8
THE MORNING OREGONIAN. THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1923
ESTABLISHED BT H EX BY I. PITTOCK.
Published by The Oregonian Publishing Co.
135 Sixth Street, Portland, Oregon.
C. A. MOfiDK-N, B. B. P1PBR.
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AN IMMIGRATION HOLIDAY.
The views of Municipal Judge
Rossman, who has observed the op
eration of tne so-called melting pot
from the vantage point of the police
court bench, coincide with those of
President Harding's special commis
sioner to Europe, Mrs. Alexander P.
Moore, better known as Lillian Rus
sell, who has just returned from
Europe, where she went to make a
study of immigration problems. We
thus have first-hand information
from both ends of the immigration
line. Mrs. Moore finds from her ob
servations in foreign countries that
"the immigration of recent years has
been from the class of people which
arrests rather than aids the develop-
- ment of any nation." Judge Ross-
man says: "Our melting pot is not
melting. . . . P o 1 1c e records,
carefully checked by myself, show
that nearly one-third of all the per
sons arrested by the Portland police
last year were born in foreign coun
tries." The association and the in
ference are plain.
It is better, says President Hard-
- ing's envoy, to put out the fires
under the melting pot, which has
boiled too quickly and is running
over, and allow its contents to soli-
' dify before adding' more raw ma
terial. Nearly all the moonshiners,
narcotic peddlers, and others of their
ilk, observes the Portland jurist, are
persons born across the water. Again
a correspondence of findings which
is in all probability more than a
mere coincidence. It is noteworthy,
too, . that neither commentator de
spairs of the ultimate salvation of
the immigrant. If these newcomers
can be properly educated and made
to understand the laws of this coun
try there is agreement upon this
point it is thought that the inci
dence of crime can be reduced. It is
not a confession of weakness for
which there is need to be ashamed;
only a plain statement that the ca
pacity of the melting pot has been
exceeded.
Never in the history of the world
has an institution been so' heavily
taxed. There is no counterpart in
all the ages for the movement which
has brought to America from foreign
lands a total of 34,435,332 aliens in
a century, a number equal to "prac
tically a. third of the entire present
population. There seems to be sound
reason for the statement that "if we
do not put up the bars and make
them higher and stronger, there will
no longer be an America for Ameri
cans." So Miss Russell believes,
after having inspected the immi
grant of the present at his port of
embarkation.
Miss Russell urges an immigration
holiday of about five years. Yet she
realizes that this may work hardship
in individual instances. It would
prevent the reuniting of families in
cases where some members have al
ready come to the United States and
it would in some particulars check
the flow of desirable immigration.
The alternative of more drastic
supervision in the countries of origin
seems reasonable, if practical details
can be worked out. Undoubtedly it
would be well if consuls might be
authorized to refuse to vise all unfit
persons, though this would involve
strengthening the consular service
and furnishing It with the personnel
needful to obtain accurate data. The
physical condition of the alien ought
of course, to be ascertained, but it is
still more essential that his moral
health should be up to our standard.
In a peculiar sense the immigrant of
1922 is on the defensive. France
and Italy are cited by the former
actress as illustrious examples of
countries wnere every aole-oodiea
patriot is at work, and it is easy to
believe that "most of those non
coming here have little of the in
spiration of the early settlers from
abroad." Those regarded as useless
in the reconstruction of their own
lands are the. ones most likely now
to be seeking asylum in America.
The percentage system by which
admission of aliens is now regu
lated is good only so far as it goea
It needs to be supplemented by some
method by which quality as well as
quantity can be controlled". This is a
matter of administrative detail, but
it is requisite that we shall take at
least as much pains to determine the
nature of our future citizens as we
now take in regulating the impor
tation of plants and livestock, which
are instantly prohibited whenever it
appears that they are about to be
come a menace. So, too, it would be
helpful if a due proportion of im
migrants were disbarked at other
ports than New York, in order to
assure more rapid economic assim
ilation. Yet even this measure pre
supposes that other communities
shall be prepared to take care of
the newcomers, and it is conceded
that under any circumstance our
facilities for their reception already
are taxed to the limit of capacity.
The same vigilance which has uni
formly kept us free from the bu
bonic plague, and from trachoma
and measurably from leprosy will be
suficient to bar typhus, now raging
in parts of Russia, in the Balkans
and in Asia Minor, from the country.
There is probably no occasion for
alarm, since the disease is conspicu
ously one which breeds in filth and
consequently is easily detected and is
t
amenable to sanitation and quaran
tine. It emphasizes, however, the
sense of responsibility which has led
humanitarians to send relief to for
eign countries instead of waiting for
typhus to slip by the out pasta and
get a foothold in the United States.
As1 a last resort we know that soap
and water will do wonders, that
isolation of suspected cases is pos
sible here as It is nowhere else in the
world and that the habits of Ameri
cans are not conducive to the spread
of such a plague. Above all is gen
eral observance of the common rules
of health and hygiene, which if not
quite a specific is a means of pre
vention available to all and is made
more than ever expedient by the
run-down condition of the health of
the people of the rest of the world.
WOODEN MOTOKSHIPS THAT PAY.
Those shipping board officials and
eastern shipping men who condemn
at one sweep all the wooden ships
that were built by a former shipping
board during the war would profit
by reading an article in the Motor
ship on "Wooden Ships that Pay."
