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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1922)
8. THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, MARCII 27, 192 KfTABI.KsHED BY HENBY I PIXTOCK. Published by The Oreeonian Publishing Co. 135 Sixth Street, Portland, Oregon. C. A. MOSDEX, E. B. PIPER. Manager. Editor. The Oregonlan is a. member of the Asso ciated Preta. The Associated Press is ex clusively entitled to the use for publication of ail news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rsvhts of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Subscription Kate Invariably In Advance. (By Mail.) ; Daily, Sunday Included, one year $8.00 L'ally, Sunday Included, six months... 4.25 Iaily, Sunday included, three months. 2.25 Daily, Sunday included, one month. ... .75 Iaily, without Sunday, one year 6.00 - liaily, without Sunday, six months.... 3.2-5 iJaily. without Sunday, one month.... .60 Sunday, one year 2.G0 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday included, one year $9.00 Daily. Sunday Included, three months. 2.25 Daily, Sunday included, one month... .75 Daily, without Sunday, one year . ...i 7.60 Daily, without Sunday, three months.. 1.95 Daily, without Sunday, one month.... .65 How to Remit Send postofflce money order, express or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at owner s risK. tilve postorrtce address in iuii, inciuaing county ana state. Postage Rates 1 to 16 pases. 1 cent: 18 to 32 pages, 2 cents: 34 to 48 pages, 8 cents; 50 to 64 pages, 4 cents; 64 to 80 pages. 5 cents; 82 to 96 pages, 6 cents. Foreign postage double rate. Eastern Rnslnegg Office--Verree Conk Iln, 30O Madison avenue. New York; Verree A Conklin, Steger building, Chicago; Ver ree & Conklin, Free Press building, De troit, Mich.; Verree & Conklin, Monadnock building-, San Francisco, Cal. COMING OCT OF THE HERMITAGE. There is much food for sober thought in Mark Sullivan's com ments on what a democratic leader called "t h e economic effects of hermitage." All of the sudden eco nomic changes that have come over the United States since Armistice day have been the reaction from events and conditions In other coun tries. The feverish spending mania and rise of prices which immedi ately followed the war began and were most marked in Europe, in the countries which had suffered most by the war. Peoples on that conti nent spent easy money made in the war on luxuries or on necessaries the supply of which had been cut off or restricted by the war. This caused continued industrial and commercial activity, high prices and a spending mania in the United States which tended half way through 1920. The Industrial depression and fall in prices did not begin in America; it began with a panic following wild speculation in' Japan. Thus waves rolled across great oceans from con tinent to continent, profoundly influ encing the lives and fortunes of na tions far remote from those on whose shores they had first arisen. Nothing -but mental blindness, in duced by outworn tradition, by racial and religious feuds or by partisan passion, could have prevented the nations from seeing that evils which do injury to all must be combated by all in close co-operation if they are to be overcome," just as resort Is had to quarantine against an epidemic of disease. The nations are no more able to combat separately such a universal evil as economic and social disorder than the allied armies could win victory while each was fighting independently. As in the war, vic tory was won when the allied armies fought as one under a single com mander, so should the nations now combine their forces to carry out in accord an agreed plan to rescue the world from economic decadence. Blindness to this necessity has not been confined to the United States. After the war nominally ended, white Russian fought red Russian, Pole fought Russian and German by turns, Greek fought Turk, Italian wrangled with Serb, Arab fought Frenchman and Briton, British and ' ri-ench policy conflicted in Germany and the near east, revolt spread over Ireland, India and Egypt, and bol shevism lifted its ugly head even in far South Africa. "When all the diminished energy of a bleeding world was needed to heal its wounds, new wounds were inflicted by this tragic folly. But the passions thus given vent were too deeply ingrained , by centuries of wars and feuds among nations in close neighbor hood to be calmed by any influence in Europe, for all European nations were so involved that distrust for bade them to act as peacemakers. The geographical isolation of the United States, absence of national interest in the triumph of any party to any quarrel of old world peoples, devotion to the principles of democ racy which all profess to hold, and great 'commercial interest in the general welfare of the world made this nation peculiarly qualified to play that part. Being the greatest in wealth and population of all white nations and having no special inter est in common with any one other nation but having a broad common interest with all, this naticfn was fitted for leadership in the work of world restoration. When the war ended, the Ameri can people were in the frame of mind to play this part if given wise direction. President Wilson aimed to fulfil the mission for which the people were ready, but he Invited failure by two Initial errors. He undertook to accomplish through one political party a work which should have been the joint task of both parties. He also insisted that this task should be performed in one particular way by immediate for mation of a league of nations which should be the instrument for exe cution of the peace treaties. He thus gave provocation for partisan oppo sition, which found ready to hand plenty of campaign material in. the traditional abstinence from foreign entanglements and in the old-world quarrels which foreign-born citizens also gave an opening for European diplomats to drive a bargain with him as the price of adoption of his league scheme. Persistence in those errors in the face of many warnings and pleadings made him the wrecker of his own work and drove his op ponents to greater extremes until they utterly rejected the league which they had been ready to