X
a
THE MORNING OTIEG ONIAN. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1923
K8TAB! ISIIED I1 I1EXUV U PITTOCK. J
Pnb!!ih9l by Th f.regonlan Publishing Co..
123 Sixth bt eet. Fort. and, Oregon.
C. A. UIJSDEN. K. B. PIPER.
-Uar.ager. Editor.
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WIIKKE IS THE LOST 17 CENTS?
Public Service Commissioner
Corey in a letter to an eastern Ore
gon paper gives a mass of figures
for the purpose of proving that.
freight from Portland to Liverpool
being lower than from Chicago via
Atlantic ports to Liverpool, and the
price on the Chicago market being
lower, Portland should pay a higher
price than Chicago by 17 cents a
bushel. He says: "Unquestionably
the farmer or grain-grower does
not get this." I anybody in Port
land gets It, certainly that some
body is getting rich quick. Let us
see how he arrives at this alarming
conclusion.
lie opens his argument on this
particular point by saying:
As you are aware, wheat prices in thla
country are bused nn Chicago that Is;
Chicago prices less freight ratea fix the
price the farmer who ships to the Chi
cago market la to receive tor hia grain.
He shows that the rail rate from
Chicago to lialtimore is 21 cents,
and the ocean rate from Baltimore
to Liverpool 21 centa, making a
total of 42 cents. He gives the
ocean rate trom Portland to Liver
pool as $5 per ton, presumably the
- short ton, though charter rates are
made per long ton of 2240 pounds.
This is equal to 25 cents per 100
pounds. leaving a difference in favor
of Portland of 17 cents or 10 cents,
per bushel. He then says:
Baed on Saturday's (January 7. 11122)
quotnl Inn. the rortland-CiiicaKo markets
r-'iieeieri a minimum variation of 7 cei
u-r bushel In favor of Portland and tl
iitaen iu coini" etion with an approximate
ID centa per buali-l leaser freight by boat.
,'M-mnu ig Liverpool, a anainst It
nu-aan to Liverpool n.nuraily prest-uta
i ne iursuun as to me il ypoFi t ion of th
J7 cents. I' n-i uest lonabl v the farmer c
arain grower d.'ea not It-'t this.
i oetiee iroin rne Tore-rninc you can
maae your calculations and draw vour
own conclusions. I am certain the farmers
are receiving no benefit from the l.w l-uat
and rail rales, and. 1, It not posalbln that
inn roruann ouyer can pay the Chica
pries on aratn and yet make a larger
proni ui.iii i.nicaKO buvers? Ai-alii, is
eaelorn Orearoii benefited or not by bcinK
limited to the one market rather than en
Joy the competitive market, that hereto-
iore exinteu i i believe that thia Is at
least worm tooKinft into.
But the price paid for Columbia
basin wheat Is not based on the Chi
cago market, but on the Liverpool
market, which governs price for
western Kurope. Chicago quotations
are based on No. 2 hard winter and
No. 2 northern spring wheat for
milling, while the bulk of Portland
exports is club and fortyfolti. worth
5 cents a bushel less, and couM not
be delivered on Chicago contracts.
AI.-o the day-to-day fluctuations
often produce differences as high
aa 7 cenUs between Chicago and
Liverpool, and the price in each
market on any one day Is not a fair
basis of comparison: the range over
a period should bo taken.
In fact, Portland deals directly
- with Liverpool, and a comparison of
prices on those two markets should
show whether anybody in this pott
is getting rich on a differential of
17 cents per bushel against Chicago
which should go to the easnern Ore
gon or Washington farmer. One ex
ample will serve the purpose. On
January 16 American sellers offered
soft white wheat in Liverpool at 49
shillings a quarter and 4X shillings
was bid, a quarter being eight
bushels. Assume that buyer and
- iseller split the difference and make
a stile at 48 shillings t pence, a shil
ling being worth 21 cents, and this
is equivalent to $1,273 delivered in
Lievrpool. Out of this the Portland
dealer pays 1 per cent, or 1.3 cent,
for Insurance and commission In
Kurope and 17 cents freight at the
rate of 30 shillings a long ton. and
he nets Jl.OSt. That was exactly the
price bid In Portland on that day, so
he would come out Just even. If he
succeeded in getting the price he
asked, he would have 1 1 cents a
bushel out of which to pay interest
and ether charges as compared with
.Mr. Corey's 17 cents which some
body else than the farmer gets.
As the eastern Oregon farmer
knows the freight rates from his
shipping point and the price paid on
the Portland market, ho is in a po
sition to secure for himself all the
benefit of the Columbia basin rate
differential and of the port improve
ments that Portland has made for
handling wheat. The comparison be
tweon Portland and Liverpool prices
.-hows that he dues get it and that
there is no 17 cents margin for any
- body In Portland to appropriate. It
there were, he would soon capture
It by shipping to Chicago. He does
not ship there becauso the higher
freight rate would leave a lower net
price than that to Portland.
AJthough Mr,- Corey was elected
to represent eastern Oregon on the
Public service commission, he does
not serve that district well by mis
stating facts for the apparent pur
pose of engendering ill feeling be
tween it and Portland. This port is
Itself a public utility for the whole
state, and producers profit by its im
provement and the growth of its
commerce. Good understanding be
tween those who operate this public
' utility and those whom it serves will
. conduce to the good of both. The
: distrust which Mr. Corey fosters In
jures those whom he protests to
serve, and helps nobody, not even
himself.