It tells of three wooden ships built
on the Pacific coast and operated by
the Ocean Motorship company be
tween Portland and California ports
with Diesel engines. They carry only
twenty officers and men, as com
pared with thirty on a steamship of
the same size, and one or them re
cently made the voyage from Port
land to San Francisco in 72 hours 20
minutes at an average speed of 9.6
knots at economies - in operation
which "have enabled these wooden
craft to compete successfully with
steel steamships at rates under
which no wooden steamship would
have been able to operate." "In
fact," says the Motorship, "they have
been able to make paying voyages at
rates which kept steel steamships
tied up."
Sister wooden steamships have
46,740 cubic feet less cargo space
and carry 533 tons more fuel, while
the steam plant weighs 58 tons more
than the Diesel machinery. Another
wooden motorship runs from Puget
sound to San Pedro carrying 200,000
feet more lumber than a steamship
of the same size.
The shipping board advertises
nineteen steel cargo vessels for in
stallation of Diesel machinery. It
might do worse than invite bids for
the best of its wooden ships for the
same purpose. .evidently economy
of fuel and wages and increase of
cargo space make them profitable,
at. least on short runs. For that
service they should be worth consid.
erably more than junk.
THE WAY TO REDUCE.
Proof of criminality should not be
considered necessary to the process
of reducing the cost of government.
By -every means of making them
selves heard the American people
have declared their desire to cut
down public expenses; by every
means of reassuring the people the
national administration has declared
its purpose to fulfill that desire.
The ends sought and promised can
not be attained except by very direct
methods. A number of years ago
the way to resumption of specie pay
ment was discovered in the simple
formula "the way to resume, is to
resume." So now, the way to reduce
is to reduce.
Reorganization of the federal bu
reau of engraving and printing is a
case in point. No need, for the pres
ent at any rate, to speculate on the
merits of the case; no occasion tp
defend or to criticize -the executive
order by which the sweeping change
was made in the direction and per
sonnel of the bureau. The immedi
ately convincing fact is that all the
existing bureaus, commissions, agen
cies and other branches of the fed
eral government cannot continue in
conduct along lines that call for con
stantly increasing expenditures if
there is any sincerity of- purpose to
cut government costs.
The displaced employes of the bu
reau of engraving are asking ex
planations. The secretary of the
treasury has promptly .relieved them
of any suspicion of criminal or othej
conduct that would reflect against
their probity. The change was made
to secure increased efficiency; for
the good of the service. Resolu
tions asking detailed information
and proposing an investigation have
promptly appeared' in both senate
and house of 1 representatives. As
the first case in which a change so
general has been thought expedient
or necessary, it would perhaps be
well to give it a thorough airing for
the benefit of congress and the coun
try. There is no question that the se
curity of civil service is enervating
to a certain class of public servants.
The quality of service given, as well
as the quantity, sometimes indicates
that the advantages are all on one
side- and that is not the public's
side. If government costs are to be
cut, if the work of Budget Director
Dawes is to be given any appreciable
effect, changes in methods must be
made; inefficient employes must
yield their places; pay-rolls must be
lowered, not necessarily by the
slashing of wages, but at least by re
ducing the number of those em
ployed; the departments of govern
ment must be given service and sys
tematic efficiency for every dollar
expended.
Public demand and declared ex
ecutive purpose run together in the
direction of some such ideal condi
tion never, perhaps, to be fully
realized; but surely worth all honest
effort in the striving. ,
THE IMPUDENCE OF TONGS.
Origin of the animosities that cul
minate in "tong murder" lies far back
in the remote recesses of oriental
character, beyond reach of the de
ductive methods of the most ad
vanced criminology. When murder
has been attempted or done, the po
lice may capture or kill, the courts
of the country may mete out such
punishment as seems to fit the case;
but the cause or motive of the crime
remains obscure. The laws of the
land wherein the crime is commit
ted, the warnings of the police and
the retribution of the courts, seem
powerless to check the recurrence of
oriental outbreak.
Cynical occidentals may remark
that the killing of a Chinaman now
and then is no great matter. The
remark would go wide of the point.
Murder is murder, wherever it may
be done; and murder is a crime for
which some form of punishment has
been prescribed in all countries and
under the crudest forms of govern
ment. The killing of any man, yel
low, black or white, Is not to be dis
missed as of trivial importance, nor
to be in any way condoned because
the springs of the impulse to kill are
removed from common comprehen
sion.
Only by merest chance may the
police of such a city learn in ad
vance of a plan for tong murder.
They have learned, by long experi
ence, that when one murder has been
done, a retaliatory murder is bound
to be committed; but how, when,
where and by whom will lead the
most astute detectives down a long
trail of futile speculation. The cause
the occasion, the issuance of the
order to kill, and the choice of the
human instrument of revenge, are
things not to be ascertained by any
of the processes commonly employed
in dealing with other classes.
The restriction of tong feuds to
the Chinese, the apparent Immunity
of Americans and other residents
from tong vengeance give no excuse
for toleration. ,In such an affray as
that which occurred in mis city
Tuesday night anyone might have
been hurt or killed. In any case,
and in its mildest aspect, this war
ring. of the tongs is a disturbance of
the peace of a community which has
no interest in the deadly contro
versies of oriental sojourners. The
tongs are organized and officered;
and if murders of Chinese are tong
murders, the gunmen are but the
instruments of deliberately planned
homicides and no " more culpable
than those who did the planning.
Our own legal formalities and ori
ental secretiveness protect the in
stigators but it should he possible
for the agencies of the federal gov
ernment to break them up. The de
portation of tong men, including an
intelligent selection of the higher
ups, should have a corrective effect.
