THE MORNING OREGOXIAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1023
ESTABLISH ED BY HENRY L. PITTOCK
Published by The Oregonlan Publishing Co.,
135 Sixth Street, Portland. Oregon.
C A. MORDEN', B. B. PIPER,
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PARTNERS, NOT VICTIMS,
It is worth while occasionally td
remind the people of the measure ot
their democracy, as the Hillsboro
Independent doej in an article
quoted In part today. For the pub
lic, or a portion of It, under the
spell of purposeful oratory. Is prone
to forget the full measure of its
power.
The Independent takes up only
the subject of state taxes. ' When
one enumerates) the possible checks
against legislative extravagance jhe
list becomes formidable. That taxes
have grown enormously despite these
available checks provokes only the
conclusion that the public has been
e'ither careless, indifferent or will
ing. .
The people's power begins with
the nomination of candidates for of-,
fice. The ballot is open to any
party member who has sufficient
standing to obtain a few sighatures
to a petition. His nomination rests
solely with the party members of
his district. If chosen as a candi
date his election thereafter rests
solely with all of the people of his
district. '
If his course after election does
not suit his constituents, they may
subject him to the .recall. At best
his term of office cannot be long if
the people in the succeeding general
election will his retirement.
The appropriation bills he helps
to pass are subject to the scrutiny
of a governor, also nominated and
elected by the people. The governor
may now veto a single item in" an
appropriation bill, or veto the whole
bill, in which event the item or bill
does not become law unless ap
proved by two-thirds of the legis
lative membership.
If an appropriation bill is ap-r
proved by both legislature and gov
ernor, the people may apply the
referendum to the whole bill or to
any item separately and decide for
themselves whether they want it.
State appropriations not voted by
the legislature are voted by the peo
ple themselves. Either they spring
from the people through the ini
tiative or they are referred to the
people voluntarily by the legislature.
It ia difficult to imagine a more
direct control of their own finances
by the people than this. Certainly
it is cheaper for the farmers to ini
tiate any measure they want or to ref
erend measures they do not want
than it is to contribute heavy dues
to a new party or league', which in
turn must logically resort to the
initiative and referendum to carry
out its programme.
But state taxes are by no means
the whole of the' story, as has been
pointed out before in these columns.
In Portland, for example, they con
stitute about one-fourth of the tax
payers' back-breaking burden. But
in local affairs the direct primary,
the recall, the initiative and the
referendum are also applicable.
Some district taxes are levied only
after affirmative vote of the people.
The route to lower taxation, as the
Hillsboro paper remarks, is not
through the setting of one element
of the people against the other ele
ments or through nursing the belief
that the people were victims instead
of partners in what has already been
done. The true way to economy is
through promotion of a programme
which aims positively at specific
eliminations, consolidations, curtail
ments and at repression of new, un
necessary governmental activities.
HOW OPEN CAN DITLOMACY BE?
President Harding's reply to the
senate's request for minutes of and
records of conversations at the arms
conference raises an interesting
question as to how far it is prac
ticable to conduct diplomatic nego
tiations successfully if exact records
are kept of every word that passes.
Agreement is promoted by freedom
of discussion, in which men do not
indulge if a stenographer is at hand
taking down their every vsrd. If in
a general conference a point of dis
agreement arises between two men
in particular and if they later talk
It over privately in an effort to get
together, is a stenographer to follow
them around?
Everybody knows that private
business, even on a grand scale, is
not done in that way. It could not
be, for under such conditions men
would hecome so cautious lest an
unguarded word should be held to
commit them to a bargain that they
would not venture to take the ini
tiative on a deal. Many pros and
cons are discussed, many changes of
terms made and not till a conclusion
is reached in conversation is any
thing reduced to writing. . Should
not the same practice be followed in
diplomacy? -
There is danger that in the re
action from secret diplomacy we
may go to an Impossible extreme.
It should surely suffice to record all
proceedings in full conference and
in full committee, to publish them
promptly and to publish treaties ai.
soon as they are drafted, and even
before they are signed. To record
all that is said at an informal meet
ing of a sub-committee or in con
versation between two or three dele
gates would be to carry open di
plomacy lo an absurd degree and
seriously to obstruct any interna
tional negotiations. If the general
discussion by which conclusions are
reached and every agreement of any
kind are made public, we shall have
all the- publicity that is either prac
ticable or desirable.
This was done at the 'Washington
conference, and never before was
diplomacy so open, either as to1 the
fullness of reports or the prompt
ness with which proceedings were
made known to all the world. In
calling for more, critics of the
treaties seek to soften the sharp con
trast with the Paris conference or to
find a pretext for opposing ratification.
ONCE MORE HE VIEWS WITH ALARM.
Senator La Follette Is himself
again, the Battling Bob of other and
more glorious days, the nnterrified
guardian-of the people's rights, the
undaunted spokesman of the Wis
consin idea, which was that the
union Is made up of forty-eight
states Wisconsin and forty-seven
others. Let the tail wag the dog,
says Wisconsin. La Follette gets
away with it always in Wisconsin".
Nowhere else.
Naturally, Mr. La Follette ' Is
against the four-power -treaty.' He
sees in it a new and dastardly project
of imperialism. "It is," he cries,
"nothing more or less than a binding
alliance with the three great im
perialistic nations of the present
time, which pledges the United
States to place all her resources Of
men and money at their disposal
whenever they are attacked. . . ,
We will .be bound, if we- ratify this
treaty, to send our sons once more
to the assistance of the British em
pire, If any of the oppressed peoples
who are today crushed under the
heel of her government should dare
to rise in open rebellion and. make
war against her." i
Mr. La Follette has never been
able to get away .from the notion
that the United States was cajoled.