The employment ct poison gas In
the extermination of dens of rattle
snakes, which Is said to have been
fomplished in the state of Wash
;:ton, would seem to indicate pos
.billtics In the direction of ridding
:c country of gophers, ground
lulrrels and other rodents which to
greater extent than rattle
are a menace to the industry
of agriculture. Experiments with the
gas, conveyed from a simple con
tainer by means of a short hose, are
said to have showed that several
acres can be cleared by a workman
I in a day. and the gas being heavier
Ithan air penetrates the remotest re-
. ,, ....
cesses of the animal's burrow with
out endangering the operator. It
will be generally hoped that the ex
periment is a complete success. The
los to crops caused by rodents,
which has been roughly estimated at
! $300,000,000 a year, would come in
a worth-while increase of wages for
every workman in the land
RUSSIAN MTAL STATISTICS.
Statistics concerning deaths and
births In Russia, coupled, with esti
mates of the relative strength of the
urban and the rur-il population, only
confuse the notions. of the outsider
as to the ultimate fate of that un
happy land, but they point to at
least one inevitable conclusion if
present conditions continue long
enough. The city dwellers, who are
largely the cause of Russia's distress
because they are the one who in
sist on the enforcement of uneco
nomie laws, will eventually become
extinct, or at least negligible In
number and Influence, and then the
peasants, who are the backbone of
the country, will come into their
own.
A recent report from Moscow puts
the total of "proletariat" city work
ers at 4,775,000 at the close of 1921,
by comparison with 9,350,000 twenty-two
years ago. This decline in
j numbers is due to no movement
from the town to the farm but to
war, famine and the stagnation of
industry under the rule of the
Soviets. The death rate is said to
have Increased from 25.4 to 74.9 per
thousand, while the birth rate has
declined from 38. 4 to 13 per thou
sand. Obviously this disparity would
result in a measurable period of
years to total depopulation of the
country. But in the present disor
ganized state of government, it is
probable that the "registration area"
is largely urban, and that the re
moter regions, where tlaa peasants
live, are not, generally included. It
is a reasonable deduction that the
population of the cities will become
exhausted long before that of the
agricultural districts.
Russians will not become extinct,
as Russians. The like has not hap
pened and probably never will. But
it looks as if a certain element,
which happens fortunately In this
instance to be the one that has
brought ruin to the nation, would
not las long; and harsh as the Judg
ment may seem, it .will be widely
believed that the wiping out of the
sovietlst minority will be a mercy to
tho 130,000.000 peasants or there
abouts who remain.
ACt'l'RACY OK THE PRKSS.
The-Corvallis critic of the press
who writes elsewhere on this page
falls into the practice common to his
fallow critics of ignoring the vast
quantity of, accurate material pub
lished daily by the press and basing
judgment upon an isolated error or
two.
A newt-paper such as The Orego
nian assembles from all quarters of
the globe, every day, exclusive of
.Sunday, an average of seventy-five
columns of newly written reading
matter. Kvery day It is the product
of hundreds of men and women who
prepare their articles, not after pro
found study and exhaustive research,
but upon the Instant. That occa
sionally one" of them commits a
blunder a blunder which may, as
In the Instance cited by the corres
pondent, be 40 more than two lines
In a compilation of 1X5,000 words on
more than 300 subjects and that
that blunder may escape the eye of
the editors, Is not remarkable. The
remarkable thing is that newspapers
are as free from error as they are.
It speaks well for the capability or
its contributors, and for the constant
striving of all editors for accuracy.
The correspondent's criticism is '
that a dispatch In The Oregonian
from London, relative to the dis
covery of the rock-preserved foot
print of a fleeing prehistoric animal,
speculates as to whether the great
reptile may not have been pursued
by a saber-toothed tiger, when as a
matter of fact, the sabre-toortieri
tiger did not appear on earth until
ages after giant reptiles were ex
tinct. The dlsnatch, notwithstanding the
correspondent's notion that the in
troduction of tho tiger was designed
to make It sensational or more in
teresting, would, from a news Stand
point, have been just as Interesting
had the correspondent ascribed the
Might to the natgging disposition of
t lie iguanodon's wife or to a raid on
the feeding grounds by another tribe
of dinosaurs, and nobody could have
proved the contrary. The writer
of the dispatch simply speculated
without a sufficient 'knowledge of
natural history. ,
But at that his error is under
standable. A certain well-executed
illustration has had wide circulation
and Has been used even in a semi
educational way. The artist who
drew it attempted to depict a scene
in the reptilian age. From a lagoon
dinosaurs raise their heads to vast
heights: overhead gigantic flying
reptiles flap their way; on shore,
seemingly admiring the view, but
nevertheless protected with a great
bludgeon, stands a prehistoric man,
while beneath the tropical foliage a
s.ibre-toothed tiger stajks his prej-.
Circulation of this' sketch has been
so general that the historian, II. G.
Weils, notes it in one of his- works
and condemns it for its misrepre
sentation by countless years of the
development of the higher mam
mals. The impression among the un
learned that the sabre-toothed tiger
fed on dinosaurs Is about as hard
to'overcome as is the more modernly
svt fable that -the ostrich, when
alarmed, hides its head In the sand.
This fable at one time appeared in
our school books, lending interest of
course to the study of strange crea-
tures, but by no means indicating
that writers of text books deliber
ately sacrifice facts to provide sen
sationalism. School books now. according to
Viljhalmur Stefan.sson, misrepresent,
and grossly too, conditions In the far
north. Their description of the
polar regions are more impressive
than the facts, but again, nobody
"charges that text book writers fal-
slfy to gain the interest of pupiis.
They merely are uninformed in that
particular.