If these people wish to remain in the
United States they should be made
to understand that our laws are in
tended to secure their good behavior,
no matter what may be the peculiar
or savajge character of their differ
ences among themselves.
HOW TO FIIX THE DEFICIT VACUUM.
Secretary Mellon's announcement
that revenue from income tax will
fall $215,000,000 short of the esti
mate on which the budget is based
confirms the opinion expressed
when surtaxes were under discussion
that the percentages fixed in the last
tax law have dried up that source of
revenue by driving men of large for
tune to invest their surplus income
in tax-exempt securities. Either that
or the process of deflation which
continued throughput the year 1921
caused a greater shrinkage in in
comes as compared with 1928 than
the treasury department, experts had
calculated. v
The necessity of making up this
deficit will turn attention once more
to the sales tax, though the opposi
tion of labor unions and farmers'
organizations causes many congress
men to shrink from it as if it would
burn their fingers. Its merits are
better understood since a party of
congressmen examined its working
at first hand in Canada. In that
country escape is prevented by re
quiring all manufacturers and
wholesalers to take a license, . Half
the tax, which is 3 per cent, is col
lected from the manufacturer and
half from the wholesaler monthly
and the whole is included in the
wholesale price of goods, therefore-is
called painless to the consumers. In
its first year it yielded ,79,000,000
and cost less than 1 percent to col
lect. The central office employs less
than 40 .persons besides 30 traveling
auditors and the administrator. Ex
eruption is granted to necessities of
life, foodstuffs in their natural
state, initial sales of farm produce
by the farmer himself, and first
products of fisheries, mines and for
ests.
The sales tax proposed by Senator
Smoot was to have been collected
from manufacturers only, and profit
on it, as part of the price of goods,
would have been added by whole
salers and retailers. While this would
be pyramiding, no great pyramid
could be erected on a 1 per cent tax,
which is all that was proposed, and
the ease and simplicity of collection
would contrast strongly with the
cumbersome, costly machinery of
the income tax. If, as now seems
probable, the bonus bill should be
passed, congress will be compelled
to find some new source of revenue.
and it may be driven to the sales tax
as a last resort.
THE JRREPRESSIBLE WELSHMAN.
Lloyd George won another trl
umph by defying the British parlia
ment to get along without him. On
all sides was raised the cry: "Dis
solve the coalition and; let each party
stand by Its own 'strength." It
seemed that the premier, who rep
resented a decidedly minority party
in the coalition, had hardly a friend
in the world. But he no sooner asks
for a vote of confidence, plainly in
timating that, if it is denied, he will
resign, than it is given by a majority
almost as great as any since the
khaki election of 1918.
The clever little Welshman has
maneuvered the Unionists into a po
sition where they cannot get along
without him or are afraid to try.
They have a majority over all other
parties in the house of commons, but
their leaders have become so com
promised by their support of the
George policy as to be sadly em
barrassed if they should open politi
cal warfare upon him. They have
forsaken the very principle that is
expressed by their, party name
unionist for their leaders took part
in making the treaty which dissolves
the union by establishing the Irish
free state, and all the unionists in
parliament except about fifty die
hards voted to ratify that treaty. If
they should undertake to form a
cabinet, they could not adopt a dis
tinct programme without repudiat
ing and attacking much that their
leaders have done as members of the
coalition.
The history of the coalition is the
story of surrenders of principle by
first one, then the other, of its two
component parts.' For example, the
unionists abandoned the union par
liament, the liberals abandoned free
trade, each on the opportunist plea
that a great emergency demanded iC
The- unionists, who have inherited
the tory tradition, would like , to
make protection and the hereditary
house of lords the leading planks in
their platforms, but they know that
downfall of the coalition must be
quickly followed by an election, and
they know that democratic and free
trade opinion is so strong that they
dare not face the issue all except
the die-hards, who would glory in
defeat for a principle, but they are
not practical politicians.
What would follow if the coalition
should break up, a tory cabinet ap
peal for a popular mandate, and the
coalition liberals be left free to play
their own part in the campaign, is a
fruitful field for speculation. The
unionists have learned to fear the
resourcefulness and magnetism of
Lloyd George. He has been working
to form a center party composed of
his liberal followers and the moder
ate unionists, which would fight
against the die-hard unionists on one
hand, the independent liberals and
Iaborites ' on . the other. He has
branded the Iaborites as socialists
aiming at revolution, and the grow
ing co-operation between that party
and the Asquith liberals might give
him opportunity to tar the latter
party with the same brush. He
might renew the center party
scheme and attract to his standard
all . unionists except the irreconcil
ables, also many independent liber
als, by raising the alarm about so
cialism. Silenced as to his "past acts
by their joint responsibility for them
and having echoed his attacks on the
Iaborites, his present unionist col
leagues might see no other choice
than to join him. They remain his
faithful followers lest he turn and
rend them, for they have a lively
memory of what he used to say
about the dukes in his radical days.