Inveigled, coerced, trapped Into the
European war to assist the British'
empire. He would have had us stay
out, as his vote against the declara
tion of war with Germany showed.
What if Germany won? a Follette
was not worried at the prospect.
The small grain of truth In all the
La Follette chaff about the four
power treaty is 'that the four powers
agree in advance to discuss the ques
tion in order to decide on a. course
of action in case their respective in
terests in the Pacific are threatened.
That is quite a different thing from
pledging American resources in men
and money to support British im
perialism in any part of the world,
as La Follette charges. But it is
enough for La Follette to picture to
his constituents the frightful ap
parition of American partnership in
the ruthless schemes of British mil
itarism. Did we say enough? Half of it
would be enough for La Folletta.
NEW FUR TRADE ROMANCE.
The shipment out of Russia of
some fifty million dollars' worth of
furs in pursuance of the Bolshevist
plan of socializing the resources of
the country serves as a reminder of
an early time when the fur trade
excited the cupidity of men. Fifty
million dollars' worth is a vast store
of furs,, a good many times the
quantity in all probability that was
taken from the Northwest in the
palmy days of the traffic. It will be
remembered that the old Hudson's
Bay company thought it was doing
a huge business when it handled
somewhat less than half a million
dollars' worth a year. The bolshe
vists would compress a cdhtury ot
the old fur trade into a season They
have collected their furs, too, after
a method differing only In kind but
not altogether in its ethical founda
tion from the system employed In
the troubled times of the business a
century and a half ago.
The fur trade has always been in
vested with the air of primitive
romance. Its incitements to adven
ture no less than its promise of pe
cuniary profit attracted to .it a pe
culiarly striving class of men. It is
still remembered that a deal in furs
made as the result of an expedition
to the Facific ocean before American
independence was won was largely
Instrumental in Inducing exploration
of the northwest coast and that the
discovery of the Columbia river was
directly due to the enterprise of fur
traders. The methods of these first
traders in their efforts to "socialize
the resources" of the aborigines may
have been less direct and candid, but
they exhibited scarcely more regard
for rights in property than Is now
manifested in Russia under the hew
order. The bolshevists are' seizing
their furs wherever they can find
them; the trader of old resorted to
the slightly less obvious expedient of
paying for them in articles of small
value at an appraisal vastly below
their actual commercial worth.
These are but sidelights upon the
history of a period fraught "with
great consequence to modern civil
ization. The fur trade was an inci
dent in the development of a conti
nent, in the subjugation of a race
and the substitution of a new order
fer an old; but it was a symbol also
of the mighty Influence of the mo
tive of gain in the progress of- men.
Like the ancient spice trade, and
like the queBt of the treasure of the
Incas, tie fur business prepared the
way for other men with other de
sires. It would be futile to attempt
to estimate how long the conquest
of western North America would
have been postponed if trapper and
trader had not been first led to ex
plore its wilds, and so preceded, first
the Christian missionaries and next
the pioneers who came to stay, but
we hazard little on the guess that
it would have been delayed a hun
dred years. The philosopher will bo
inclined to say that the cupidity of
the trader was but the- outward
manifestation of the desire of the
race for better things and the his
torian is apt to accept' the view that
the outcome justified the methods
employed. But these are issues of
ethics with which the trade did not
much concern Itself for ethics were
no more a part of the fur trade then
than they ar6 of bolshevism now.
It is trite to say again that the
luxuries of yesterday become, the
necessities of today, but the now
classic fur trade is a reminder also
that the furs for which men used
to risk their fortunes and their liyee
were not in the beginning worn by
Europeans, but were sold to oriental
satraps and mandarins, a good while
later were affected by the mors
wealthy people of. Europe and
America and that not until about the
time of the World's Columbian ex
position at Chicago did they become
popular with the ordinary run of
folks.. But from the time that they
first began to be Used as trimmings
on the garments of practically all
classes, the growth of the business
has been unrestrained.
The gentleman adventurers of the
,7 -
briglnal Hudson's Bay company
would rub their eyes in astonish
ment if they could see the traffic
that has been built upon the founda
tion they laid. The old concern, no
longer a monopoly, but stimulated
by competition from a hundred
sources, now adventures across the
Pacific for the peltries of another
continent; Japanese traders are free
lancing across the North Pacific,
through the Aleutian islands and up
the Alaskan coast on the old trail
of the sable and the fox. Game'
farms are springing up on the east
ern shores of Canada that are worth
more than the gntlre Invested, capi
tal of .the original. Hudson's Bay
company. Beaver trapping has been
resumed In the states bordering on
the Great Lakes. St. Louis, the fur
capital of - America in the second,
third . and fourth decades of the
nineteenth century, again strives
with London for the premiership of
the same old trade in the markets
Of the world.
For furs are no longer for the ex
clusive wea of nabobs. The vastly
leveling . processes by which de
mocracy develops have made them
prime articles of desire in all the
civilized world. A new topic is sug
gested by this latest phase of an old
time vocation a topic interesting
alike to romancer, philosopher and
historian.
DRIVEN OCT BY DEMAGOGY.