Likewise it tends to give one a
thrill to read In standard encyclo-
pedia, which we could name, that
there haye been authenticated in
stances of man's hair turning whit
in a night undent sttess of fear or
other emotion. Yet scientists will
tell you that so rapid a transition of
color in the hair Is a physieal impos
sibility. We woujd not indict en
cyclopedias for sensationalism. They
are the staid of the staid. No more
would we accuse text books and en
cyclopedias of general inaccuracy
because they contain a few errors.
The point intended to be made
herein is that fallibility is not pecu
liar to newswriters and editors it
exists In all humans and that the
magnifying of their occasional
blftnders into a severe indictment of
the profession and the entire prod
uct, is precisely that species of sen
sationalism of which these critics
accuse the press. It is sensational
ism made to order, for purpose of
sale or acquirement of notoriety.
While The Oregonian's contem
porary, also charged with distortion
of facts, is able toco(jduct its own
defense, it is in line with the gen
eral thought herein expressed to say
that the two errors cited against
that newspaper were obvious inad
vertences, and to add that one of
them was apparently discovered and
corrected, for it does not appear in
our.copy of that newspaper.
ALARM AMONG THE RF.SERVATION-
One of the battles of the near fu
ture in congress will begin when
plans for reorganization of the gov
ernment departments are presented
by a commission that Is now at
work. A preliminary skirmish Ui al
ready on as to the proposal to trans
fer the forestry bureau from the
agricultural to the interior depart
ment. When Roosevelt was presi
dent and Gifford Pinchot chief of
the bureau, the latter procured the
transfer to the agricultural depart
ment because James Wilson, then
head of the department, could be
trusted to let Pinchot run the bu
reau according to his own ideas, lie
built it up into a most efficient ma
chine for inflicting his policy on the
westi It helped him to obstruct de
velopment of water power, to delay
action on 'opening coal and phos
phate land, to keep. Alaska locked
up and, when a conservation con
vention was held, its officials turned
out in force to talk and vote for
Pinchotism.
Propaganda to keep the bureau
whete it is has already started full
force and it bears the trade-mark
of the Pinchot crowd. Hailing, from
a middle western state, Secretary of
Agriculture Wallace can have no
knowledge of the forest ptoblem
from personal contact and lends a
ready ear to the pleas of the forestry
officials,' for he is ntturally loath to
hand over a big bureau to Secretary
of the Interior Fall. Po we are tola
that tlafe whole conservation policy
would go to smaslf-if it were taken
away from Mr. Wallace. Lest our
forests should be laid waste, we are
told, we muKtkeep them in. the
hands of the technical!;' trained for
esters of the agricultural depart
ment; the interior department is a
mere real estate oltice on a big
scale and does not know how to
grow things.
The national forests are a pecu
liarly western interest, as is the pub
lic lahd generally, and they should
be managed with due regard to the
development of the west, which Is
decidedly to the interest of the
whole nation.. The -principal func
tion of the interior department is to
handle the public land, and it should
handle all public land, for whatever
purpose it is used. Secretary Fall is
a western man, who knows the west
and understands the varied prob
lems of public land from intimate
personal knowledge. He can organ
ize a force of men to protect timber
from npoiieis and insect pe.-its, can
grow trees and sell timber and lease
grazing land, a-s well as could Mr.
Wallace. The real ground of oppo
sition to his supervision of the bu
reau is that he would not pervert
conservation into reservation, woukl
not harry prospectors on suspicion
that they were trying to steal some
thing, would not regard homestead
ers as Intruders, and would encour
age development of the many nat
ural resources besides timber that
are in the forests. Probably he
would break up the clique tha
maintains the propaganda which put
an embargo on development of the
west for a dozen years... That may
be the chief objection to giving the
national forests into his keeping.
7 ,
OI K SKNSE OF III MOR. '
The strangely developed senile of
so-called humor in Americans which
our Latin neighbors are so greatly
at a loss to understand is illustrated
by the catalogue of a novelty con
cern which is said to be reaping a
harvest during the dull times in the
cities of the east. Curiously, the de
vices therein depicted are chiefly of
foreign manufacture, although - not
intended for home consumption.
Aliens, it seems, may understand
our psychology better than we do
ourselves. S
Tho axplosivc cigar. It is true, no
longer appears, but only, in all prob
ability, because we demand novelty
in our practical jokes. The ancient
principle, that the more you frighten
a man or the more discomfort you
cause him the better the Joke, is still
preserved. A prime illusion, and
one warranted to produce a laugh in
any company, isj one by which 'the
joker creates the impression that he
is committing suicide. The young
woman in whose presence the trick
is played is pictured in the cata
logue as about t swoon as the
merry perpetrator presses the re
volver to his forehead: but her anx
iety turns, to merriment when the
weapon Instead of exploding rings a
bell. A companion to this bit of
robust practical jokins is a knife
which the jolly jokister draws
across his nose, causing the appear
ance of having severed that mem
ber from his face. Blood flows, there
are screams of consternation, the
weaker and more sympathetic on
lookers swoon (if the Joke is a com
plete success), but all comes out
haDoilv in the end or at least the
I catalogue intimates that -it does.
Personally, we should be more in
clined to enjoy the situation if the
joker should slip a cog.
"Place in the hand a very small
portion of the powder," say the di
rections In another instance: "blow
it Into the air and presently every
one in the car or room will begin to
sneeze violently without knowing
the reason why." Then there is a
pretended camera, which just as the
subject Is looking as obliging as pos
sible, propels an Immense papier
mache rattlesnake In his direction.
