-in capita! and reserve balances combined. (4) Under the law the federal re serve banks pay a 6 per cent dividend on their capital and thereafter all earnings are paid into the treasury of the United States as a franchise tax. except 10 per cent which is added to the surplus. The treasurer of the t'nited States can use .these excess earning in one of two ways. First, to supplement the gold reserve against United States notes; or. sec ond, to retire the bonded indebted ness of the I'nlted States. (6) In case a federal reserve bank makes a loan to a bank which sub sequently closes, the federal reserve bank has a claim only on the collat eral which the bank has pledged with It for the loan. The federal reserve bank has no claim on de posits. DON "l" Ltl HO OK VOt TKHOVH. Pat tag fHamemra, Subject and Adda Itemarka n Conference. PORTLAND. Dec. 7. (To the Edi tor.) On Saturday, December 3, there appeared in The Oregonian an oditorial entitled, "Hold on to Your Teeth." I want to congratulate whoever prepared it. It Beems to me that the views expressed therein are better balanced by far than the views ex pressed by many dentists and doctlbrs. What was said about useless and un necessary extractions Is undoubtedly correct. Scores of patients have lost some or all of their teeth because the fad of extractions has been with us. Conversely, some old-fashioned dentists and a few ultra conservative doctors have been unwilling to ure removal of dead roots and snags There is no doubt that extraction of teeth will sometimes result in great Improvement in the patient's health. But sound teeth have been extracted foolishly for the relief of disorders which by no stretch of the imagina tion could have been due to their presence. The practice of both den tists and doctors in the main has been Vound but there have been many ex ceptions to the rule on elthrr side, more than sufficient to Justify the admonitions contained in the edi torial. In passing and without any desire to be fulsome, the same paper 'con tained a good editorial on the Wash ington conference. Quibbiers and kickers, futile and foolish people, are ready to see failure in the conference because immediate results are not ob tained. But the underlying basic principles of Hughes and his col leagues are so sound and the men who are advocating them Harding, Hughes, Root, et al. are so well bal anced that everyone of us ought to feel proud of them and rest assured that they are not going to be very easily defeated. I am one of those who think they are going to come out with the finest laurels of victory. The Harding speech opening the con ference has been excelled In noble sentiment by no other address since the Lincoln speech at Gettysburg, while the Hughes address may well go down Into history as belonging In the same class as the declaration of Independence and the emancipation proclamation. This letter Is sent because I think that wholesome, conservative and good work such as Is illustrated In the preparation of these two edi torials deserves a good word. PHYSICIAN. New Title for Tumulty's Book. PORTLAND. Dec. 9. (To the Edi tor.) In a recent Issue of the Banner, Nashville. Tenn. (my old home town), I note the following editorial sug gestion: "A better title for Joe Tumulty's book would have been. 'The Eight Years I Had Woodrow Wilson on My Hands.' " And here's another from the same source: "The Irian American His torical Magazine Insists that the Irish discovered America. They did- just about the time the towns began to jrrow big enough to need- policemen " I have read The Oregonian regu larly since coming to this city In 1880. enjoying most the editorials and consider your editorial page a liberal education in itself. J. K. IIAVELY. t'nrporal Punishment In Srhoola. NEWBERG. Or., Dec. 8. (To the Editor.) 1. Is there a law In Ore gon forbidding teachers to whip school children? 2- ro the children have to go after they are 16 years of age and are not through the eighth grade? S. Can you tell me how far It is from Newberg to Mount Hood. A READER. 1. No. 2. No. 3. By highway via Portland, Gres ham and Sandy, 70 miles. In a straight line about 60 miles. Daagrr In Wet Hay. JEFFERSON. Or., Dec. 8. (To the Editor.) Please answer In regard to hay that has been wet by overflow. I would like to know If there is any danger of spontaneous combustion. The hay, hag been wet about 18 Inches at the bottom. A SUBSCRIBER, There is a possibility of spontane ous combustion. Those Who Come and Go. Talea of Folks at the Hotels. He called the meeting which devel oped into the Umatilla County Tax payers' league, did Norborne Berke ley, who registered at the Imperial from Pendleton. This league is mak ing a dead set against expenses and has already caused the Umatilla coun ty agent and a demonstrator in the schools to be ordered dropped from the payroll. "And," explained Vice President Berkeley of the league, "the reason Pendleton, or some of the peo ple, are now opposed to the 1925 fair Is enmity for Portland. Of course the entire community does not feel the antagonism, but there are some who do. and they are active. Pendle ton has an Idea that Portland wants the Wallula cut-off built from the Columbia river highway at Umatilla to the Washington state line, and they fear that the cut-off will hurt the town that considerable traffic wilt be diverted by the cut-off tnstead of coming through Pendleton. Because of this, there