The sort of political flubdub on
which partisan democrats rely may
attract some men who cannot or will
not think for themselves, but it re
pels men ' like ex-Senator George
Turner of Spokane, who thinks Inde
pendently. Though he voted for
Governor Cox for president In 1920
and has been a democrat for a quar
ter pf a century, he is so disgusted
with the demagogic course of the
democratic leaders that he has with
drawn from their party. He says
that with regard to President .Hard
ing's calling of the arms conference
the democratic leaders in the senate
"became demagogues and took a
partisan stand against him for ad
vocating what In substance they
themselves had advocated a few
months before." ' He, says that "the
unwise and inequitable provisions of
the income tax and excess profit tax
laws are a large cause of the suf
fering in the country today," but:
The democratic leaders have opposed
any attempt to change them, under their
demagogic cry of such action being a move
to relieve wealth, a cry designed purely to
attract the common people, and without
truth In Iacts.
Nor can he understand the posi
tion of the democrats on the tariff,
for he believes in protection, though
not in "the tariff wall erected by
the republicans and by which great
corporations were allowed to wax
wealthy."
Such utterances by a man of Mr.
Turner's character and ability are
significant and are worthy of atten
tion from leaders of both parties.
The huge majority given President
Harding in 1920 was In large part
the result of revolt against the un
bending partisanship of President
Wilson and his followers, of which
their stand on the league of nations
was an example. They drove a host
of men who have no firmly fixed
party allegiance into the republican
ranks. Mr. Harding endeavors to
give effect by his policy to the wjshes
of these people as Well as his parti
san followers. That is evidenced by
his summoning of the arms confer
ence, by his advocacy of laws for tie
relief of the farmers and by his
course with regard to the soldiers'
bonus and taxation. He pursues a
course by which he will retain the
support of the thinking, independent
element.
PORTLAND SHOULD OWN SHIPS.
Affairs In regard to the American
merchant marine are fast drawing to
a head. When the president is about
to urge upon congress a plan for
government aid and to call for action
at this session, and when the ship
ping board is already advertising its
passenger ships for sale, we may ex
pect a drive to sell all of the
emergency fleet that is salable until
it has passed Into private hands. The
time is not far distant when Port
land will not be able to depend on
ships allocated by the board to a
local company as operating agent for
direct service to foreign ports. The
vessels now In operation across the
Pacific ocean may be sold to some
company that will operate them
from some other port. We should
then be dependent for service on ,
some American company controlled
by another port and making this,
merely a port of call or on foreign
lines.
Only one way is open for Portland
to retain the trans-oceanic service
that it now has, the commerce that
service has brought to the port, and
to expand that service and that com
merce, without risk of diversion to
rival ports. That is, to enter the
market with a company capitalized
and safely controlled in this port and
to buy ships. By the fight that we
have made for a position of equality
with other Pacific ports, by our
stand for open competition between
ports, each controlling its own trans
Pacific line in opposition to the
policy of pools or combines, we have
become the champion of the com
petitive policy. It is up to Portland
to prove its faith by putting the com
petitive policy in effect when oppor
tunity offers. , ,
The situation is most favorable
for success of that policy. It is gen
erally agreed that the most pro
pitious time to engage in a new busi
ness is when prices of all that must
be consumed and all that will be
produced has reached bedrock or
has just begun to rise. Then the
necessary plant can be secured and
materials can be .bought at the min
imum cost, the capital required and
the overhead cost of operation are
held down, and as the market im
proves the field can be covered in
advance of competitors who enter
when prosperity is in full tide. That
is the situation with regard to ship
ping. The world price of tonnage is
almost, if not quite, down to bed
rock, and it will be possible to buy
atone-sixth of the price asked two
years ago. Manifestly foreign com
merce has begun to revive and the
impetus to economic reconstruction
in all countries is so strong that the.
volume of sea .traffic will surelj
continue to increase. There is such
a deficiency of necessaries, not to
speak of luxuries, in the eld world
that, as buying power increases,
ocean traffic will enormously swell.
The effect will be employment of all
seaworthy ships and profitable ocean
freight rates.
The difference in cost of operation
between American and foreign ships
has been greatly reduced during and
since the war, for American cost
has about gone back to pre-war
figures, while foreign cost remains j
considerably above those figures. The J
aid which the government will give '
should be sufficient to wipe out any
remaining difference. American
ships will surely have liberal mail
contracts and all transportation of
army supplies, probably a rebate On
the duty on Imports that they carry
and a bonus - for men enrolled in
the naval reserve. The shipping
board is preparing recommendations
for revision of the shipping and sea
men's laws, which should reduce
cost. If American cost should still
remain higher than foreign, the dif
ference would be so small that a
subsidy to cover It would be pre
ferred either to continued operation
by the government at a loss of
$4,000,000 a month for the few ves.
els that are not laid up or to aban
donment of the ocean-carrying busi
ness to other nationa
A city does not become a port In
the full sense of the term until it
owns ships which will serve its com
merce in good time and bud, be
cause they are a part of its business
life, bringing raw material to its fac
tories and foreign products to its
merchants and delivering its goods
abroad for both manufacturers and
merchants. By that means they can
be sure of cargo space, while for
eign vessels and those controlled at
other ports are constantly tempted
by Immediate profit or by favoritism
for their home ports to suspend
service or to give preference to com
peting ports. Portland has demon
strated by the great volume of com
merce that it has handled In the last
two years that it has great and
growing traffic in its home territory,
far more th& its competitors on the
north and south. . The ties between
railroads and steamship lines which
direct the bulk of overland traffic.
especially of imports, to other ports
are being broken. Portland' vessels
will then get full cargoes both ways,
and hold their own with any com
petitors.