Tlie "soot card" gets a laugh every
time," so the makers say. It has the
appearance of an ordinary visiting
card on the visible side, but is coated
with lampblack on the other. The
perturbation of the white - gloved
young woman who has just been
made the victim of this happy
thought will be understood only by
those whose sense of humor has
been developed to the full.
The idea, it seems, is to "create as
much misery as possible for a
few persons In order that avgTeater
number may be amused. You pre
sent your friend with a cake of soap
which turns the face a deep green
which Is removable only after the
victim has been excessively ridi
culed; or you tender him a horn
which he blows, thereby covering
himself with "soot, lampblack or
. s . i . , .1
h
,
it with. The artificial bedbug,
which to achieve its- best results
should be deposited In the guest
room of your friend's home, should
provoke no end of merriment. The
point is not, of course, that the
things are made, but that they are
sold, according to a well authenti
cated report, literally by the mil
lions. There are people, it appears, who
have not yet absorbed the bitter
irony in the simile, "As funny as a
crutch." We wonder sometimes
whether one of the pressing needs of
the country is not an army of
Everett Trues.
BETIKEMEJil.
Now It Is John Cowper Powys,
professur, critic, essayist and all
around "high brow," who says that
"all men over 50 who have assured
incomes" should retire at 50. The
curious thing about it is not that
Professor Powys should have reiter
ated the time-worn suggestion, but
that almost invariably the proposal
that business men shall go out of
business at a certain age usually
about 50 comes from non-business
men. The notion persists that there
is something peculiarly devastating
about commerce that calls for the
withdrawal of its devotees to "more
useful" careers.
It depends, of course, on whether
we admit that business is necessarily
unsatisfying to the higher aspira
tions, a statement to which not many
business men are likely to give as
sent. It is a conceded necessity and
a vocation In which, as indubitably
as in the professions, experience
counts. Nor is it devoid, we think,
of opportunity for the promotion of
high ideals. Moreover, if the test of
craftsmanship Is enjoyment of one's
work It is not clear why a business
man who finds contentment in his
occupation should abandon it to be
come a collector of curios, an aim
less chaser after new pleasures, or
even an incompetent publicist the
field of so-called public service be
ing the one usually chosen by ac
clamation by those who would re
form every man but themselves."
The professional philosophers are
not always philosophical. Their
premises are apt often to be wrong,
ope might with plausibility propose
to a business man that after the age
of 50 he devote a greater proportion
of his time to the study of the phil
osophy of his own calling, particu
larly with reference to its ethics and
to the relation between employers
and employes. It might reasonably
be suggested, if business is as sordid
as poets and professors seem to
think it i-s, that it could ill afford to
lose those best fitted to aid in its
regeneration. There would be point
in a proposal to start a gigantic, re
form movement from within. But
to condemn a man to unproductive
inactivity in some of the best years
of his life because he elected com
merce rather than science or art or
politics as his profession Is to Ig
nore a fundamental principle of
human character. The man is cap
able of greatest usefulness in the
employment that he most enjoys,
and there is abundant testimony
that a great many men remain in
business because they like their
work.
The poet Cowper, from whom it
may be that Professor Powys re
ceived or.e of his names, has said
that
Absence of occupation Is not rest.
A mind quite vacant is a mind distreps'd.
While another poet was if Goe
the? has suggested:
Rest is not quitting the busy career;
Rest is the flltinir of self to one's sphere.
'Tia lovins; and serving the highest and
best :
Tia onward, unswerving, and that la true
rest.
We wonder what Professor Powys
would think of a proposal that poets
3nd professors quit their profes
sions at 50? And invthe present state
of the world, some will think, there
are poets as well as business men
wno couia oe spared. '
It's a safe assumption that the
American brigadier-general who as
serts so emphatically that gas In war
is "the most humane weapon yet
devised" never got a real gassing
himself.
Life-paving crews work like he
Toes and are heroes, but who gives
them a thought until reading of ex
traordinary work of rescue?
There is but one kind of snow
storm welcome when it ma;es
good sliding and it's too cold for
school to "keep."
The reappointment cf Mr. Aitchl
son has been confirmed. Mr. Aitchi
son is an Oregon man who has made
good.
One of your good friends this
weather is the carrier who lands the
morning paper at the front door
step.
The draft horse in non-skids no
longer contemplates with envy the
car with coryucated tires.
Th'ere is hope when the forecaster
taiks of the worst fta come. It's a
pleasing disappointment.
Wilson has decided to oppose the
four-power pact. Now, Tumulty,
how come?
Royalty reduced to working might
come over and sell automobiles for
living. '
Harding advises study of the
world. Briefly, read the morning
papers.
p An open "door policy for Alaska
would help some, too.
Kext on the programme comes the
automobile show.
Let 'er snap.
The fruit "bugs"
need killing.
The Listening Post.
By DeWItt Harry.
"Talk about the entgrna o, a
woman's mind, whoever understood
a man's way of looking at things?"
queries- a correspondent. "We pre
tend 'o: of courses there, would be
no enduring them If we didn't. But
do we?
"The other day one who was con
siderably 'more than 'half-seas-over'
boarded an electric train, Portland
bound and settling himself In a seat,
proceeded to while away the dull
moments to the best of his ability.
Lying as far back as possible, he
stretched himself abroad in all direc-
then suddenly reversing the po
1 ... .. .
. sltion, curled up like a caterpillar
poked with a stick. He rested one
arm on the window ledge, he ex
changed it for his head, he slid down
on the nap of his neck and came up
hand over hand on the seat back In
front of him; he chinned himself
with the same device, at intervals he
sighed deep, lugubrious sighs that
fairly lifted himself and his fellow
passengers from their seats.