is a sentiment in Pendle ton against the fair. Conditions are not normal in Pendleton and cash is scarce. People who are supposed to be wealthy are hard up for cash, and the amount of delinquent taxes is enormous People had the money and they spent it. Young men who fig ured on getting even on a farm in eight or ten years found themselves making about $15,000 at the end of the third year, so they bought auto mobiles and put their money In cir culation. Others who would former ly have hesitated about spending $150 for a light buggy bought $3000 cars, and when the newness wore off trad ed in the car and paid $1500 or $2000 for another car. I- believe that Uma tilla county will profit by the lesson." "Funny thing about that storm." commented Thomas H. Foley of Bend, who arrived at the Imperial yester day from Spokane, where he attended a meeting of light and power people. "The storm didn't touch Bend at all and we had no trouble. There was a little rain and that was all. The storm appears to have been about a hundred miles wide. Its edge, in our section, started at Madras. The pan yon was blocked with snow and for 14 days no freight came into Bend. However, the town had plenty of pro visions and there was uninterrupted communication by way of Klamath Falls, Burns and Shaniko. Bend had about everything it needed but citrus fruits. Oranges were brought in from California through Klamath Falls, transported in automobiles 150 mles across the country. Yeg. it made the oranges somewhat expensive." Mr. Foley started for Shaniko from Bend by machine. Just aa he reached the top of the Cow Canyou grade, the front axle of the car broke, one wheel going one way and the other the other, and the radiator came down on the ground with a bump. The ma chine sprawled out like a horse. This was 15 miles from Shaniko. but In stead of trying to walk Mr. Foley sat down to await developments and soon another car came along and gave him the necessary lift. O B. Robertson, state senator for Gilliam. Sharman and Wheeler coun ties, arrived at the Imperial yester day. He expressed the hope that the special session will clean up its task in one week or less and be out of the state house for a few days before Christmas. So far as Senator Robert son' is concerned, he is quite willing that the session confine Itself to con sideration and disposal of the sub jects for which Governor Olcott Is sued the call 1925 fair legislation and highway regulation. Personally the senator says he had not commit ted himself with respect to any plan for financing the fair. He will not introduce a single bill. Arriving at the Benson yesterday morning. Jay Upton caught the first train for Salem to gather certain in formation in preparation for the spe cial session of the legislature. Mr. Upton, residence Prlneville, occupa tion attorney, hobby farming. Is state senator for Crook. Deschutes. Jeffer son. Klamath and Lake counties, whose combined area is 13.886,080 acres, th,c largest senatorial district In Oregon. Senator Upton hag been planning some legislation on high way regulation. Through very bad road-s between Welch's and Portland, Mr. and Mr. Jack Fahie have arrived at the Im perial. Welch's Is near Mount Hood, and the storm and rains have been responsible for wrecking summer cottages along the Salmon river. Garages built on the river brink have been swept away; a cottage or two were carried out by the stream, and other cottages were undermined by the swollen caxrent. Between Welch's and Tawney's the road has been de stroyed by the waters, H. W. Dunning, president of Be.i nett's Travel bureau. Boston. Is regis tered at the Multnomah and confer ring with W. A. Camps, manager of the Crater Lake national park. Mr. Dunning says that the travel bureau will Include Crator lake in the travel route of 1922. According to Mr. Dun- tuna, me present indications are tnai prospects of a summer tourist season are good. "Not much damage," Is the way A. T. Sunday reports the effects of the recent snow storm In Hood river valley". A. T. Is a brother of Billy Sunday, reformed basaball player and well-known revivalist. A. T. Sunday looks after the Sunday ranch and the Sunday ranch consists of eight acres. A. T. Sunday lg regis tered at the Perkins. George S. Craig, vice-president of the Wallowa National bank, Is in the oity. Mr. Craig Bays there Is some difficulty In securing responsible peo ple to oig.tt ix" companies to operate Under the new government loan pro visions. John M. Bentley. who has been a resident of Pendleton for so far back that no one can recall his first ap pearance there, is among the arrivals at, the Perkins. In and around Boise. Idaho, busi ness Is improving steadily, says Wil lard W. White, who arrived at the Multnomah yesterday from the Gem states John F. Ritigen, manager of the Overlook Consolidated Mining com pany of Alanta district, Idaho, Is Stopping at the Portland hotel. A. Zblnden, Interested In the hotel business at Seattle and In the stock business in Oregon. Is at the Imperial. H M. Gard, lrrigatronist of Madras, Or., is registered at the Hotel Oregon. Mr. m mi von and Mr. Woodward. PORTLAND. Dec. 8. (To the Edi tor ) i think It is nothing but fair to Mr. Shull to state that Mr. Wood-v ward knew all about the things that were going on, yet he persisted In calling down Mr. Shull for not letting him know. Phillips, Arnold. McBain and I went and saw Mr. Woodward two weeks before we went to Mr. Shull. After we told him everything he said to us: "Do you think I ought to burst things right open, or would it be best to keep my mouth shut?" I told him he ought to do It. Mr. Eisman also knew, even before Mr. Woodward, yet they did not do any thing. Yet Mr. Woodward persisted he did not know anything about it. JAMES ST AN YON. Burroughs Nature Club. Copyright, HouKhtou-MU flln Co. Can You Aatner These Hues t Ions f 1. What do salamanders eat? Are they poisonous? 