.The people of Portland have dis
played their confidence in their own
port by voting many millions of
dollars In taxes to improve the chan
nel and to build docks. They realize
that it pays to do thiB, for the splen
did showing that they have made in
shipping business is the result, and
would have been impossible if that
expenditure had ' not been made.
Ships come here because they can
make money. By the results of the
Columbia Pacific's operations Port
land people have proved that they
can operate ships as efficiently as
those of any other port. That is a
good, reason for becoming owner
and securing some of the profit made
possible by the people's expenditure
on port development. Shipping is a
facility of the mercantile and manu
facturing business of this port and
of the entire Columbia basin. The
people have shown their ability and
readiness to Invest in their own pub
lic utilities, manufactures, . wool
warehouses. The great majorities
by which they have voted bonds to
improve their harbor show that their
interest in the shipping business is
keen. If offered the opportunity
through a well-organized company
under skillful management, they
would seize it and would back their
confidence with their money. The
time is ripe for action.
Not everybody can be so agile and
fortunate in jumping out of a win
dow to escape a Jioldup as the wood
yard man on the east side the other
night, and not everybody should try
it. Better the loss of a few dollars
than a broken neck or limb.
The internal revenue bureau Issues
the cheering information that tax
able incomes for 1919 showed an
increase of $4,000,000,000 over those
of 1918. But not much of that 1919
income will be left when the 1921
taxes are paid.
If there is one place where time Is
an essence it is In a scholhouse on
fire. Mr. Bigelow Will do Well to
place alarm boxes in all of thenj,
something that might have- been
done long ago. We cannot always
be lucky. , .
If the McCormlck girl was not
heiress to several millions she could
marry any old man without eliciting
more than a sniff or a "humph!''
from the male sex. She is a dutiful
daughter to come home to ask
"dad."
' psycho-analyst in New York
settles one point by saying Taylor
was shot by a blonde and argues to
his own satisfaction. All they need
do now is sift the blondes, throwing
out the peroxide article.
Chicago pastors, peeved . by non
attendance, propose to send their
sermons by wireless to the links on
Sunday mornings. ,They will be
lucky if comment does not get back
by wireless. -
- To judge from the salaries asked
by me of these professional ball
players, one reason the baseball
magnates want Judge Landis may be
to slap on a few $29,000,000 fines.
Is It a contest or what at Los
Angeles? There is a new theory of
the Taylor murder daily. A lot-of
powerful brain matter is being
wasted,
Lobster a la Newberg is off for the
time being,' the shipment Of 6000
cans from South Africa to the Yam
hill town having spoiled on the way,-
A Massachusetts professor says
the metal coffeepot ia unsafe. Yet
the old tinpot helped settle this
country west of the Alleghanys.
Secretary Fall's denial that he will
resign must be displeasing to those
persons who want to take a Fall out
of the administration.
Low round-trip rates and they
are low to eastern points have been
announced. That evens the favor to
this north coast.
Japan wants none of the honor
able birth control, but will allow
Mrs. Sanger to tour the country on
conditions.
Opening of practice by the Cubs
yesterday starts the first low hum of
what soon shall be the roar of "Play
ball!"
No use in trying to belittle the
grip by calling It a cold. Consult a
doctor and live long afterward,
Perhaps many are waiting the
chance to "punch the last hole in
the chest. - .
The Listening Post.
By DeWItt Harry.
WEATHER sharks sometimes ven
. tare their predictions of cli
matic change after feeling a rheu
matic twitch or analyzing the ache of
a pet corn. One of our most reliable
amateur prophets swears he gets all
ma weather information through: close
observation, of red-headed girls. Be
all that as It may the fact is that a
store-mada barometer is not an abso
lute necessity to set up In business as
an expert predictor.
Take the case of S. a. Kelly, fairly
accurate in his bulletins issued from
the grocery store at East Eightieth
and Burnside streets. - Now Kelly
knows Montavilla weather In all Its
quirks and absurdities, but he doe
not go it alone. Olive oil is hla as
sistant He worked It all out from
close watch over the olive oil he kept
In stopk, noticing that it became
cloudy, thick and murky at times.
Now figured Kelly there inust be
some reason for thist
Let the bottles get opaque and
Kelly knows that a high east wind is
coming, or something of the sort, and
if a sediment appears he knows that
sleet' or some other severe visitation
Is due. As soon as the bright oil loses
or regains it transparency Kelly plots
out tha weather dish that is due, and
he njoys an enviable reputation as a
seer. In the midst of a severe storm
Kelly has been known seemingly to
fly right In the face of reason by tell
ing a customer that sunshine was due
within a few hours. He would notice
his olive- oil barometer clearing up,
Olive oil Is extremely sensitive. . It
feels all weathe changes and abrupt
or coming fluctuations affect its
aolider fats. The purer the oil the
more noticeable is the change. Purs
olive oil will begin to cloud at i de
grees centigrade and will deposit 2S
per cent stearin at fi degrees. Adul
terants show up plainly and its ac
tion as a barometer is not unknown.