"The conductor and brakeman. both
fine large men, regarded this per
formance without especial comment.
The man was. enjoying himself, he
was not molesting anybody, there
their Interest seemed to cease. They
showed neither horror nor distaste at
the plight of a brother man. Kor
on the other hand did they show any
sympathy. One gathered from their
expressions that the occurrence, while
of some interest, did not call for any
especial show of emotion on tbolr
part. The conductor collected his
fare, and returned change with a
cheerful, "there you are." At a down
town street crossing the brakie as
sisted the Incapacitated man to alight,
and called after him a solicitous
warning not to get run over. The
last we saw of him he was weaving
an uncertain way down the street,
presumably into the arms of a
friendly officer of the same persua
sion, with the same peculiar views
on life."
Trenchant instances of newsboys
who have achieved prominence are
legion, but occasionally one of these
Is outstanding because of pertinent
connection with local tradition and
the super plane on which the former
newsie Is found. 'All this leads to
casual mention of Mendenhall glacier,
that great Ice floe so well known to
Alaskan visitors. Mendenhall glacier
was named after a former newsboy
who sold The Oregonian and who
later worked as a longshoreman on
Portland's waterfront.
W. C. Mendenhall, chairman of the
land classification board of the United
States geological survey, is the man.
He Is one of the most widely known
geologists on this continent and is
the author of a number of standard
works accepted as authorities. The
Siory -of his rise If .1 fascinating one,
but has never been fully written.
What a topic-for the romancer! First
a-newsboy, selling The Oregonian In
Portland, then a longshoreman, and
he says he never will forget the trme
he helped -unload a cargo of pig lead,
and then on with his progress, his
studies and his reaching the pinnacle
of his profession, honored and right
fully recognized as one of the leaders
In the science of geology.
It certainly Is an Instance of one
who has "worked up" and is Just an
other of those cases that cai be held
out as an incentive to young men
who are now trying their wings and
In'their development stages. There is
no limit to the height that can be
reached by the newsie or the boot
black or the buss boy In the res-,
taurant.
"Turn-em out, you're walking on
yourself," was the vehement adjura
tion issued by the fond mother to
her yount? son as they were on a
shopping tour. Reminder of the sour
drill sergeants with their swagger
canes and their insults and cutting
remarks on the British parade square.
Bit of army life that brings the taste
back of how frantically angry some
of the unaccustomed recruits were.
Pigeon toes were a crime, unques
tionable obedience the religion.
Mother in the role of a drill sergeant
isn't near rough enough.
As the man from iowa said yester
day what's the use? If this keeps
up it's too much like flie old home.
He was busy explaining why the
horses wore chains on their -feet, and
telling friends how to drive so that
(the machine would not piLe Into the
curb on every skid.
There's humor in nutmegs not the
wooden ones, but just nutmeg. On a
lunoh counter are shakers with
powdered nutmeg so that patrons
may season their fountain drinks.
The shakers are nearly like those
used for salt and pepper. At noon
yesterday a girl in a rush grabbed
her sandwich and gave a plentiful
sprinkling of nutmeg, possibly under
the delusion that it was pepper, and
then, with an exhibition of grit sel
dom surpassed, went rlghtn and ate
It. though making tome very wry
faces.
Those one-cent pales have Intrigued
a local dentist who spends a good
deal on' printers' ink. It is understood
that he is seriously contemplating
one of his own pull one tooth for fl
and the second at the same sitting
for one cent.
FHOM THE MLEXCK.
When the eounding wars have trailed
a way
Into the silence thin.
Dreams of veterans day by day.
In the peaceful world begin.
Nightly, nightly, under the stars,
Under tho stars and the moon.
The ghosts of men who went to the
wars
March where the night-winds croon.
Slowly, slowly, hither and yon, ,
The thin ranks waver and veer,.
The captains shout, the battle is on.
You may catch the faint, far cheer.
Fiercely, fiercely, shadow of men
Charge o'er the sodden ground.
And the ghosts of battles are fought
again
As the hours of night go round,
x -Wonly.
wanly, over the plain.
Surging of troops that clash!"
Fighting again at Marne and Aisne,
But gone with the sun's first flash.
For these are the serried ranks of
dream
That from the sfftnee thin,
71ghtly Into the trenches stream
When the bugle blasts begin.
.kTVERETT EARLB STAXAKD.
Those Who Come and Co.
Tale tvFolka at the Hotel.
"Lumber activities? and Irrigation
are the two big things which are in
teresting Medford people Just now,"
reports S. S. Smith, newspaper man
of Medford and member of the repub
lican state executive committee for
Jackson county. "The Pacific & East
ern railroad, which runs from Med
ford to Butte Falls. Is being recon
structed and Is to be extended 12
miles into the four-bit timber which
Mr. Olds, owner of the road and the
timber, bought some time ago. The
F-rownlee Lumber company has about
completed the mill which it has been
erecting for nearly a year and the
mill Is waiting on the extension of
the railroad, for the Brownlee plant
will cut for Mr. Olds and Brownlee.
The plant will
several hundred
..!, . , ,
j; 0?! '
men. 1 he timber to
at is said to be the
be tapped Is what
largest body of pine In the stati
timber In which an ax has never been
set. The Medford- irrigation district
has announced that it will have water
this year for 10.000 acres. The water
Is to come from Mount McLoughlln
All things considered, the prospects
for Medford s Immediate future are
particularly bright.' Mr. Smith Is res
iBtered at the Benson.