2. Where are otters found? 3. Do sea gulls follow a vessel through a whole trip; or do they go only part way and pick up some other incoming vessel to return with? Answers in tomorrow's nature notes Anawera to Previoua tcueatlons. 1. Is it true that birds turn and shift the eggs in the nest? Yes, particularly of such birds as lay a lot of eggs. If the eggs were never moved, those at the center would get more heat and hatch sooner, and he ready to leave the nest before the hen had batched out the whole family. Then she would either have to abandon some of the eggs, or let the earliest chicks go out un protected, which would probably kill them. e 2. Does the. gum that shellac is made from, come from a tree? Yes, but with the help of a tiny scale insect, one thirty-sixth of an Inch long, the Carteria lacca of India, which lives on banyan and some other trees. The female Insect punctures the twigs and a resinous substance ooses out. This is scraped off, melted, strained, etc., and used In making varnish, shellac, sealing wax. etc. a 3. Can you tell a rattlesnake's age from the segments of its rattle? No. though this idea is deep-seated. The rattler is born with a soft button already formed, and adds two or three, and sometimes four, segments yearly. The rattle wears out with usage, new segments taking the place of the old, so that only 10 or 12 seg ments are usually found at a time even on an old snake. i in t ii titMMi:vr jrCSTiriKO. Without Other Nations' l.iiarantrc France rrds Present Army. UNIVERSITY PARK. Dec. 8. (To the Editor.) We need not be sur prised by the speech of the premier of France before the Washington con ference, and that the French parlia ment has expressed confidence in Briand. Many readers of The, Orego nian remember as events of current history what took place 50 years ago, when the German armies marched Into Paris and Imposed a grievous load upon the French In money pay ments and the surrender of territory now happily restored. Before our own eyes the Germans have run again Into France, and hat) not America turned the title of battle against- v,ermany i-ranoe would nave been ruined Instead of her present desolation. At the close of the war France desired and asked for a state west of the Rhine to be erected, i" be a protection against future inva sions, but In this request France, without any spirit of vlndhtlveness, was denied and whs heartened by the promise of help from Britain and our own country and the protection of the league of nations In case of future German Invasions. All this has gone up In bubbles of the air. And now having reduced her army by 300,000 men and dropped from her budget the sum of $300,000,000 anil also lessened compulsory service from three yeiars to a year and a half. France feels justified through patri otic passion for a defense against a people twice as many as her own ami having double of her resources by keeping her army where it now is in numbers. We who lent $10.000.noo.flfl0 to France and sent so many of the best sons of America to save France art ready to discern and appreciate the fact that France has her eves open to the future. B. J. HOADIJOV. Possible Source of Infection. PORTLAND. Dec. 9. (To the Edi tor:) In view of apparent periodical troubles with diseases in baby homes, it may be opportune to say a word in behalf of those helpless charges. Naming no institution, will say that several years ago I visited one and It happened atthe evening meal hour. I was personally conducted hv one of those In charge of the insti tution. I saw an attendant feed about a dozen small children, sitting in a group, from a common vessel of bread and milk, with the same spoon passing from one mouth to the other. I asked my conductor If that was the custom and whether It was sani tary? She turner! and sharply asked me If Is was a doctor. I said I wag not, but did not think the practice right. She admitted this and agreed to remedy It. As the attending: physlclnns seem unable to discover the source of dis ease. I suggest that they go down the line and see If anything Is going on such as I personally observed. RORKJtT C. WRIGHT. For the Amateur Flower Grower Portland is famous the world over as a city of beautiful flowers. Every patriotic Portlander in the city is anxious to add to that beauty by growing properly selected flowers in his grounds or window boxes. The trouble is that many do not know just what flowers to select to get the best results in this climate. There are also questions of when and how to plant, as well as many others which those not familiar with the culture of flowers would like to have answered. With a view to answering those questions and thus assisting' in Portland's development as a city of beautiful flowers The Oregonian has established a department dealing with the growing of flowers which will appear for the first time in Sunday's Oregonian. "Flowers for House and Garden" is the name of the new 