All of this seems to have little to
do with the Genoa conference, which
was the immediate occasion for
Lloyd George's demand for a vote of
confidence, but the calling of that
conference was in fact a play In do
mestic politics by both the British
and French premiers. It was one of
those brilliant improvisations In
statesmanship by which the agile
Welshman has squeezed through
many a tight place and has held of
fice long after the fall of every lead
ing politician of the other great
powers that met at Paris. He is the
sole survivor of the big four, and for
three years he has bent other pre
miers to his will, shaping events on
the continent while he tamed the
revolutionary spirit which underlay
great strikes at home. . When he
went to Cannes he faced another
emergency, for foreign trade had
shrunk, taxes were crushing, two
million men were unemployed and
were supported by the government
at a cost of half a billion dollars a
year. Relief from this situation
could be obtained only by stabilizing
economic conditions in Europe. The
chief requisite was to oen Russia
to British and German trade and in
vestment. That would give work to
the unemployed, expand commerce,
enable Germany to pay reparations,
thereby enabling him to reduce
taxes and to quiet the clamor of
France. If he could, by the promise
of economic aid and ultimate recog
nition, induce the bolshevist chiefs
to renounce communism finally, to
compensate those whom they had
robbed, to recognize old debts, and
to throw Russia open to trade under
accepted principles, he would start
Europe toward prosperity and would
score a triumph that would seat him
firmly on his shaky seat.- He would
at one stroke benefit Great Britain
all Europe and himself.
The fall of Briand seemed to doom
him to failure for he could not easily
manage Poincare, who stands for
complete fulfilment of treaties and
for no recognition of the soviet ex
cept on French terms. The French
premier stood pat and there seemed
to be a hopeless deadlock, but Pre
mier Benes of Czecho-SIovakia medi
ated between them and after a four
hour interview at Bologne Lloyd
George and Poincare agreed on a de
fensive alliance against Germany and
on French representation at Genoa,
but on Poincare's' terms. It remains
for Lloyd George to bring the soviet
delegates to the terms on which
alone France will deal with 'them at
all a n d more difficult still to
make them live up to their bargain.
He has safely navigated one dan
gerous rapid; can he steer through
the next?
The bug of ambition seized the
Tillamook Headlight, one of the best
"country" papers of the state, awhile
ago and for a month it was pub
lished twice a week as an experi
ment; but the innovation was ahead
of city and time, and weekly pub
lication has been resumed. It was
a great paper ana gave an indi
cation of what "can happen, maybe,
some time."
The postmaster-general favors the
plan and soon the parcel post driver
will be weighing the baby on de
mand of its mother. Its weight best
tells the condition of a child's health
and paternally your Uncle Sam has
much interest in the rising gener
ation. Those Yakima potato growers,
cow, stepping around on the sides of
their feet at times because of the ex
cellence of their product, are buying
seed grown on the Deschutes. For
the best of everything, come to Ore
gon. .
A musical enthusiast in New York
favors putting pianos In the' homes
of burglars to influence them to be
good. This proposal ought to "par
alyze" even the talented men who
write ads for the piano houses.
There is possibility that these
chaps who advocate saving daylight
are the fellows who must arise early
to make garden under direction of
the major fraction of the family.
The Florida candidate for mayor
who declared In favor of the one
piece bathing suit was elected by a
large majority. "Vamps' are bound
to win at a watering place.
Twenty chorus girls were lucky in
a hotel lire in an umo town tne
other night in being able to flee "in
night attire." Suppose they had been
"dressed" for the stage!
It is not agitation over the reor
ganization of the bureau of engrav
ing as it is fear of what may be com
ing. Democrats, it seems, are doing
all the worrying.
More women aspire to be in the
next congress. Nominations for the
next legislature might be in order,
now that the time is getting short.
The ex-kaiser is reading a book
called "Man and God," something al
together different from the way he
used to say it.
The penitentiary is becoming
crowded, but, like the circus tent.
there always is room for one more.
Detective "Wright is one of the
good shots on the force who save! land. Wash.
court expenses at times. 13. That is incorrect. m
Stars and Starmakers.
By Leone Can Ban,
News of Nancy Duncan, ' once a
Baker stock player, is contained in an
announcement from Battle Creek.
Mich. Nancy is heading the Bijou
stock company.
When Adele Ritchie married Guy
Bates Post she said she was givingf
up the stage. Now the Pasadena
papers are recalling her avowal and
mentioning that she has evidently
changed her mind, since- she is en
gaged as director of the Pasadena
Little Players. If you've ever seen
a group of "Little Players" play you'll
realize that the Pasadena papers are
wrong and that Adele has not "re
turned to the footlights." She is
merely turning a nice penny or two
for herself by directing a flock of
folk who are determined to act, the
ambitious amateurs who say that
"they want to act so badly" and do.
They are not indigenous to Pasadena.
In the meantime Adele's husband,
Guy Bates Post, is making a cellu
loid version of "The Masquerader" in
Los Angeles. This picture will mark
the first film production of Richard
Walton Tullyi
A little matter of billing interfered
with a vaudeville route of Mrs. Lydig
Hoyt, the New York society beauty
who has had a fling in film and ap
peared with William Faversham in
his revival of "The Squaw Man." Mrs,
Hoyt, who is a sort of Edna Good
rich kind -of actress, beautiful but
dumb, was to be a headline In vaude
ville, and the agents insisted on ad
vertising her as Mrs. Lydig Hoyt
Mr. Lydig objected. Not only does
he object to his wife appearing on
the stage, but he violently opposes
the use of his name on the advertis
ing. So she agreed to be billed as
Julia Hoyt, and the agents promptly
ended the hooking, saying that Julia
Hoyt had no box-of fiee drawing
power, but that Mrs. Lydig Hoyt
would draw. So Julia must realize
that it wasn't her talent that at
tracted.