Coming to San Francisco and Port
land by way of Panama 60 years ago
was a very different story and full of
greater hardships than it is today.
according to G. Wlngate of Astoria,
"In 1867 I came down the Atlantic
coast to Panama and thence across
the isthmus and up the Pacific "coast
In a side-wheeler," says Mr. Wingate,
registered at the Multnomah. "In
1S78 I made my first visit to Portland.
We stopped at the Clarendon hotel,
where the union station now stands.
From my window 1 could look on the
little lake where today business
blocks are erected. One night while
at the. Esmond hotel the fire alarm
was turned in and a rush was mad
by the patrons to get out. A famous
actor, Lawrence Barrett, lost his
wardrobe, which he had carried with
him for use in different plays. He
was appearing at the New Market
tr.eater. tor many years Mr. Wingate
has been Interested in mining and has
recently been inspecting some coal
lands.
"Jackson county Is going to have a
real fair grounds, with automobile
races, horse races and substantial,
permanent buildings," states J. K.
Mason of Medford, a visitor In Port
land. "The county levied a tax of 1
null for a year, raising $40,000 for
live rair grounds. An expert from
California has laid out the speedway
for automobiles and there will be a
half-mile track for horses within th
speedway circle, and inside the track
will be aa aviation landing field. It
is believed that arrangements can be
made so that Jackson county fair can
be on the circuit and the same auto
mobile racers who appear in south
ern California will drive tnelr cars in
Medford. A similar arrangement may
be made with respect to horse races
Jackson county ia an ideal place for
wintering horses and some very fine,
animals are being kept the-r thla
winter."
"There is never a boom at Albany
and eonsequVntly there is neve-r a
relapse, but the town moves along In
its conservative manner and is bet.
ter off thetn most communities," de
clares Will Barrett of Albany, regis
tered at the Hotel Portland. "The
Pacific highway south through Linn
county has been graded and ia
now in line condition for paving. I
understand that tle state highway
commission plans spending about
$550,000 this year in paving the sec
tion through the county. It will make
a wonderful drive."
For a delightful seashore climate il
1. not necessary to go to souithm
California, but just run down to
Seaview, Wash., according to Joe
Knowles, the, nature man, who de
clares that while Portland is buffer
ing from freezing temperature and a
light mantle of snow, tho sun has
ben shining at Seaview and the
weather is like early epring.
After a tour of several weeks In
the south and middle states, John S.
Bowers lias arrived in Portland -and
is at the Mu'.tr.omah. He declares that
conditions in Portland axe much bet
ter than in most of the towns and
cities he has visited and that the
people of Oregon have not experienced
the pinching hardtimes that resi
dents of other state's have.
"I was bragging over the long dis
tance, sort of chuckling like, how
nice and warm and pleasant the
weather is in Portland, speaking to
my brother Fred, at Island City, a few
hours ago, and he told me that it
was colder than the Arctic circle up
thsre," observed Mort Kiddle at the
Benson. "Ouess 1 won't go back
home for a few dn.ys.
Cus Xewberry- an attorney of Med
ford. is among the arrivals at the
Imperial. When the primaries' are
held next May Mr. Xewberry's name
will probably be on the ballot in
Jackson county as a candidate for the
republican nomination for circuit
judge to succoed Judge Calkins, who
is about to retire from the bench.
"You'd never know the country to
look at It now. It looks as though
Mount Hood had just moved over
and spread over everything." is the
way J. D. Smullin, an orchardist of
Parkdale, describes the snow fields
which have settled over that famous
orchard district of Hood Kiver valley.
J. G. Gagnon, registered at the
Hotel Oregon, owns the railroad which
operates between Medford and Jack
sonville. Also he has a mill and box
factory In Medford and is now fill
ing an order for a great number of
orunge boxes for the Calilornia
nuirket.
R. A. Booth, chairman r-f tho state
highway commission, while here to
attend meeting of the commission
yesterday, received word of the death
of a nephew at The Dalles in the
morning. Mr. Booth left for The
lalies late inthe afternoon.
William M. Peare, secretary of the
state board of optometry, is in the
city from La Grande. The board held
a meeting yesterday to examine ap
plicants. Mr. Peare Insists that
there is nothing the matter with the
winter conditions In Union county.
S. II. Home, master mechanic of
the C. H. Wheeler Lumber company
at Cochran, Or" is registered at the
Multnomah Cochran is right at the
hump of the Coast range, where the
Tillamook railroad crosses the divide.
Jay H. Dobbin of Joseph, banker
sheepman and general all-around
prominent citizen of Wallowa county.
is In the city and has signed the reg
ister at the Imperial.
Farquhar McRae. one of the old
timers in Crook county, is at the Im
perial from his ranch, 20 miles east
if Prineville, on the Ochooo. Mr.
McMae has three ranches. -
William Hanley, president of the
state chamber of commerce, is an ar
rival at the Multnomah from his
ranch Harney county.
Frank Bidwell of the Bldwell-
Evans company of North Powder, Or,
dealers In stock and hay, is In the city
lor a few day.
Burroughs Nature Club.
Copyrleyu Honarhtom-MUrlln Co.
Can Yon Answer Theae Qaratioitsf
1. I have been having trouble lately
with a wtasel that has killed about
40 pulle.ts, all of which had their
throats bitten. How can 1 get rid
of it?
I. Have we any real wild honey
bees?
S. Why do birds seem to peck and
pull at their feathers?
Answers in tomorrow's "Nature
Notes."