8epartment. Boys Who Were Saved by Whole Navy. For those who love the thrilling and unusual this true story, which will appear in Sunday's Oregonian, of two boys lost in an open boat in the Pacific ocean and sought by the Pacific fleet and finally rescued will prove particularly popular. The two 5-year-old boys were only rescued after a frantic search by torpedoboats with searchlights in true wartime formation. Mme. Spinelli Captivates Paris. It is no easy thing to take by storm the capital of France, a city where brilliance is taken as a matter of course, but that is just what Madame Spinelli has done. And now this darling of the French theatergoers is planning on a trip to this country. The story of this new favorite of the French stage will appear in the magazine section of The Sunday Oregonian. What Do You Dp When Your Stepdaughter Snubs You? This question is one which falls to only the few to answer. However, it describes just the position in which Jean Harold Edward de St. Cyr of the New York-Newport set finds himself. The stepdaughter in this particular instance happens to be a princess. How Mr. St. Cyr plans to answer the question will be told in The Sunday Ore gonian. Do You Know That Portland Dominates the Furniture Market? This interesting industrial fact will be told of in an article appear ing in The Sunday Oregonian. The story is one of a development of an unusual character and it is all Portland's. How One Man Paid His Debt to World. Henry Meiggs, fugi tive from justice in California, has been honored in Peru for build ing a railroad at the highest altitudes, a task thought impossible until he undertook it. The story of his achievement, more inter esting than the latest novel, because it is true, will be told in the magazine section of The Sunday Oregonian. All the New of All the World THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN Just 5 Cents More Truth Than Poetry. By James J. Montague. THE Pl '.XK. My Uncle Abljah. arrayed In a wreatlfc Came into the parlor one day. And said we must bow when we spoMk to him now. Because he was Queen of the MaJ. So I called on a doctor of mental dis ease. Whose name in the papers I'd seen. And spoke of my fear that my uncle, poor dear. Was Just a bit loose in his bean. Kj came to the house with an instru ment case, He tapped on my relative's spine. He glanced with surprise at the whites of his eyes And told him to say "Ninety-nine." "His brain's on the skids," was the verdict he gave, "He's loose as a derelict barge. Don't let him get nut and go roaming about Where the squirrels arc running at large." Unwilling to do as this alienist bade. Another brief visit I paid To another M. D. who was touted o me As a whizx In the nut-testing trade. He put to my uncle a question or tw,.. Made a four-color sketch of his brain. Put his ear to his head, and disgusted ly said, "This fellow Is perfectly sane!" My trouble Is really far worse than before, a It keeps me awake half the night. I've continually tried, but 1 cannot decide Which one of ihe doctors Is right. And now a new angle comes into tha case Which makes It distressingly sad. For I promptly fell 111 when they gent in their bill. And now it is I that am mad! Ihe- I sun I tuff. That Brighton Reach flounder that pulled a boy overboard Is probably telling his children what a catch he'd have made If the boy hadn't got away. Further IXsnrmnmrnt. While Mr. Il.ilfour Is over, lie might sucgeat that Jim Barnes and Jock Hutchison be allowed to use nothing hut their putters. Mow Wr Know. The president never has to pay any. thing for a Thnnksuiving turkey, which probably accounts for the Ttiad scramble for that office every four years. (Copyright by the Hill Syndicate, Inc.) In Other Days. Tnrnty-rirr trnrs Agio. From The I'regonlsn of DaaeMaHlf 10. ISOfl San Francisco The legal contest between Sharkey and Fltssimmons for possession of the $lfl.noo purse has commenced beforo the superior court. Tacoma. The stenmer MacDnff has brought news that Spain's hands are busy with the Philippine rebellion, which Is gaining strength. New York. Private Havana ad vices flatly deny the Spanish report that Antonio Maceo, Cuban Insurgent leader, has boen killed. Fully a dogen vessels are now due In the. harbor here, all of which, w ith nnythlng like aood passages, will ar rive this month. RATRS DRIVB BUSINESS V V Fr:-mer Finds It Chf-nprr to I ar Sub atitulra for Knilronil. WREN. Or.. Dec. 8. (To the Editor.-! Through The Oregonian I de sire to call attention to freight rates as they affect the farmer. This morning I crated a yearling bull nnd met the freight train to transport him from Wren to Norton, about 20 miles. The railroad agent at Philomath Informed me It would cowt $10.73. I took' tho calf nut of the crate, led him home and notified the purchased- that I would put him In my wagon and meet him on the road. On October IB I bought a young bull at McArtbur & Stauf's sale at Rlckreall and asked them to ship to me at Wren. They Informed me that It would cost me over $20. I hired a truck to hrlng him for $15. Last winter 1 had a ton of hay shipped from ('orvalliH to Wren, 12 miles, freight $4- A farmer can haul a ton and a half at a load. He can take his team and compete with the railroad, and of course tho railroad dees not get the business. The railroads have reduced the labor wages $4,000,000. When sre the rates going to be reduced to the pub lic? J. H. GOLDMAN.