join him in forming if they had been in vited to help him and if it had not been interwoven with the peace treaties. President Harding has begun to build anew amid the ruins which his predecessor left behind. Unlike Mr. Wilson, he made the senate a part ner In the work and he called the leaders of both parties to share in it. He thus lifts foreign relations to ftieir proper plane, above party, as a matter demanding national conti nuity of purpose, which is impossible in affairs that are involved with the changing fortunes of parties. In calling the Washington conference to limit armament, he struck at the root of the world's present troubles, and in providing that the conference should, adjust far eastern and Pa cific affairs he aimed both to remove the obstacle to limitation of navies and to make a new beginning at American co-operation with other nations, choosing for the purpose the disputes in which we were directly concerned, which were then upper most in the people's minds and which were an immediate source of danger. In the treaty Of Berlin he left the door wide open for Ameri can co-operation with the allies in the financial settlement with Ger many and In all parts of the peace terms except those relating to strictly political and territorial ad justments. He doubtless awaits only ratification of all the Washington treaties before proposing that the Unite States take an active part In the work of the, reparation commis sion and he evidently is not averse to participation in a world economic conference after the European na tions have freed the economic prob lem from the political questions that now remain open. When this is the record of Mr. Harding's first year and when two thirds of the democratic senators vote to destroy his work from plainly partisan motives after he has deprived them of all the provocation predate the value of Its older men ' example, who gave his name to the when the armistice was signed. Nev- I first apple to be extensively culti ertheless a public that was taking a ! vated south of the Mason and Dixon deep sentimental interest in Miss Mine? And who was (Grimes, for Law's work will be glad on the whole j whom a splendid golden pome was that she has removed herself from active contact with a branch of a vocation that soon or late brings its devotees to an untimely end. licans, the democrats will find them selves seriously embarrassed If they adopt as a slogan at the coming elec tion "the economic effects of heri tage." Mr. Harding is not striving to keep the American people in their hermitage: he is leading them out of it, and the democrats try to frighten them back. The economic effects which they have felt during the last three years have Impressed them deeply with the penalties of national isolation and have brought home to them the conviction that all nations are members of one family, so closely bound together by all the ties of modern intercourse that any nation which tries to play the hermit sacri fices far more than it gains by deny ing its obligations to and its com munity of interest with the family. They have made great progress since the election of 1920 In their educa tion in world affairs, and they will not be easily led astray by appeals to fear and to alien racial hatreds that emanate from either democratic or republican irreconcilables. PORTLAND'S FCTCHE ON THE SEA. Portland has suffered less from the business depression of the last year and a half than any other city In the country, even than any other on the Pacific coast, and the reason may be found in the report of the public dock commission for the year 1921. When business the country over was shrinking, when the ship ping business of other Pacific ports showed large decreases, the tonnage of Portland exports and imports doubled and the tonnage carried by sea between this port and the At lantic coast increased ninefold. Portland no longer has to beg for ships; they come without calling, drawn by the magnet of full cargoes and the best facilities for handling. This is the fruit of the people's in vestment in modern docks and in an that Mr. Wilson gave to the repub- Umproved harbor and channel. The THE BREAKING POINT. It is not likely that a great many persons in Portland object on prin ciple to the teaching of music, cook ing, sewing and manual training and the maintenance of two swimming pools in the public schools. Some may, and a greater number may be lieve we cannot afford them. But if it came to an Issue as to whether some children should have to do without the fundamentals of educa tion unless these things were elimi nated, there is -no doubt as to what the preponderant attitude would be. It is now tentatively proposed by the school board that these things frills, some persons call them for want of a better comprehensive term shall be done away with at least temporarily. Quite naturally there is a protest. The school board un doubtedly is in accord with informed public opinion. It, too, does not ob ject to these activities on principle. It is striving only to solve a serious financial problem, not of its own making, but one for which the peo ple themselves are chief lyy respon sible. It has been pointed out heretofore, and it will bear repetition, that the school district levy is now at the maximum permitted by law. The same levy applied this year produces less money than last year because the total property valuation re turned by the assessor and equalized by the county board is lower than last year. But while revenues are less than last year, school enroll ment is larger. The school popula tion is growing faster than the school plant, and the people in the last election refused to continue an extra tax levy for building purposes. The breaking point is reached. It is inescapable that if the people will not provide sufficient money to maintain the schools at the existing standard, that standard will have to be reduced. direct revenue from the public docks has grown to the point where they are almost self-supporting and will soon begin to earn interest on' the bonds issued for their cost. But far greater is the indirect revenue which the city as a whole derives from the increased business which ships bring to our merchants, manufacturers, banks, workmen