"The Incidental doings of Paui
Bunyon, as reported in The-Oregonias
from time to 'time, amuse me," says
J. L. Rockwell, "the various claims
and conjectures as to his initial job
and his life work, are astonishing. It
is evident your correspondents are
prompted splely by hearsay and never
knew Paul personally. He merely
dabbled in the logging industry while
resting, and fooled around, a little
while, with Messrs. Puget and Hood
while on a pleasure trip to the Pa
cific , coast. His first real work, as
we old-timers in Wyoming, who
played with him as boys well know,
was the building of Jackson's Hole.
"The bad men of that state finally
got so bad the rapidly increasing pop
ulace concluded they should have a
sheriff, so a sheriff was appointed.
This1 act frightened the bad men near
ly out of thei wits, and they saw at
a glance, that they must provide
themselves with a lair, a place where
they could 'hole up' when the sheriff
picked up their trail. In looking
about for a suitable location, they
dropped a word or two which were
seized upon and picked up by tha re
sourceful Paul, who called into con
vention all the bad men of the state
and laid before them his plan.
"The result was, Paul purchased my
father's blue ox and old man jack
son's scraper and swung the lower
end of the Teton range of mountains
around from Idaho into Wyoming.
This caused the governor of Idaho to
enter a protest, but Paul Set him back
in his gubernatorial chair, so to
speak, by telling h::n that one word
more from him, and he, Paul, would
go over and get the Boise basin.
While this verbal spat was going on'
with the Idaho governor, Paul busied
himself by moving down a few hills
from the north, where the United
States government thought of build
ing a park, and Completed the "Hole."
Paul had just tossed a couple of tons
of baled hay to tha ox 'to nibble on,
and was considering several strategic
points for an opening where he, and
the ox, could get Out, and the bad
men get in, when a United States of
ficial, backed by several companies of
regulars, voiced the president's ob
jection to his'operatlons. It was then,
and only' then, that Paul became
peeved. As he placed his boyish foot
against the great hill Of fresh earth
and stone and gave a mighty shove,
which accounts for the wonderful
point of Ingress and egress, he ex
claimed, 'You go' back and tell the
president that if he don't keep his
finger out Of this little affair, I'll re
fuse to dig Snake river for him!'
"The digging of Snake river put
Ideas into the minds of Paul and the
president, but that Is another story,
as the book sharp would say."..
"
Charles Olsen, the blacksmith poet
of the lumber camps, sends the Post
his latest sonnet called, "Woodman's
Communion." .
t pause In my labor and lift my gaze
To a picture of green and gold and white,
Where the somber hues of the pines unite
With the flint of show, in the shadow?
haze; . "
Where distance fades, at the rim of space.
The crystal peak of a mountain height -Glows
with a wonderful fervent light
In the ecstacy of the gun's embrace.
Softly the god of the wilderness
Breathes on the silent, dreaming trees;
1 bare my head to the cool caress
Of the gentle, balsam-scented breeze;
Faintly I hea'r a stirring pine
Whisper t mysteries divine.
Downtown . business developments
continue apace and the changes in
what might be called the "personality"-
of establishments sometimes
affords a study in - contrasts. For
years in the basement of a central
office building a bowling alley drew
a good trade. Kent increases and
other causes forced the amusement
enterprise to taove. Now this place
is a model of speckless white, enam
eled and tUed, the home of a firm
dealing In medical and surgical tools
and equipment. Gone the cry, "Set
them Up In the other alley," now the
talk Is all of forceps, lancets, knives
and anaesthesia.
..
Box hedges make a splendid ap
pearance when properly trimmed. In
some of the older districts of the city
they add greatly to the negihborhood
attraction. LaBt year. In the central
east side section ot the City, one
hedge had a strange appearance. For
most of Its length it was cropped
close as 'the best gardeners would
have it. However there was cne sec
tion that had not known the touch
of the pruning shears. .The reason
was that a bird had chosen this spot
for a nest, and the owner of the house
refused to trim the nearby hedge un
til the youngsters had been hatched
and could take care of themselves.
Those Who Come and Go.
' Tales of Folks at the Hotels.
With the completion of 4500 feet
of the north jetty at the mouth of the
Umpqua river, J.' Hawkins Napier of
Reedsport states that already they
have 18 feet depth at the bar instead,
of 12 and that with the completion
of the balance, amounting to 3050
feet, it is expected that there will be
a permanent depth of 5 feet. "The
work was cOmmence'd in 1917,", said
Mr. Napier, "and $200,000 was raised
by the port of Umpqua for the project
and $250,000 more has become avail
able for; the continuation , of the work.
Efforts have been made to have the
government appropriate $267,500,
which we will match with an equal
amount; in fact, $200,000 of - our
amount has already been raised. The
present possible tonnage per year, as
a result of the expeditures made,
amounts to 250,000 tons, incoming and
outgoing. Some idea of future ton
nage can be gained from the esti
mate that the standing timber on the
watersheds adjacent to the harbor is
60,000,000,000 feet. Lumber is not be
ing shipped to California, and sup
plies and freight are brought by way
of the ocean to Reedsport and ad
joining country. With a harbor 12
miles long and from 1800 td 2400 feet
wide and deep water at the bar, we
feel Reedsport has a bright future.