Beauty may be only skin deep, but
little Evelyn Greer, a one time
stenographer in a Montreal office, is
having a right nice time on the depth
of her epidermis. Evelyn was voted
the prettiest girl in all Canada in a
recent content, in which photo
graphs of Canada's fairest maids were
sent in competition. Evelyn is
brunette and they say she won in
walk. At any rate she's going to be
filmed in a Los Angeles picture pro
duction, but in the meantime she
being shown New York as a part of
her winnings.
Olaire Sinclair, formerly of the
Baker stock, is playing with the
Woodward stock company in Seattle
Nina Payne, a Seattle girl who has
distinguished herself as an interpre
tative dancer in this country, is just
now creating a sensation with her
Egyptian dances and odd costumes in
the Folles Bergere in Paris. Miss
Payne is said to be the most com
pletely dressed player on the Folles
stage.
Heywood Broun has been appointed
dramatic editor of the New York
World, in succession to Louis V.
DeFoe, whose recent death ended his
career of almost a quarter of a cen
tury on the World.
Martha Hedman is to play the lead
in ""My Lady's Lips." a new play by
Edward Locke. There are to be onlj
three characters In the play. The
other two players are William Powell,
who was at one time a member of the
Baker stock company. Gilda Leary is
the third player.
-
Pauline Frederick is sailing this
month for London to appear in "Law
ful Larceny," one of the A. H
Woods productions. Miss Frederick
has signed a five-year contract with
Woods.
Sarah Bernhardt has announced
she will play the role of Eve in the
four-act play, "Adam and Eve," writ
ten by Saoha Guitry, whose father
will be Adam in the production. Mme.
Bernhardt will play Eve as being 79
years old, and Adam is to be im
personated as seven years her Junior.
www
Ossip Dymow wrote a play four
yearS ago, He wrote It In his native
language, and you would know it
was Russian by glancing again at
Ossip's name. The play was pro
duced by the Yiddish Art theater in
New York under a title of Ossip's
choosing in 199, and then it lay
shrouded in dust on Ossip's shelves,
save when he dusted It off and took
it to some prospective purchaser. At
last he connected with the Coburns
(Mr. and Mrs.), who put on "The
Better 'Ole" and who go in for artis
tic plays. They got Owen Davis to
rewrite Ossip's play for adaptation on
the American stage and they've re
named it "The Bronx Express." It is
scheduled to open" sometime this
month.
a
Lester Lonergan has been engaged
as stage director of "The Shadow,
from the novel by Eden Phillpotts, to
be produced soon by Marc Klaw.
Chauncey Olcott opens an engage
ment In San Francisco next week. He
is appearing in a revival of "Ragged
Robin."
Trixie Friganza is headed in this
direction over the Orpheum circuit.
This week she is in St. Paul.
Location of Willamette Meridian.
VANCOUVER, Wash., April 4. (To
the Editor.) (1) What Is the differ
ence in Portland between solar time
and the official time? (2) Where does
the Willamette meridian cross a line
running east and west through Port
land? Give the names of two or three
towns in Oregon and Washington situ
ated on, or near by, the Willamette
meridian. (3) I have heard it stated
that the Beaverton-Hillsboro road
runs exactly on one of the earth's
parallels. Is that statement correct?
If so, what parallel is it? J. S.
1. Standard time is 11 minutes faster
than solar time at Portland.
2. The Willamette meridian passes
west of Portland proper and for a
portion of the way forms the dividing
line between Multnomah and Wash
ington counties. It cuts the district
of St. Johns about the center and
touches the lower point of Hayden
island. It goes through Just east of
Aurora, Or., and almost touches Wood-
OPPORTUNITY AWAITS CAPITA!.
Rogue River Valley Inviting; Field for
Nitrogen and Dehydration Plants
GOLD HILL, Or., April 4. (To the
Editor.) For several years the state
has been experimenting in the prep
aration of lime fertilizer at its plant
at Gold Hill. This gives an added
interest to the Muscle Shoals proposi
tion, which is being so extensively
advertised at this time. Here we
have the water power in great quan
tity in Rogue river. We have the
lime and our atmosphere is filled
with nitrogen. Henry Ford is exer
cising himself to get control of the
Muscle Shoals proposition for the pur
pose of manufacturing fertilizer for
the run-down farms of the east. It
seems to be a settled fact that with
an abundance of water power, lime
and nitrogen, the best and cheapest
fertilizer In the world, can be man
ufactured with little cost. Is there
not a Henry Ford in Oregon who can
be induced to take over the state's
lime plant here and do this thing for
this state? Perhaps the state itself
can be induced to change its present
unsatisfactory lime plant to one that
shall manufacture this nitrogenous
fertilizer from the materials at hand.
Gold Hill now has 'the chief man
ufacturing olant of southern Oregon,
putting out 1200 barrels of Portland
cement every 24 hours and employ
ing many men. Why not establish a
dehydration plant on the banks of
this wonderful stream? we ve got tne
power going to waste. Each year
hundreds of tons, perhaps thousands
of tons of al'l kinds of fruit and
vegetables are wasted in Rogue river
valley for want ot some metnoa oi
utilizing them. Rogue river valley
needs no advertising to let people
know of its wonders in fruit ana
vegetables, only the choicest or wnicn
are used, because it does not pay
to ship them. Gold Hill is the logical
nlace for such an institution, lying,
as it does, at the foot of the valley,
with oaved highway and down grade.