and all. other ac tivities. This business is already roughly estimated at $18,000,000 a year paid out by the ships them selves, and it grows. It is in addi tion to the greater volume of busi ness made possible by the existence of cheap water transportation to the Atlantic coast and toy the operation of shipping lines to foreign ports, which open new markets to our products. The docks as one main factor In the development of our shipping business have abundantly justified the investment which the people have made in them, r They and the ships which use them and the great cargoes which pass over them prove that the future of Portland is on the sea, not in the military -sense in which that phrase was used by a certain fallen despot, but in the sense that means prosperity and happiness to ourselves and all the people with whom we trade. . called? The Rambo family have left only a still highly regarded but too much neglected variety to attest their fame. Standards like the Esopus Spitzenberg and the New towns, green and yellow, have a geo graphical nomenclature. There used to be a long list of "pippins" and "seedlings," more particularly des ignated by the names of ambitious propagators, but it diminishes as time runs on. Most of our best apples as a matter of fact originated as seedlings. The European staples did not often thrive in the soil and climate of their new home. A good many of the better varieties were accidental discoveries, taking their names from local fancy. The ' Red June, Golden Sweet, Pall The Listening Post. By DeWItt Harry. CAN'T HAPPEN. So comprehensive Is the Oregon corrupt practices act that, though adopted before the era of woman's suffrage, under its beneficent pro visions our young men are bound to be spared the humiliation that twen ty-five Iowa maidens are inflicting upon their sweethearts, were Oregon maidens similarly minded which, of course, they are not. For if the woman's ticket in Charlotte, Iowa be not elected then no swain may thereafter spend Wednesday evening by the side of his adored. In Oregon, a political campaign is a period of uplift. It is a corrupt practice, made so by asseveration of the sovereign people, to attempt to influence voters by treating, by co ercion, by certain appeals to reli gious beliefs, by undue campaign ex penditures, by libel of candidates, by anonymous publication or by dozens of other things. All in all, elections are pure and polite. Nobody is ever convicted of violating the law. Skep tics will note that the word is "con victed." " Oregon maids will note that it is against the law to inflict or to at tempt to inflict spiritual injury in order to compel a person to vote or refrain from voting for any candi date, or to influence the course of an election by providing meat, drink or other entertainment. What greater spiritual injury to a young man than to deprive him of the presence of his sweetheart? What greater enter tainment than to admit him to her presence? Of course, no warning is needed. Oregon young men are true and Ore gon maidens know it. They need not threaten. Any favor, even so trivial a one as a vote for a candidate for office, is of course granted without expectation of more "than the cus tomary rewards for obedience. ' Ruth Law has decided wisely in determining that she will fly no more. Ten years of performing aviation stunts have put the patience of Providence to a severe test. Few, if any, other aviators in her class have lasted so long, and the law of averages is against her continued immunity from accident. Yet it is a mistake to assume that she is less valuable as an "air pilot because of her Increasing age. The experience of the nations at war, except the United States, which did not put the issue to a full test, was that the flyer tended to improve with age, provided "he had the qualifications of an avi ator to begin with. France had its aces who were 40 years -old or more and England was beginning to ap- POMOLOGICAL MEMORIES. The unveiling at Proctorville, Ohio,' of a monument to the Rome Beauty apple furnished a convenient peg on which to hang reminiscences of the apples of early days. "A few like the Rome Beauty have survived, it is true, but much larger is the host about which we hear little or noth ing nowadays. A careful survey was made in 1901 by a Cornell professor which revealed some 1857 varieties of apple trees in New York state alone; more than seven hundred were still listed in 3 nursery man's catalogue; a few hundred at least were regarded as important in a commercial sense. , Tastes differ, In nothing more conspicuously than in matters of food, although there are people who will tell you that every apple tastes like every other apple.- Not only do tastes differ, but styles change as well. A list of the common varieties of a century ago makes unfamiliar reading today. Several important apple centen aries are scheduled for about this time. Just about a hundred years ago there was great activity in apple culture in the east and northeast. It is commonly believed that the Gravensteln apple, for example, was then brought to the United States, to be followed soon afterward by the Oldenberg, the Alexander and the Telefsky. The Rome Beauty, which has just been honored with a monu ment, probably dates back to 1817. The Red Astrachan, still our staple early variety, was brought from Rus sia about 1816. Some of these names are reminders of the debt we owe to Russia for potnological contributions. The Alexander, named after Alex ander, the reforming czar, came to us by way of England; the name Astrachan carries its own geograph ical suggestion; Oldenberg seems more Russian to those who know that it used to be called Charlemow ski and also Borowskl. The Gravensteln, to which allusion has been made and which deserves a monument if any appl; ever did, is rich enough in tradition to furnish the material for a Graustark novel. One account says that it was orig inated in the gardens of a nobleman at Gravenstein, in Holstein. Another has It that.it was found in the or chard of the Count Grafensteln, in Sleswick, and in this version there is a pretty love story to explain how it became known to the outside world. But still another historian puts