Mr. Napier Is registered at the Mult
nomah. Usually after a business depression
a man doesn't care how quick tha
business "comes back" or how fast
the stuff he has to sell increases in
market value. John Kilkenny of
Heppner, Or., however, is an excep
tion. Mr. Kilkenny Is in the sheep
business. He runs a mere trifle of
about 20,000 sheep, so it can be un
derstood that he watches the game
and is interested in whatever hap
pens in the industry. At the Imperial
yesterday Mr. Kilkenny expressed the
fear that the sheep business is com
ing back too fasti He thinks it would
be better If the return, to higher prices
would come about in a more gradual
manner than In the sudden jump
which has characterized it within the
past few weeks. -Lambs, ha explained,
have more than doubled in value re
cently. Not long ago lambs could be
bought for $2.50 any amount of
them and the other day lambs,
sheared, were sold for $8 a head,
which is indicative of the way the
sheep business is moving. Wool, too,
said Mr. Kilkenny, is going up faster
than he cares to see it; he wants- a
high price for wool, naturally, but he
would prefer that the quotation
moved upward more sedately. "I
never lost confidence In the sheep
business," says he, "even when it was
shot to pieces and the bottom had
dropped out of it, for I realized that
It would Improve -it had to al
though a lot of sheepmen have had
a hard Struggle holding on,"
The main claim of Maryhill for
fame is that it was started by Sam
Hill and named after his wife. Sam
Hill, being one of the most enthusias
tic road builders in the world, went
to the expense of having a lot of
hard-surfaced pavement laid at Mary
hill, just as a demonstration of what
should be done, and thereafter, until
the road germ developed, he used to
bring officials from Oregon, Wash
ington and elsewhere to Maryhill to
examine the pavement. Later Mr.
Hill started the construction of a reg
ular castle at Maryhill, making the
building of concrete, with walls thick
enough to resist a seige gun. Frances
M. Jordan of Maryhill, Wash., is
among the arrivals at the Imperial.
Brightwood, On the road to Mount
Hood, ,is where O. G. Mclntyre regis
ters from at the Imperial. There used
to be a very steep grade near by,
which was known as Mclntyre hill,
and motorists going to Government
camp never had much fondness for
this grade. The- loop road, graded by.
the state highway commission, has
eliminated the hill. Mr. Mclntyre is
hoping that by the time the summer
season opens the graded road Will be
covered with a rock surface. This,
however, appears to depend on wheth
er Multnomah county "kicks through
with some $80,000 which it promised
tor the construction of the loop this
year.
R. H. Bunnell, county judge' of
Klamath county, is in the city with
his wife. Judge Bunnell is an enthu
siastic road man and it is his ambi
tion to see that his county has a good
system of roads, with all the co-oper
ation that he can get out of the state
highway commission and the federal
government. The county has a bond
issue under way for the purpose o
raising more money for the develop
ment of the road system. While the
judge was here yesterdayfedral offi
cials from Washington virtually ap
proved one of the big road projects in
Klamath county.
"They are paying a dollar on every
sheep to hold the wool, observed
W. B. Barratt of Morrow' county,
sheepman and member of the state
highway commission, "and they are
Charging no Interest I have contract
ed all of my wool at a very satisfac
tory Tigure. The sheep industry is
Iookinggood." Having contracted for
this season's clip, Mr. Barratt came
to Portland to confer with a couple of
officials of the forest bureau from
Washington, D. C, and to get Into
action for the regular monthly meet
ing of the commission, which opens
today. ' '
Standing out like a lighthouse in a
fog is the signature of P. J. Stadel
man ot The .Dalles, reg'stered at the
Mulfnomah. Mrt Stadelman, mayor
in his home town, requires two lines
to write h's name, Just the same as
GeiSVge L. Baker, the Portland mayor.
Dr. Hector MacPherson of the Ore
gon Agricultural college, is in the
city to attend the r meeting of the
state tax investigation commission,
now in session. The doctor has been
requested by the commission to make
a study of inheritance taxes.
Umapine Is where It E. Bean lives,
but he registered at the Hotel Oregon
from Freewater, which Is his post
office. Mr. Bean Is one of the com
missioners of UmatUla county and is
here to attend the meeting of the
state highway commission.
S. L. Eschen of Leona, Or., is at the
Multnomah. Leona is a lumber 'town
on the Pacific highway, where the
logs are brought down to the mill by
a railroad which comes from some
where in the mountains. Mr. Eschen
is in the lumber business. ,
Cattle are getting scarce In Sher
man county, so Grover Stockhouse,
who is in the butcher business at
Wasco, has had to come to Portland
to buy stock for his trade in the
local yards. Mr. Stockhouse is regis
tered at the Hotel Oregon.
P. J. WorraH, hotel manager of
Tillamook, is registered at the Hotel
Oregon. -
Experienced Boy Applies.
Christian Register.
A Japanese "boy" came to the home
of a minister in Los Angeles recently
and applied fo'r a position. Now it
happened that the household was al
ready well supplied with servants, so
the minister's wife said, "I am sorry,
but wa really haven't enough Work to
keep another boy busy."
"Madame," said the oriental polite
ly, "I am sure that you must have
You may not know what a little bit
of work it takes to keep me em
Burroughs Nature Club.
Copyright, Houghton-Mifflin Co.
Cam Yoa Answer These lnrtlonst
1. Can you give a recipe for a
home-made scent to attract skunks
and coyotes?'
2. Is it true that toads live to be
very old?
3. If birds have their eyes on the
side of the head, can they sea one
object with both eyes at once?
Answers In tomorrow's nature notes,
,a ' a a
. Answers to Previous Questions.
1. Which sex In parrots is most
easily taught to talk?