No country can exceed this valley
in its grapes, cherries, strawoerries,
los-anberries. gooseberries, currants, ap
ples, pears, peaches; its great varieties
of vegetable productions, which only
require the dehydration process to ex
tract the water and preserve the meat
for shipment to a hungry world, and
an added plant to extract tne juices
from our berries and grapes. We are
too far away from metropolitan cen
ters to market our perishable prod
uce and freights are too high to pay
for shipping in their natural conai
tion. Saueeze out the Juice which
everybody drinks, or uses in one way
or another, irom our Dems
smaller fruits and reduce freight
chare-es from our shipments of vege-
ishisi hv trertiner rid of the water
and reducing the bulk, which dehydra
tion treatment does.
Here is a great field for someone s
spare capital and a chance to make
for the happiness of regions that are
denied these luxuries.
G. B. WATSON,
Radio, Composer and Opera.
PORTLAND. April 5.. (To the Edi
tor.) 1. What kind of an apparatus
or contrivance will it require so mat
r ppn hpar The Oregonian's radio
phone concerts in my house?
. In 1860-61 I, knew, in New York,
the, nomDoaer Stephen. C. Foster.
Could you tell me the dates of his
birth and' aeatn .'
3. Richard Wagner in his opera
"Tannhausar" uses the incident of
the "Sangerkrieg on the Wartburg"
as hisi text. In, the smaller of the
two halls on the Wartburg where
the singing contest took place is a
lare-e oil painting of the five partici
Dants. When I was there in 1914 I
got their names from the caretaker,
but I have lost the memorandum
Still I remember three of them, i. e.,
Wolfram von Eschenbach. Walther
von der Vigelweide, Heinrich Von
Afferding. Which was the real Tann
hauser. He lost the contest and for
feited his life, but at the interces
sion of Elizabeth, the landgrave's
daughter, was repreived so he might
make a pilgrimage to Rome. How
or where could I find the names of
the other contestants
PAUL PFERDXER.
1. You need antenna supported in
the air in some way outside your
residence and a receiving set. The
latter come in a great variety of
prices receiving ranges, styles and
efficiencies. You should see a dealer
In electrical appliances or visit one
of the radio supply houses in Port
land. 2. Stephen. C. Foster was born July
4, 1826, and died January 13, 1864.
3. The other two singers besides
Tannhauser are Biterolf and Relmar
von Zweter. upera-uoers complete
Guide," obtainable at book stores,
has descriptions of all standard
operas. That or similar works may
be consulted at the public library.
Farmers and Compensation Law.
VALSETZ. (To the Editor.)
Please tell me if the working men's
compensation, law in any state coveTS
domestic and) farm labor. I under
stood it does not. My friend says in
Washington it does.
CHARLES E. YOUNG.
The common practice is -to exclude-
farm and domestic labor, but in sev
eral states this exclusion is' condi
tional or inclusion may be had by
affirmative election. In Oregon any
excluded employment maybe brought
under the act by application by the
ndividual employer with the acquies-
ance of his employes.
Customs at Funerals.
PORTLAND, April 6. (To the Edi
tor.) 1. Is it customary to disregard
the expressed wishes of the deceased
as to having the funeral rites per
formed by one of the fraternal so
cieties of which he was a member?
2. Is a private funeral so private
that a virtually life-long friend, even
attending him during hij last illness,
can be denied admission to the fu
neral services? JULIUS ADLER.
1. Expressed wishes are usually
obeyed.
2. A friend has no rights that the
family of the deceased are. legally
compelled to respect.
Symptoms ot Septic Sore Throat.
PORTLAND, April 5. (To the Edi
tor.) How can one tell the differ
ence between a common sore throat
and1 septic sore throat?
CONSTANT READER.
The disease Is Identified, by bac
teriological tests of cultures taken
from the throat of the patients. There
is no home test for the disease In Its
early stages.
Advanced or severe cases are at
tended' by high fever, severe head
ache and pains in back andi limbs.
HOME.
Our ship came in today.
At first a ribbon of black smoke,
Then stately hull swung into view,
Was quickly seized by pigmy tug.
And led, like Gulliver, to pier.
Its cargo, precious beyond price,
No joyous exultation caused.
Its flag, midmast, dejected hung.
Called forth no cheer from harbor
fleet.
In solemn state the passengers.
With sightless eyes and voiceless
tongues.
To land that gave them birth returned.
Clad as Crusaders for the fray.
Around them flag of freedom draped;
Their passport to immortal fame.
Our ship came in today.
si, E. ANDERSON.
Those Who Come and Go.
Talea of Folks at ike Hotels.
Goodness knows where Seaside will
stop. Some day not so many years
hence, the cottages will be clear over
the hill, built solid to Ecola, where
Lewis and Clark found the Clatsop
Indians cutting up the dead whale.
F. M. Cole, who is registered at the
Perkins from Seaside, where he Is a
real estate dealer, Bays that tomor
row work will start opening up a new
addition to the south. This addition
will consist of 90 acres and will be
spread about Tillamook Head. Not so
many years ago Tillamook Head was
considered a long way from Seaside
proper, but the demand for beach
homes is causing the land) to be cut
up into lots and placed on the mar
ket. For the past two winters, says
Mr. Cole, there has not been a vacant
house in Seaside, as people of th
interior discover that Seaside Is a
winter resort as well as a summer
playground. Wealthy wheat farmers
of the Inland Empire have found
Seaside fascinating and are buying
in that city. Eight years ago Mr.
Cole arrived at Seasdde from New
York and decided to remain. In his
youth he was a printer, in the days
when type was set by hand and when
tramp printers ambled into print
shops, worked a few days and am
bled off to the next town.