the locus of its origin in Italy, and it is pretty well known to have been highly esteemed in Germany and Sweden for some time prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century. In all probability It was brought to the United States from Denmark about 1825. Nature had its way of adapting the new fruits to their unaccustomed surroundings, and in the process a good many of them were measurably changed. It is said that these im portations do not now ' much re semble the originals. Many of them, like the Baldwin, have thrived in some localities and degenerated in others. One of the few members of the apple family ..which was in digenous to America is the wild Ore gon crab the pyrus rivularis of the botanist Douglas, who found it here in 1825 which wasn t much of an apple in itself, but which pointed to the suitability of conditions in the Oregon country for apple culture. The apple, as a matter of fact, has been slow to become naturalized in other parts of the United States; It is produced spontaneously as a seed ling in only a few parts of the coun try, such as New York, where It now grows wild in large thickets; but it has done well under artificial tend ing .over a pretty wide area. But, as has been said, a good many hundred kinds have been created in the effort to preserve the few score that are now found in the markets of the towns. The Gloria Mundi. 'too, is due for a centenary -celebration soon. The folks who chose the name for It must have been real pomological enthu siasts of their day.. The Ortley also Is almost exactly a century old, and Is still a success in many places, no tably in Oregon. We are reminded that the names of some of our estab lished favorites are still shrouded in mystery. Pippin, Twenty Ounce and Ximbe Twig were such. Their names de scribe . them. Jonathan took the name of one Jonathan Hasbrouck, New Yorker, who was not, however, an apple grower, but only a con noisseur, who first called the apple to public attention. Almost a cen tury ago it was known as the "New Spitizenberg." Oregonians who know the merits of his find will be inclined to erect a monument to him in rec ognitlon of his real service to man kind The older generation will look in vain In the modern orchard for most of their favorites. From an old catalogue we cull these names at random: Putnam Russet, Seek-No Further, Early Chandler, Gilliflower, Pound Royal, Natural, Yellow Green ing, Prolific Beauty, Baptist and the Pearmains. The Baptist, curiously, was grown without irrigation. The Pearmains represented a large class, and th6 term was originally intended to mean "mighty pear." Pear-shaped apples went out of style with the de velopment of a new taste in fruits, and the pearmains are scarcer than they used to be. If they begin build ing monuments to apples it 13 going to be hard to find a place to stop. Or writing the romance of the develop ment of apple culture. A chapter might be devoted, for illustration, to the Northern Spy, the original of which never bore a single fruit, but perished in its early youth, after contributing scions from which have been propagated great orchards of one of the finest apples -that nature and manever conspired to give to the apple-eating millions of the world. Important as export trade has be come to our prosperity, we should never lose sight of the fact that the main source of our national eco nomic strength is the fact that our farm industry is so great as in the aggregate to produce enough food ror our own people and to leave a surplus for export, and with the rest of our population to consume almost nine-tenths of the product of all our industry. By contrast Great Britain produces only about one-fifth of its food supply and must sell the great bulk of its manufactures abroad in order to pay for the other four-fifths and for raw materials; such as we produce mostly at home. That coun try's present distress with 2,000,000 unemployed is due to its inability to sell its surplus abroad, though it has the most complete world-marketing organization of all nations. A well adjusted balance between the output of agriculture and of manufacturing and other industries is a sure basis of national prosperity. That balance needs to be restored, and that can best be done by making productive the land which is now worthless. The peril of congestion is one of the new perils of unrestricted im migration. It explains why congress is confronted with an entirely new issue, rather than an old issue in a new form. Our hospitality to immi grants must in cJear self defense be tempered by considerations of whether they are likely to be adap table to economic conditions as they exist in the United States today not as they existed in some former time. The opponents of prohibition who are discussing a new amendment to the constitution seem to forget that they will need also a new way of gettingtheamendmentacross. Three fourths of the states are a good many more than can be reasonably ex pected to join in a retrograde move ment in this or any other time. T T WOULD not do to mention the X name of the girl who told thl story, but she has. a glorious crop of red hair and works for a big bank that is- quartered in a marble build ing. She was returning to Portland from a visit to Canada and took the Sponkane route via Kingsgate and Eastport. She and her chum were in the parlor car, the only two women the other occupants, seven men. The men were well-dressed arrd their manners Irreproachable when the girls entered the car. As the train neared Kingsgate the American cus toms' officers began their inspection and a prohibition agent entered the car. The prohi agent was a burly, capable-looking man, one who would per mit no foolishness. He asked the man nearest the door, to all appear ances a retired capitalist or tourist. if he had any liquor and received negative answer and got the same from the man in the next upholstered chair. However the booze detective decided to search the third man-and asked him to stand up. No liquor was in his clothes but the searcher puLled a big bottle from under the seat cush ions and another from his traveling bag and a smaller one from a parcel in the rack above. "And then he began to get mad," the girl