Ansnrera to Previous Qoeatlonxt
1. Do baby humming birds hatch
with long bills like their parents'?
No, at hatching, the bill is short
and Insignificant; but it grows quick
ly, and by the time the young hum
mers have their feathers the bills
.i.cii iiNiiiirrs ins u . i .
I begin to resemble the typical tube ol
1 1 , fj j. , 1 1 . 71 , , . ,
A iuJr Ih?,f n.d" f"rv'd biU f
of
ready by the time the young one la
oia enougn to seeK Its own food nec
tar and tiny Insects In the calyx of
flowers, such as honeysuckle, nastur
tium, etc.
a
2. What part of a bird's skeleton Is
the wishbone?
It corresponds to our collarbones,
or clavicles. Wher we have the
clavicles separated by their central
support the breastbone or sternum,
the bird' clavicles meet and Join in
a single thin, flake-shaped end. These
bones In both bird and man serve to
keep the shoulders braced back
braced for flying In birds. Birds that
have little use for the wing have
only a rudimentary wishbone, or none
at all.
S. What do muskrats feed on?
A large percentage of their diet Is
grass, but other vegetable substances
are eaten, as lily roots. Freli water
mussels are liked, the rmiskrat bring
ing them to shore and eating the soft
or animal part. Empty mussel shells
sometimes Indicate a nearby mu.sk rat
home, A duad duck does not come
amiss as animal food. Near farms
muskrats often steal cultivated vege
tables and fruit.
ACCURACY Of PRESS DOUBTED
Correspondent Indicts Two News.
papers Upon Discovery of Errors.
CORVALLIS. Or.. Jan 16. (To the
Editor.) In the current number of
the Atlantic Monthly Is an article, by
Fred L. Allen entitled "News and the
Truth." Among other things thnt this
article decries Is the disposition on
the part of newspapers to distort
the truth In order to make a good
story, and the lack of accuracy shown
In many newspaper articles of both
general and scientific Interest
In support of the truth expressed
In this article, I will quote items from
The Oregonian and Oregon Daily
Journal.
In The Oregonian January 11, there
appears on the front page an item of
news from London relative to tin
discovery of the footprints of an ex
tinct reptile known aa an Iguanodon.
This item describes the size and ap
pearance of the animal and states
that the rootprlnts Indicate that the
animal was evidently moving rapidly.
This material appears to be correctly
quoted from some authoritative
source. In the last part of the item,
however, someone has tried to make
a good story by an attempt to . ac
count for the animal's haste, which
is attributed to pursuit by a saber
toothed tiller from which it was sup
posedly fleeing. The majority of
people to whom this article would be
of particular Interest know that the
last iguanodon had been gathered
to his ancestors one or two million
years before the first saber-toothed
cat appeared upon the earth, and this
incongruity kills the value of the
item as news and makes one doubt its
authenticity.
The above, of course, is of minor
Importance, but Is given as an ex
amplo of pseudo scientific philoso
phizing on the part Of someone who
is ignorant of the subject, and who
thereby spoiled a legitimate news item
by an attempt to make a story which
is nothing but an absurdity.
on the same date in the Journal
appears a most surpising- editorial
relative to the Coeur d'Aleno river of
North Idaho. This small but useful
and formerly well-behaved stream
has apparently tired of the narrow
confines of its native mate and has
emigrated to British Columbia by way
or tlie state or v asnlngton. Using
tne same line or reasoning as the
reporter who wrote the iguanodon
story for The Oregonian, it was evl
dently fleeing from something, pre
sumably the 18th amendment. In its
journey it has acquired a stupendous
quantity of water, enough "to take
the curse of aridity off 3,000,000
square miles," or in other words, an
area almost as large as the whole
United States, exclusive of Alaska.
The editor was evidently too-busy
to note that the Coeur d'Alene is
comparatively small mountain stream.
flowing into the lake of that name,
and that its waters reach the Co
lumbia by way of the Spokane river.
This stream barely supplies the mills
of the Coeur d'Alene district with
sufficient water for concentrating the
ores during the dry season, and it
is here credited with an amount of
water which makes the Mississippi
appear like a piker.
The Pend d'Oreille Is evidently the
river the wrirer was thinking about.
and L753.0OO acres is also mentioned
as the area that can be Irrigated.
This is approximately jonil square
miles, and it is probably the figure
that was intended Instend of 3.000.000,
but what are little things like 1.000,
000 years or so In the life of a reptiln,
the name of a river, or a few ciphers
more or less, so long as the news item
makes a good story?
D. C. LIViyftSTON.
Jurismirnt Good for Ten Years.
CANBT, Or.. Jan. IB. (To the Ed
itor.) (1) What good Is a default
judgmant that Is about nine years
eld?
(2) If a woman had property be
fore she married could the law make
her pay a debt tho man had before
she married him and she didn't know
about? LOVER OF YOUlt PAPE-fl.
1. A Judgment obtained In Oregon
Is not outlawed until after the expira
t.'on of ten years.
2. The wife Is not responsible for
the personal' debts of the husband.
Information About Mennonltes.
SPAXAWAT. Wash., Jan. 16. (To
the Editor.) Please Inform me where
to obtain Information concerning the
Mennonites, their creed, nat'onality,
etc MUS. MATTIE CItAIG.
Any of the standard encyclopedias
IU give you a good outline of what
you desire.
First Lectnrer's Fees Noted.