There is no difference in ability as
Influenced by sex. Of course indi
viduals will differ a good deal, and
sometimes a male might prove more
teachable of two birds; but this es
tablishes no general rule as to in
telligence and ability to imitate.
' . .
. 2. Is there any such thing as a
"doodle bug?"
Not In the dictionary, but this name
is sometimes given locally to one of
the ant-lions, myrmeleonidae. These
Insects live at the bottom of little
funnel-shaped pits, into which drop
ether insects that may happen to
wander onto the shifting edge of the
sand pit. The ant-lion has powerful
Jaws. It is the larval stage of a
creature that later comes out adult
with wings.
a a a
I. How can I feed my pet chame
leons? I have been giving them flies,
but the supply Is gone In winter, and
they will not touch raw meat They
have been taking sugar and water.
We have frequent questions on the
care of "chameleons," the small green
lizards that change color. Insects are
the natural food. They will not take
earth worms. Sugar and water is
no proper diet and they eat it only
to quench thirst Their quarters
should be sprinkled with fine spray
of water, as in nature they drink dew
drops. Try mealworms, also roaches
for solid food.
PEOPLE PARTNERS WOT VICTIMS
Tax Situation Wholly Within Their
Own Control, Says Newspaper.
Hillsboro Independent
It Is evident that Mr. Brown of the
Farmers' union is one who believes In
setting one element of the peeple
against other elements and who be
lieves that' distrust by a portion of
the people of the rest of the people
Is to be preferred to a united people
working for the good of all. In doing
this it would appear that a little thing
like the real facts does not enter Into
his consideration. Thus, last week, In
dealing with the plight of farmers
Who have been unable to pay their
taxes and whose property will be sold
for delinquency, he remarked that
"they now have you where theyVant
you" and the end will be a class of a
few landowners and the rest tenants.
Exactly, and the audience evidently
took him at his word, for they ap
plauded -not the condition that he
predicted, but his arraignment of some
indefinite oppression. (.
But let us see. Who are "they" and
Just what possible conspiracy could
"they" put over and how could "they"
do it?
Taxes are Imposed and expenditures
created in two ways in Oregon, and
in both, under tha boasted Oregon
system, the people have a direct voice
and can control. Expenditures direct
ly by the state are ordered by the leg
islature, and they are subject to the
referendum also. The legislature Is
composed of men supposed to be di
rectly selected by the people, for they
are not only elected by the people, but
voters are given an opportunity by
means of a preliminary expensive pri
mary election to decide who shall ap
pear on the ballot.
If the course of these men has not
been satisfactory; it their legislative
acts are bringing ruin, who is to
blame? Elections are held every two
yeafra and if policies have not been
satisfactory to the people they could
have changed things any time they
wished.
Expenditures not voted by the leg
islature are voted by the people them
selves. They may be proposed by the
legislature or initiated, but in either
event it require a vote of the people.
Advance notice- of such proposals is
always given far in advance and vot
ers have abtfndant opportunity to
study their merits. If appropriations
which are now burdensome have been
made In this way, who is to blame?
The point we are endeavoring to
show is that responsibility must be
placed where it belongs if anything
is to be accomplished. People must
understand that if the burdens they
have created are now oppressive they
must set about undoing the mischief
in the same orderly fashion in which
they performed it, and not be misled
by attempts to place responsibility in
some indefinite direction.
It is a time for common sense and
the faddists, wild-eyed preachers of
class consciousness, and those who
would secure prestige by appeals to
ignorance must be relegated to the
background.
Attempts of speakers to place re
sponsibility other than where it be
longs and to instill into the hearts of
their hearers the belief that they are
victims Instead of partners In a wrong
is a movement in the opposite direc
tion and cannot bring relief.
As we have said above, facts are
disagreeable things, but they must
sometimes be faced and this is one of
the times.
Let us all accept full responsibility
and then set about undoing the mis
chief in a sensible way.
READY TO FIGHT AGAINST DEBT
Kx-Soldier Says He Fought for I'' las;
anal Country, Not for Bonus.
SOUTH BEND, Wash., Feb. 19.
(To the Editor,) The main topic of
tha day is the soldier bonus. The
more I read about it the more my
American red blood boils In my veins.
So I say as' an ex-service man, down
with the bonus bill, and down with it
to defeat The nation is staggering
with debts. What is the use of drag
ging our nation deeper In mire?
tl joined the colors to defend our
fiag and country. I am eligible to
bonus, if there be one. But I did not
fight for bonus but for our flag and
country. I am going to fight the
bonus with the same vigor and en
ergy. This bonus must be settled
once for all ana must be defeated at
any cost
Personally, I thank your represent
ative, Mr. McArthur, from the third
district of Oregon, for taking such a
stand as he does, and I sincerely hope
that the congress will not be blind
folded when the members vote on
this so-called bonus bill.
JOSEPH JANALIK.
Petition tn Bankruptcy.
PORTLAND, Feb. 20. (To the Edi
tor.) We owe several hundred dol
lars and cannot find any way to mee:
the bills by day's work. We have a
small piece of timber, not worth
much. Could we go bankrupt? And
how could we go bankrupt? What
does it cost to take advantage of the
bankrupt law A SUBSCRIBER.
A petition in Voluntary bankruptcy
can be filed with the United States
court. The timber land would have
to be listed among the assets. Fil
ing fees, for individuals, are $30.