continued. "He went on to the next man and got three more bot tles and, then went back to the first and second ones, those who had de nied they had any and got five be tween the two. Every man in that car had from two to four "bottles and the American agent had a big pile of them when he got tnrough. The bot ties were hidden every place possible and he asked the tirst two why they had denied having it and they said they thought they might get by. Our fellow-passengers were a sheepish looking lot, I don't thlnkany of them had known each other before but from that time on they had some thing in common and got exceedingly chummy. As the prohibition agent left he turned at the door and looked them over and said, 'Weli, you're fine bunch ain't you?'" Not a whit chastened by a letter taking exception to the glossary of modern slang that we have been com piling we hasten to offer yet an other installment. In explanation of modern slang a '"cake-eater" is the masculine of flapper in other days known as a sissy. He is the sort of chap, who wore Lord Fauntleroy suits when a' child and later affected a passion for purple sox and a handker chief displayed in the breast pocket. Inasmuch as this slang is being used more and more, every day sees a fresh crop of it wafted in. Egg hard-boiled cake-eater who lets a Jane pay herway. Thus "egg harbor" would be a free entertain ment of any kind. Strike breaker a girl taking the place of any fellow's regular girl when she is away. Punk an undesirable person of either sex. i Jane a girl who meets you at the corner or on the street. Nice girl one who takes yqu in and introduces you to the family. Hot-dog joyous expression of ap proval. "Did I was?" means the same. Finagler a young man who stalls until some one else pays the bill. Wind sucker a boaster. Lens louse one who monopolizes the conversation. His tempo's bad anyone off color any way. Grease ball a foreign cake-eater. Bun duster another term for cake- eater. Rug hopper parlor hound. A young man who never takes a girl out. One of our steady customers from way back in Lincoln, Neb., writes that he could read about Paul Bunyan for the next ten years, and then goes on on to tell of Paul's feat of putting up a new north pole arter the old one had been rubbed down by polar bears scratching themselves on it. E. J.'s tale runs like this: Paul, on securing the contract, went to Alaska, where the pole was cut and ready. He took with him, in addition to the big Swede, his fa mous cook, who had been with Paul ever since he built the Alps, and his Those Who Come and Go. Tales of Folk at the Hotels Ben Dorris, "filbert king" of Lane county, was in Portland for the week end, and left last night for his home in Eugene. "If a man wants to make a comfortable living In his old age the best method I know of is to raise filberts," declared Mr. Dorris at the Portland hotel yesterday. "It takes a number of years for the trees to start bearing so that they will be profitable but once they have their growth and start producing the grower has a substantial income on small acreage." Before the war Mr. Dorris was in the railroad business in Eugene. He went to the officer's training camp, was made a lieutenant and was assigned to the 91st division. He served with that organization through the Meuse-Argonne and then went with the outfit to Belgium. There on the first day pf the fighting he was struck by a shell and wounded so badly that he was in various hos pitals of the country In the hands of the army's most skilled surgeons for more than a year. Once back in civil life, he found that he could not follow his old pursuits and accepted the In vitation of his uncle George Dorris to try the growing of filberts. He has been specializing in the culture of nuts of various kinds and has de veloped an extensive nursery busi ness. He is prominent in American Legion affairs and is being consid ered by many of his friends to fill one of the state offices of the veter an's organization at the next conven tion. After having spent 16 years in the wilderness of Alaska. Sam- Dubln, merchant of Bettles. is back in civil ization fcr the purpose of saking things easy for a while and noting the progress of the country. Mr. Dur bin, with his partners, English and Fagan, has stores and trading posts In Bettles, Koyukuk, Wiseman and Alotuna, Alaska. These points -are located north of the Yukon river on tributary known as "St. John s in the Wilderness," due to the fact that It is almost shut off from civilization and Is lnhabitated only by a rew prospectors, miners and Indians. Dur ing the long winters of this country transportation, except by dog sleds, ceases.- Men, to make their way from one point to another must mush it. Srow remains very deep all winter. Gold has not been discovered near Alotuna and prospectors are waiting until the opening of spring so tnat they may go into the country and stake claims. When Mr. Dubin ar rived in Seattle, after having been absent for 16 years he was astounded to note the modern improvements. He is now at the Multnomah hotel and declares that he is 'having the time of his life." He is going to take a lonar vacation to make up for the years he has spent in the remote parts of Alaska. Preparation are being made to drill for oil in Kodiac island, accord ing to J. W. McCord, who is a guest at the Portland. Kecent lnvesuga ions on the island, which is located off the coast of Alaska, have con vinced rjrosoectors that there are great quantities of oil to be found. Surveys have been made and engineers are now at work preparing for the sinking or the wens. ivir. jyicvora says that If oil is discovered on the island there will be no great diffi culty in shipping the crude product, as ships can easily land at several points. Burroughs Nature Club. Copyright, Houghton-Mifflin Co. More Truth Than. Poetry. By Jimfi J. Montague. i-w noms tne waruen responsible four uaU well-know French-Cana-for thft men awaitin? execution flnrl ' . . provides a place to keep them. The crimes they committed show them to be desperate men the kind that take the slightest chance for free dom. There is no problem in it. A steamship moving slowly through the draws arouses the ire of delayed passengers, ' but they