World's Work.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was the first
famous professional lecturer. His
fees were low at first. There Is a
letter In existence that he wrote the
Waltham committee regarding his
fee: "I am willing to accept the $3
you offer me, but I must have In ad
dition three quarts of oats for my
horse." He spoke 98 times In the
Concord Lyceum without pey. but
when the fee system began, he rap
Idly rose from the $5 level to $150,
and In the days of his greatest popu
larity ho received as high as (500.
More Truth Than Poetry.
By James J. Montaitue.
REALISM.
Somewhere, at the present writing.
On the world's extensive map,
There's a gent and lady fighting.
Using knives and clubs mayhap.
They may both be serf or peasant.
They may be a king and quern;
But their language Isn't pleasant.
And they make a dreadful scene.
We could live our lives without them.
But we'll see them both some day
When a Kealtst learns about them
And they're featured in a play.
Somewhere, folks unprepossessing
Kant and strcgsle, curse and rave.
Suffer aironies distress. ng.
Or Cespltefully behave.
Snarling, stabbing, vitriol throwing.
All their venom they reveal;
It's their only way of showing
How such wretched croatures feel.
Jut at present we don't mind thtrm.
We can li t them bite and rage;
But some Ketilist's bound to find them
And put them on the stage.
Somewhere life 1 smoothly flowing
Somewhere) people laugh and play.
Somewhere there are faces glowing
With the pleasures of today.
We would like to hear the laughter
And to feel the J-y It brings.
But tho Realist follows after
Other harder, sterner thlncet.
Catching all the mystic beauty
Of th light nnd hnppy heart
Isn't his dramatic duty;
That is happiness not art
a a
, Inntleqnnlr.
The difficulty with the income tax
Is that it exempts the two most pros
perous clashes bandits and bootleg
gers. a
XntiarsIIy-
"Golf Now Played at Sea?" head
line. Why not. Isn't a ship always
on a course? ,
a
l,ooklnaT Toward reaee.
Why not make It a flx-peiwer
treaty and Include the Now York
gunmen?
(Copvrldht by the Pell Pvndtcate. Inc.)
Compensation.
II jr Grace K. Hnll.
One has the glory of sun and tra'l,
And bounding blood in bis veins.
And one has visage that's thin and
pale.
But multiplied golden gains;
He wins a succc that tho world)
loud sings,
And heralded far Is he.
But w pay no heed to the hidden
things
That our blind eyes never see.
The one bares his head to the ardent
sun
To warmth of its noonday r;low.
And hostren-rthene his smew one
by one
As the work-fi'led hours go;
Tho other must sit In a four-walled
room
Throuirh days that aro long and
still.
And, counting his gains, he will sea
no bloom
On tho clover-covered hill.
Fate holds up the scales In a steady
hand.
And silently works and weighs.
And thouRh we may question, mis
understand. She measures and sorts and pay;
And if wo are fair In our judgment,
thon
We'll know that she never fails,
For she deals out her goods at the
whims of men
Walls or the open trails.
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years Ago.
From The Oretronlan of January IS, 107.
SALE.M' The deadlock in the house
still holds. Three of the Benson men
met a committee of the Opposition to
effect a compromise, but were un
successful. Governor Pushnell of Ohio has In
dicated his intention of refusing to
appoint Mark llanna as senator to
succeed John Sherman.
OLTMPIA. Senator Squire and
Judge Turner put up a great fight
yesterday to tear to pieces the
middle-of-the-road populist compact.
Washington. The friends of th
Nicaragua canal bill expect It to be
taken up In the senate early In the
week.
Fifty Years Ago.
From The Orea-onlnn of January 1. 172.
"Enoch Arden," a beautiful and
popular drama, will be produced to
night at the Oro Pino theater.
A 'bellicose prisoner In tho city Jail
has been fined 40 for knocking sev
eral bricks out of the wall with his
fist. '
A bill has) been Introduced 1n tho
senate by Mr. Kamsey of Minnesota
to create the new territory of OJib
way out of tho northern part of Iha
present territory of Dakota.
A patent has boon taken for an
improved railroad car for the tranee
portatlon of grain which can bo un
leaded In three minutes.
KOHD'S METHODS AHR ADMIRF.lt
Writer Would Like to fire Hint' la
Control of All ISnllronds.
CASCADE LOCKS. Or.. Jaju IS.
(To the Editor.) The easiest way to
avert a railroad strike would be for
the companies to turn their roads
over to Henry Ford as old Junk and
et him remodel them and run them
on a paying basis and py the em-
p.oyes a living wage. 1 suggest that
President Harding and Mr. Hoovr
use their influence to help get the
roads Into Henry s liandj. He don t
have any trouble with strikes, and
don't seem to want his employes to
work for starvation wages.
Of course Henry won't ever amount
to much on account of being too good '
to the laboring class ot people. If
It was not for that on thing lm
would be the greatest man In tho
United States, but he could run tho
railroads all right and save a lot of
troirble. and he might let the old
companies work on the suctions for
$35 per month and board themselves.
The poor fellows are not making any
thing: their frensnt and passenger
rates are loo little; it only costs be
tween J30 and t0 to go from I'ort-
and to San Francisco. How can they
make anything at those bed-rock
rates? T. J. McKEA.N".
Information on AQNtrnlin.
GRANTS PASS, Or., Jan. 16. (To
the Editor.) Kindly tell me where
I can find information upon the fol
lowing question: What are tho op-r-ortunltles
for business Buccess for
an American in Australia, e. q., are
the chances for employment In va
rious lines. of Industry numerous, and
how do wages compare with those
of this country? A B. C
Communicate with the chamber of
commerce at Sydney or. Melbourne.
They will be glad to give you the
Information! you desire.
At
r