"Sugar Is the most Important staple
in the grocery business," declared F.
O. Burns of Salem, district manager
for a chain of grocery stores, while
In the Benson yesterday. "Sugar takes
precedence of everything else and
people judge a store by what the store
charges for sugar. Grocers rarely
make money on sugar, for this article
is always used for a fight. I don't
know why sugar has been selected
instead of half a dozen other staples,
but the fact remains that sugar is
where the battle rages and where
It always has." Mr. Burns says
that retailing groceries is the most
precarious business in the world, for
statistics show that about 90 per cent
of the mere who start retail groceries
go broke. The cause is attributed to
charge accounts and deliveries, and
the way for a grocer to get ahead of
the. game is to sell for cash and have
customers carry their packages home.
The five Indians who are at the
Multnomah from Pendleton are com
mercial. Realizing their value for
photographic purposes, they insist on
charging a fee for posing for snap
shotters, which proves conclusively
that the wild west isn't wild any more
and lo, the simple redskin, has become
mercenary. These Indians are part of
the local color supplied at the Round
up each year. By way of information
be it known that their breakfast yes
terday consisted of pork chops, fried
eggs and ice cream.
"Follow the man from Cook's." He
is the chap who leads tourists from
place to place, giving a complete lec
ture in the shortest possible time and
then rushing his crowd to the next
point of interest. Cook's tourists are
not as common on the Pacific coast as
they are in Europe, but the firm
has Its representatives everywhere.
Charles E. Stokes, representing the
tourist company, is at the Hotel Port
land from San Francisco. He is here
looking over the territory.
They know the first name of every
employe in the Hotel Portland, do
Jane, aged 5, and Niokey, aged 4, chil
dren of Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Sinclair
of Ilwaco, Wash. The youngsters ar
rived at the hotel yesterday from Los
Angeles, where they have been for
the last five months, and are on their
way home. The weather In southern
California all winter has been cold
and disagreeable and the youngsters
are glad to be back whore it Is
warmer and more comfortable.
Thieves are no respectors of per
sons. P. K. Ahern of Seattle, wnere
he manages the office of a nationally
known detective bureau, discovered
that someone stole a shirt from his
room in the Hotel Portland. Rather
than work on the case, the clews
being very few. Detective Ahern
solved the problem by putting in a
bill to the hotel for $8 to replace the
garment, and insisted that it was an
?8 shirt.
A bunch of Rotarians arrived at the
Benson yesterday from attending the
international meeting in BritiKh Co
lumbia.' In the group was Charles It.
Perry of Chicago, who is the secretary-general.
Others In the party
were Crawford C. McCullough of Fort
Williams, Ontario; H. J. Stark and
wife of Orange. Texas; William Cop
poch of Council Bluffs, Iowa; J. M.
Bechtold of Chicago and O. J. Behrena
of New York.
Great excitement prevailed In the
hotel lobbies yesterday when a
stranger visited them wearing a
straw hat. It was the first of the
season in Portland and It was very
palpably last year's hat and hadn't
been sent to a cleaner.
P. A. Young is the mayor of Albany,
but that isn't all, for he is also- presi
dent of the First National bank In
that town. Mr. Young is registered
at the Hotel Portland while here to i
meet with the officials of the war
finance corporation.
Alex Powers, banker of Lebanon
and George Buhl, who always comes
to Portland with him, are at the
Hotel Portland, They are among the
many out-of-town financiers who are
here to attend conferences with the
war finance corporation.
J. M. Devers, counsel for the state
highway department, is In the city to
arrange for securing depositions in
the east for the case which is to be
brought to test the validity of the
patents on pavement.
Robert H. Elder of Cour d'Alene
Idaho, arrived at the Hotel Portland
yesterday. He is here to be admitted
to practice in the federal court. Mr.
Elder is the democratio national com
mltteeman for the Gem state.
C. E. Hall, cashier of the bank at
Prineville, is at the Imperial. Like
a score of others, he is attracted
hither by the presence of the finance
officials from Washington, D. C.
O. E. Teel, after whom an Irriga
tion project has been named In east
ern Oregon, is in the city on irriga
tion matters. Mr. Teel Is registered
at the Imperial from Echo.
C. S. Knowles of Kennewlck, Wash.,
where he is construction superintend
ent for the Pacific Power & Light
company, is registered at the Hotel
Oregon.
John C. Davles, lumber exporter of
Coos bay, who is specializing in white
cedar for the Japanese market. Is an
arrival at the Benson.
Mrs. Minnie C. Letson ef Ontario,
Or., is at the Imperial while making a
tour as worthy grand matron of the
Eastern Star.
Dr. C. H. Mayo, one of the noted
Mayo brothers of Rochester, Minn, Is
at the Benson with his wife.
Parrot Makes a Remark.
Boston Transcript.
A man who believed he knew all
about parrots undertook to teach
what he thought to be a young mute
bird to say "Hello!" In one lesson.
Going up to its cage he repeated that
word In a clear voice for several min
utes, the parrot paying not the slight
est attention. At the final "Hello!"
the b'rd opened one eye, gazed at the
man. and snapped, out: "Line's busy!"
WHAT SPIRIT NOISES MAT DB
Rosined Srrlnc la Effective Death
Watch Beetle Hakes Good Ghost.