must remember they might not be work ing here if there was not a river to make a big city. Perhaps there may be "no fool like an old fool," meaning man; but sometimes an old widow trespasses over the border under hallucination. It is ungallant to say so, but it is a fact. That man who is going to live with 200 skunks in California will get along because he will be more considerate of their rights than he might be of those of human neigh bors. There will be an election today in a little town in Iowa in which women align against men. This Is a trouble breeder, no matter the way it results. A recent raid was on a house said to be "very old-fashlpned," but the officials found 350 gallons of wine, showing the, inside was strictly up-to-date. Old potatoes are likely to last into the season of new ones, at prices sat isfactory to the consumer. Oregon onions, however, are attaining war prices. Of course "flu" is spread by kiss ing; but the man who will not take a chance hardly 'is worth being kissed back by the party with the "flu." Grand opera more than broke even in profits as well as pleasure for Portland and the city is on the music map of the world. Help! Strawberries will be-on the market this week at approximately Who was Ben Davis, for I a dollar a bite. dian river men. With the help of the blue ox everything went well and the pole was set up in good shape. The worst difficulty encountered was the intense cold, which caused the north side of the kettles containing the peal soup for the Frenchmen and the beans for the rest of the crew to freeze solid while the south side, was bo'l- ing. "Paul, however, got around this by hiring a gang of Esquimaux, giving them peavies, ' pike-poles and calk shoes and teaching them to ride the beans and pea-soup teebergs to the south end of the kettles. The beans were, needless to say, specially grown for Paul, and measured from 10 to 15 feet in length." One of the character of the old New Hampshire parish from which an Oregon minister has just returned was a woman who celebrated 'her 100th anniversary during his stay there. She was very bright and came from one of the best famille and her mmory went back to the days when American history was in the making. She was a cousin of Franklin Pierce and was one of the little girls who strewed flowers before Lafayette on his second visit to this country. On the first call made on this old woman by the minister ehe asked him how old he thought she was and he wished to be very complimentary. So the minister said what was the truth, that she seemed about 85. The old woman was quite put out and said: "Do you think I am a young girl" At that time she was 98. "Hello," called out my companion to a passing roadster and the young fellow Inside waved his hand. It was a fine-looking car, radiated comfort and prosperity as did the occupants. The man was well-garbed and the girl, if rather too elaborately, right up to the present-day standards. "Know him?" asked my companion. "He's so-and-so, gets a high salary and a royalty on an invention. He is paying $600 a month alimony, has been divorced three times and pays his ex-wives $200 monthly each. Ha. mor has it that the fair charmer that was riding with' him la to be number four' George Wilbur, attorney of Hood River, drove down the Columbia River highway to Portland Saturday and spent a few hours transacting business in the cut. Mr. wiiDur was member of the upper house In the 1917 cession of the state legislature. He is a veteran of the war and is now prominent in the affairs of the American Legion, having served as a member of the state executive com mittee for some time. Many of his friends are urging him to seek a higher office in the Legion at the election to beheld in The Dalles In July. Howard C. Glldea, attorney of Mc Minnville, was In Portland yesterday and put up at the Multnomah. Mr. Gildea is one of the most popular young men in his city. He has been active In the affairs of the American Legion since that organization was started in his town. He has several times been a contender for the po sition of adjutant of the state de partment. The music-loving citizens who failed to witness the performances of the Chicago opera lost a great deal, ac cording to W. A. Akin, rancher of Hood River. Mr. Akin, with his wife, came down from Hood River Saturday and attended the evening opera at the auditorium. They were registered at the Multnomah. Can Yon Answer These Questions? 1. Is it true that guinea pigs are of no use to man? If so, why are they raised In large numbers? 2. Do young paj-trldges leave the nest just after they are hatched, and how long does it take them to learn to fly? 3. How does a jelly fish sting? Answered In tomorrow's Nature Notes. Answers to Previous Questions. 1. Why are wisdom teeth usually Inferior to the rest of the teeth? Because no longer useful. In the process of evolution the Jaw in civ ilized races has become modified and as the altered food habit probably re quired less vigorous use of the Jaw, the back pairs of teeth, "wisdom" teeth, were not needed for grinding, and deteriorated. In low races these teeth still persist and are useful and full ize. probably because the food habit requires their help. s 2. Is the Gila monster polsonousl Yes, very. In a wild state it is vicious and a good fighter, snapping its powerful jaws at the foe and fas tening on with unmistakable grip. The saliva Is highly poisonous and passes through grooves in the teeth into the victim's flesh. 3. Are catbirds helpful around a farm? On the whole, yes. They are ac cused of stealing bird's eggs, but In vestigation of stomach contents does not prove this charge. Catbirds eat some beneficial Insects, but the major part of their food la harmful Insects, as cutworms, tent caterpillars, etc. In brown-tall and gypsy moth regions they eat both caterpillar and winged forms f these, even feeding them to the nestlings. Catbirds steal much small fruit and are often a pest in gardens and orchards, but are esti mated to check insect depradations to an extent that more than covers their fruit thefts. THE HOI SE PARTY OF TOMORROW. The license is posted for public In spection ; The censor has taken his place on the floor. 