More Truth Than Poetry.
By James J. Montague.
THE ORCHARDIST TO Tal WOOD.
HAW.
(With apologies.)
Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough,
In youth it was small use to me;
But things are different now.
Although its fruit was sweet
It had but small appeal,
More ardently I longed to aat
The fruit I had to steal. ,
But now this single tree
Tou fain would have attacked.
13 all the chance that's left to me
To beat the Volstead act
The apples that I spurned.
Before the land went dry.
To sparkling cider may be turned
When ripened, by and by.
v - s
Great Jugs, with cider filled.
1 11 bear upon my back.
To town, where they will be distilled
To luscious apple jack.
And though, bleak, chill and raw
Shall blow the wintry blast,
I shall not know the Volstead law
Was ever even passed!
So Woodman, spare that tree.
Or there will be a row.
Those apples mean my hootch to me;
Til fight to save 'em now!
a
No Wonder He Blew.
DeValera'a big mistake was in not
changing his name to Clancy or
Cassidy or something like that before
he went into Irish politics.
a
Natural Enough.
The rumor that jazz is dead is mado
credible by the fact that It has been
so much In company with bootleg
liquor of late.
' .
The Law of the Average.
Conservatism Is something that
makes the world safe for mediocrity.
(Copyright 1922, by the Bell Syndi
cate, Inc.)
In Other Days.
Fifty Years Ago.
From The Oregonian of February 21, 1872.
Salem A flood In the Willamette
river laBt Monday night caused the
south Salem sawmill to lose a large
loom of logs. In the bottoms above
here, farmers lost many of their cat
tle and bodies of these animals are
floating by here continually.
The empress of Germany -recently
offered Alfred Tennyson a situation
a3 her private secretary, not knowing
that he had recently acquired a job
cu a New Tork newspaper.
Tha railroad ferry boat got a con
siderable stove the other day by run
ning too Violently against the east
side pontoon bridge, and is now laid
up for repairs.
The Washington guard are making
diligent preparations for their tenth
anniversary ball to take place to
morrow night
Twenty-five Years Ago.
From The Oregonlan of February 21, 1S97.
The first party of settlers from
Illinois who are to locate near the
town of McCoy in the Willamette
valley and other points in the state
will assemble in and leave Chicago
next eaturuay morning.
The medals that are to be pre
sented next Monday night to mem
bers and ex-members of first regi
ment Oregon national guard, for
long and faithful service are now on
display in a downtown Bhow window.
An employe of the B. O. T. com
pany has departed from the city with
out leaving an address after having
collected numerous accounts of the
company.
SAM IS OLD SOURCE OF TROUBLE
Woman's nt Bottom of Crime and
Divorce Waves, Says Male.
KELSO, Wash., Feb. 20. (To the
Editor.) It seems to me fnat there is
a great deal of beating about the
bush to arrive at the causes of the
crime and divorce evils that are tak
ing hold of the country.. If you look
at It correctly and are not afraid to
express yourself, you will find that
the cause of both evils is nothing but
a wiftnan.
Now, as to the crime wave among
the' young men. It is not caused by
lack of bringing up, as The Oregonian
has said in "Going to the Source,"
but from the fact that the young men
coming of age have no employment
Their sisters have taken their pros
pective jobs at the baker's and can
dlestick maker's. The flappers want
the jobs to make money to buy silk
hose and have what they call a good
time a thing that their fathers can
not furnish. The boys being idle and
wishing money as much as do their
sisters and, not being able to get
work, they naturally revert to crime
to supply them with the money also
to have a good time.
When a boy gets a job and holds
it and knows that he will not be
ousted by some woman, his mind be
gins to center on the business that he
is In and he schemes to own a busi
ness of his own, with a little home in
the suburbs where he 'can cage his
favorite bird. The little bird will
keep the home nice and trim for her
lord and master, and, r.ot thinking of
divorce after she has been caged,
knowing full well that if 90 per cent
of the jobs are filled by men she will
have a slim chance of getting one
upon being divorced. Consequently
she does not easily get dissatisfied
With her lot and husband, but vents
her spleen In gossip with her neigh
bor. In the course of time she finds
contentment In her brood of little
huskies and a happy home in a
country of few divorces and little
crime. - J. HENAULT.
ORfGIX OF MOUSETRAP SAYING
Elbert Huhbard Said to Have Em
ployed It in Lecture.
FORT MADISON, Ia., Feb. 16. (To
the Editor.) "If a man writes a bet
ter book, preaches a better sermon,
or makes a better mousetrap than his
neighbor, though ho build his house
ia the woods, the world will make a
beaten jiath to his door."
The authorship of the above quota
tion, white often credited to Emer
son, is generally attributed through
out the advertising fraternity to the
late Elbert Hubbard of East Aurora.
New York.
I am acquainted with advertising
men who claim to have been in the
audience at the time Mr. Hubbard
spoke on the subject of "Advertising,"
using this quotation as an example
to Induce the manufacturers and ad
vertisers ot the country to keep up
the quality of their products.
It ia thnuff-ht bv manv that he mav
'have conceived the idea from volume
8 of Emerson's journals, page 2S8.
Here is what Emerson really Raid:
"If a man has good corn, or wood,
or boards, or pigs to sell, or can make
better chairs, or knives, crucibles or
church organs than anybody else, you
will find a broad, hard-beaten road to
his house, though It be in the woods."
ROBT J. iicCOilUS,
I,