EUGENE, Or., April 4 (To the Ed
itor.) I read with Interest The Ore
gonian's editorial In which you sur
gest that the rapping around ths
ghost-Infested house In Portland
might be due in part to the well
known form of annoyance, the roslnrd
string or tick-tack. And one with
a little Ingenuity could arrange this
so that It could be well:onceled and
be operated from a distance. This
would make a terrific noise If at
tached to an easily vibrating house.
Any one Intent on running out the
occupants might use this very effect
ively. Another thing that may explain the
lighter tappings in a case of this sort
is the noise made by the doath-watrh
beetle working In the walls. The
sound Is made by the Insect tapping
Its head as it bores In the wood. I
have often heard its tlc-tic-tlc-tio at
the rate of five or six per second,
continuing for several seconds. It
sounds a great deal like the rapid,
light tapping of a pencil point on a
table. Those Inside the house would
swear that the sound came from the
outside, and vice-versa. A descrip
tion may be found In Kellogg's book,
"American Insects."
The electrical display from the
tree tops Is likely nothing more than
the discharge from points. Examples
are the Andean light, St. Elmo's fire
on the masts of ships and brush dis
charges of many kinds produced la
the laboratory. J. HUGH FUUETT.
Veterans' Tax Exemption.
PORTLAND. April 6. (To the Edi
tor.) I followed thp Sioux Indians
under Little Wound throuuh the bad
lands of South Dakota In the winter
of 18D0 and 18!H a member of
company H, Id United States Infantry.
My discharge says I was on a cam
paign. There were quite few Indians
and soldiers killed that winter.
Among the killed were Sitting Hull
and about 40 enlisted men and offl
cera of the 7th cavalry, Custer's old
regiment, ricaso Inform me whether
I derive any benefits from the state
tax exemption. Another veteran
who followed (lornnlmn in Arizona
claims that we are both Included
under this law. I nm of the opinion
that we are excluded from any ben
efits. As there is a great deal of
doubt In the matter, will you plcntm
explain the law? I cannot understand
why one Indian war veteran should
be exempted from taxation nm! an
other Indian war veteran taxed t
support him. ROUKRT HICKS.
The law reads: "There shall be ex
empt from taxation property not te
exceed in taxable value 11000 of any
honorably discharged union soldier or
sailor of the Mexican war, the war
of the rebellion or the Indian wars
of the Btate of Oregon, or of the
widow remaining unmarried of such
soldier or sailor." We can only tell
what the law Is. but not why It Is
not something else.
Gold Reserves and Paper Money.
SWKET HOME, Or., April 4. (To
the Kditor.) A argues that the gov
ernment has only 40 cents to back
every II In greenbacks Issued. B
thinks K has $1 for II. Whirh is
right? A CONSTANT READKIt..
In general there are three kinds of
"greenbacks," or paper money, In
circulation. Treasury notes are se
cured by equal depot-It of gold and
silver and are known in gold and
silver certrficatea, National bank
notes are secured by deposit In the
national treasury of their equivalent
In certain government bonds. Federal
reserve notes are secured by 40 per
cent in gold and 60 per cent In ngrl
cultural and Industrial notes, drafts,
bills of exchanite or acceptances.
These notes can also be secured by
100 per cent In gold. National bank
notes are subject to retirement under
a method by which they are replaced
by Issues of reserve bank notes se
cured by government bonds. Some of
the United States treasury notes Is
sued during the civil war are still In
circulation and a gold rrseirve of ap
proximately 42 per cent Is held agaln-st
them.
Positions in Fostoffte.
PORTLAND. April B. (To the IldU
tor.) 1. Kindly Inform me throuirh
The Oregonian what the salary Is of
second, third and fourth class pnt
offiocs. A population of about I.'.OO
would be under what class? Is a
postmaster allowed to have all of his
family employed without civil serv
ice examinations? 3. Is a democrat
appointed in republican times as
postmaster? 4. How would one go
about and whom should one apply to
for position of that nature?
OLD SUBSCRIBER.
1. Salaries of second-class post
masters range from 12300 to i:00;
third-class from 11100 to $::0O;
fourth-class about 1000 per year.
Receipts of an office and not the pop
ulation of a town decide the class of
a postoffice.
2. A postmaster Is permitted te
appoint hie assistant outside of the
civil service. If clerks are employed
In addition, they would be subject to
civil service rules.
S. Yes.
4. Vacancies are announced as fhey
o-TCur and examinations are held pre
vious to appointment.
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years An.
Prom The Orenonlan of April 6. 117.
Chicago. The mayoralty election
today resulted In a decisive victory
for Carter H. Harrison, democratla
nominee, over Sears, republican, and
Harlan, the Independent candidate.
The mountains are full of snow,
there being much more than la usual
at this time of year, and flood condi
tions In the Willamette nre highly
probable, according to Forecaster
Pague.
Annual commencement exercises of
the medical department. University of
Oregon, were held In the high school
last night, 33 graduates receiving
diplomas.
Colonel Owen Summers has received
word from Washington that his ap
plication for the position of United
States marshal has been received and
filed.
TO TTII3 DAFFODIL.
Did sunlight spill
O Daffodil.
That thou art hers.
Dispensing cheer.
In narrow yard.
On wide greenswards
In sunny group.
By quaint old stoop;
Or straggling lone -In
grass o'ergrown
Mayhap astray
Near some byway
Or solemn wood.
With cheer Imbued?
O Daffodil
Bide with us still,
Tho" night portend
And sunlight end
O Daffodil.
Blest Daffodil!
r-JE3S CaMTBELX
Newport. O.
?