61x sleuths, with rough neck and a ruddy complexion. And large locust night sticks are guarding the door. On all of the programmes the statute Is printed The penalties one may observe at a glance: So striks up the band and let Joy flow unstinted! On .with the dance, people, on with the dance! To whom Is the censor so brutally speaking? It's Millleent Murkle, the maiden In blue; He sternly declares he detected her cheeking; She's sent to her seat for an hour or two. Who is it he now Is regarding morosely? It's Mrs. McMoney, the matron In white; She hugged young Bill FlippK a little too closely. And can't have a partner the rest of the night. Still and grows orchestra Joy's unconfined gayer and gayer; A Jazzier number the moans. But suddenly stops when the saxo phone player Who pulled a cadenza is fined seven bones. But look at the radiant Annabel Meyers She's held by the censor, and turns deadly pale, Her skirt's not as long as the statute requires. He calls for the wagon and sends her to Jail. On with the dance, follow forth after pleasure. No sleep till the milk cans are rat ting outside! But always remember to step to the measure The men at the capital make and provide. No neck-to-neck stuff, or unseemly gyrations, No steps that the lawmakers look at askance; Be joyful; but always observe regu lations: Conform to the statutes and on with the dance! The Wrong Clement. At the New York assay office they are seeking a method to get gold out l.of alr. The usual practice In the neighborhood Is to get it out of water. Insatiable. De Valera is organizing a new po litical party. The man must have something to he president of or he will perish of disappointment. K-ery body's Oolng It. If it were against the law to suspect your neighbor of holding- out on his income tax. we'd have to build a. lot of new jails. (CiipyrlKht by the Bxll Syndicate, trw. ) In Other Days. APATHY FAULT OF BOTH PLAXS Convention and Primary Fall Because Manses Let Few Run Them. ' SALEM, Or., March 25. (To the Editor.) My friend, the editor of the Woodburn Independent, asks the Ore gonlan to tell "what there is about the direct primary that needs reform ing," and The Oregonian illustrates several of its defects in its results, but it seems to me that the cause of such poor results may be stated in a very simple manner. , The cause of defects in primary election results is the same which made the convention system faulty the failure of the masses to do their full duty in taking an interest in the public affairs pf theirounty, their state and their nation and expressing their choice fearlessly as to the men and measures presented for their consideration. I do not believe there could be a better system devised for the choice of officials or the expression of pub lic policies than the caucus and con vention system if the people around the firesides would take the proper interest and sacrifice a little of their time for the public good. There is no place in which men are so well known as in the immediate neighborhood In which they live. There is no other place from which so reliable a representative of com munity desires can be chosen. If. then, the members of each political party in each precinct would all come together in caucus, or town meeting. the best men or women of that pre cinct would be in most cases chosen to attend the county meeting or con vention, which in turn would send- some of those men or women to the district and statfe conventions, and nominations would be made from similar material, based upon individ ual merit and usefulness. Every objection to that system. Is based upon the fact that not always under it were those results accom plished. But why? Simply because at the 'very foundation the masses failed to do their duty. Miny of thos ! calling thenfselves the very beat people in every precinct failtd to at tend their caucuses. They left tii. manipulation of those meetings to the interested few; to the hirelings and i self-seekers, thus permitting the con- ltv church on hlock 69 was let yew- duct of public affairs to drift Into the terrlay to Mr. Turkllson for $17,000, hands of professional politicians, exclusive of windows and Inside fin- And even with the defects thus cuiti- ' ishlng. vated, it is quite generally admitted that the old convention system elimi- L A request will be made to the city nated a whole lot of undesirables and i . uin il to build a fire cistern at Third usually placed a premium upon brains i- nd - streets, the fire on Monday iiignt having demonstrated tne need of one there. Twenty-f Ive Y"nrs Ago. From The Oregonian of Marrh -'7. li!T. Portland railroad officials say th-re will be no rate war on account of the decision of the supreme court of th United States against the Trans-Missouri Fn-ight association. Constantinople Germany ha Joined France and Knglnnd In refusing to assist in the blockade of Greek ports. It was announced here today. I'assengt-rs and crew of the steamer Wlllapa. which wns wrecked opposite the lower end of Queen Charlotte is lands, reached Seattle yeeterday. Frederick Booth-Tucker, commamliT of the United States forces of the Sal vation army, arrived in Portland es f. rdnv fir three-day visit. Mfly Years Ago. From The Orogonlan of March 27. 1S72 The contract to build the new Trin. Harry Yundt, ledgerwood foreman for the C. H. Wheeler Lumber com pnay of Cochran, Or, is at the Mult nomah. He is returning to the camps to prepare for their opening. The snowe of the winter months have made logging impossible and the crews have been idle. Now that the weather Is clearing the camps are to be opened. W. F. Isaacs of Medford never loses an opportunity to advertise Rogue river apples. Saturday night from the Multnomah hotel he sent a tele gram to Medford asking that several boxes of apples be prepared and placed on the train carrying the Chicago grand opera singers when it pased through the city. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Hayter of Dallas were in Portland Saturday night for the purpose or hearing grand opera. Mr. Hayter is one of the leading at torneys of the Willamette valley. William J. Fraser of Pierre, S. D., Is a guest at the Multnomah. The town from which Mr. Fraser registers is the capital of the state and is per haps the oldest settlement in that section of the country. J. H. Koke. who conducts a printing and book binding establishment at Eugene, accompanied by Mrs. Koke, attended grand opera at the audi torium Saturday night. They were at the Imperial hotel. - i J. E. Turnbill, secretary of the Elks lodge of Eugene, was one of the few out of town people in Portland for the week end who did not come to hear grand opera. He was registered at the Portland. ; A. B. Shelley, garage man and au tomobile dealer of The Dalleswas In Portland Saturday night, for the pur pose of attending the meeting of Al Kader temple of the Shrine. He reg istered at the Impfrial hotel. L. M. Addington. neater in oil lands and farms in the Judith Basin of Mon tanais at the Imperial. He is regis tered from Winnett, located in the heart of the Montana oil country. Roy Bohler, member of the famous family of athletic coaches, rs a guest at the Imperial. He is director of athletics at Willamette university. E. M. Duffy, who is connected with Oregon Agriculture college at Cor vallis, was registered at the Oregon hotel yesteiduy. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Hay of Astoria were at the Imperial yesterday after having attended grand opera Satur day nigh . Sherman Miles, banker of St. Hel ens, was at the Benson yesterday. and popularity at least. The primary system suffers from the same lethargy on the part oi the average citizen. In proof of this. we have only to study the figures of our primary elections, which disclose the absence from the polls of usually more than 50 per cent of the voting population. Even at a general elec tion it is surprising the numbers of voters who fail to exercise the right of franchise. In Oregon in 1920 there were 364,469 registered voters before the November election, which involved county, state and national officers, including the president, yet of that number only 247, S99 cast their, bal lots, leaving 116.670 or 34 per cent, wno stayed at home. So long as this state of don't-give a-euissedness continues, any political system, convention or primary, will have its serious defects and failures, and if that could be cured either sys tem could be made a success, though more easily with caucus and conven tion than with the primary. FRANK DAVE V. Tiie Commodore Perry and the .itark-street ferry are laying the oabla for the use of the latter and expect to finish the Job today. Madrid. The doors of the last Pro testant church were closed here yesterday. Selective Belief In Science. DALLAS, Or., March 25. (To the Editor.) The following excerpt is copied from an editorial in a recent issue of the Atlanta (Ga.) Journal: Assaying- the role of sclentlat with no less alacrity than he so often has qualified as a candidate, William Jennina-s Bryan declares with utmost self-confidence that the earth Is hardly more than 4O0O years old. That, should have settled the matter once for ail, according to the Bryanesque mode ofxhougrht, which has its ready Ipse dljfit on every question in the heavens above and the earth benea-th and the waters undep the earth. This is quite enough to make one wonder if the "Peerless One." also discredits the facts of electricity, wireless telegraphy and the law of gravitation. If not, why hot? Why accept what the scientists have to say about these matters, and reject what they have to say about the age of the earth? The Bryans of Sir Isaac Newton's time fought the theory of gravitation with the same degree of infatuous ignorance that they do the theory of evolution today. "They can't make a monkey out of me," indignantly exclaims Mr. Bryan. Well, the evolutionists don't have to do that. J. T. FORD. Wreck of Brother Jonathan. SPRINGFIELD, Or., March 25. (To the Editor.) When did the Brother Jonathan sink, the ship that found ered off the coast near Port Orford, Or. HENRY SMITHFIELD. P. S. Would like a few particulars of same. How many were lost on board, etc. The Brother Jonathan, bound from San Francisco to Portland, foundered near Crescent City, Cal., July 30, 1865, after striking a sunken reef. Nineteen persons were saved and about 150 drowned. COLLF.CJK HAS KARXED ITS COST Profit" on Wheats Introduced la Ore gon Would Pay lis Way. SALEM, Or., March 25. (To the F.ditor.) At th's time of general dis cussion of the millag tax system a pro and con matter which involves more or less ill-informed attacks upon the cost, management and effi ciency of our state institutions, and in particular, the state asrricultural college the following reminder may be pertinent to the taxpayers'of at least the eastern portion of the state, and suggestive of the scope of the actual practical benefit to the people of the entire state derived from the multifold other departments and sc tivitles of the college. I refer to the introduction of the improved turkey red and marquis wheats in the semi-arid regions of eastern Oregon. This was through the experiment station conducted by the college at Moro In Sherman county. And it Is from the viewpoint of a wheat grower of 20 years' ex perience In that region that I say that section O-' Orfgon owes to the offices of the state agricultural collpge an In crease in yield netting yearly profits fully double the entire annual run ning expenses of the college. This point is worthy of consideration. This is from an angle altogether utilitar ian. As to the other functions of the state college and their relation to the bette;.-nent of the interests of thn people of Oregon, I leave the field to other friends of this Institution which, building upon results, has In recent years attained a place of In-, ternational repute as among the three i foremost agricultural colleges In thin' or any other country. C. C. KI NKY. Qualifications of Jurors. FOSSIL, Or., March 25. (To the Editor.) Does a woman have to be a taxpayer or be the wife of a tax payer in order to be drawn for Jury service? Does a man have to be a taxpayer to be drawn for Jury servu : Jurors need not be taxpayers They must be citizens, over 21 yesrs of ai-. and have been residents of the county for one year or more. Persons who are subnormnl mentally or who have been convicted "of a felony or of a miedemeanor involving moral turpi tude are disqualified. .