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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1922)
THE MOEMXG OKEGONIAJT, MONDAY, APRIL 17, 1922 I ESTABLISHED BY HENRY I- PITTOCK. Il-oblished by Ths Oregonian Publishing Co. 13S Sixth Street, Portland, uregon. C. A. HOEDEN, E. B. PIPER, Manager. s.altor. The Oregoniaa is a member of the Amu- nated Press. The Associated Press Is ex- Iciiieively 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. Ail rights publication of special dispatches Herein I are also reserved. Subscription Bates Invariably in Adraoce. ' (By Mail.) Daily. Sunday included, one year. . . . js.uu Ilaily, Sunday Included, six months.. 4.3 t&ily. Sunday included, three months. 3.25 Daily, Sunday included, one month... 75 , Daily, without Sunday, one year 8.00 I rally, without Sunday, si months... 3.23 Dally, without Sunday, one month 60 Sunday, one year - 2.50 (By Carrier.) Daily, Sunday included, one year $9.00 I'aily. Sunday included, three months. I Ijallv. Sundav included, one month.... rni!y, without Sunday, one year 7.80 Jfaily, without Sunday, three months. 1.95 EfaUy, without Sunday, one month 65 How to Remit Send postotfice money lorcer, express or personal check on your total bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at owner's risk. Give postoffice address In fiill. including county and state. Poxtaee Rates 1 to 10 pages. 1 cent; 18 I to 32 pages, 2 cents; 84 to 48 pages, 3 cents; 50 to 64 pages, 4 cents; 86 to 80 rages. 5 cents; 82 to 96 pages, 8 cents. IJY.relgn postage doable rate. Fn.t.m RRHlnnu Of f Ice Verree A Conk' llln, 300 Madison avenue. New York; Verree fc Conkiin, Steger building, Chicago; ver ree & Conkiin. Free Press building. De troit. Mich.; Verree & Conkiin, Monadnock building. San Francisco. Cal. WE WANT TO KNOW. The fire department case will not be fully aired if the hearing on charges be confined formally to those involving Chief Young. Not only the fire chief is on trial in public estimation. The fire marshal'" office is as much defendant as, if not more than, he, although one of I Its lieutenants has the role of prose cuting witness. A definite cloud has been cast on the fire marshal's bureau by the manner in whiclathe charges against the fire 'chief were instituted. The futile attempt to hide behind a dum my complainant arouses a prejudice In favor of the fire chief. Only the most positive proof of the charges will overcome it. Not only ia there demanded fair and complete Inquiry, but action in accordance with what ever disclosures may be made. It is not one of those issues which lend themselves to whitewash or compro mise or smoothing over. If the fire chief be shown to be unfit, he should ro; if he be shown to be fit he should be given complete control of the de partments that properly belong in the fire bureau, and be Instructed to clean out trouble-makers. For that matter, if there be a new fire chief, why should there be a separate fire prevention bureau? The fire marshal in Portland was originally given the necessary city authority but paid for by the insur ance companies. Now it is no longer a position but a bureau. It is out side the ulsciplinary authority of the fire chief; its inspectors are lieu tenants eleven of them and .it is not supported by the insurance com panies but by the city. If wholly wiped out, the fire chief would auto matically become an assistant state fire marshal charged with certain duties and responsible for their proper performance. Complaints have frequently come from builders and building owners that this department exercises arbi trary authority and compels unrea sonable remodeling of old buildings. The bureau, which is under Com missioner Bigelow, has developed into a sort cf building inspection bureau with safety from fire its pur pose, let over in Commissioner Barbur's department is another building inspection bureau having a great deal to do with safety of build ings and probably with ample au thority to see that ordinances per taining to any detail of construc tion, including prevention of fire, are obeyed. Now there are a few things which the public ought to know, and which it will be given opportunity to know if there is the proper kind of hear ing: What is the basis for the charges gainst Chief Young truth, jeal ousy or internal politics? Why is fire prevention conducted under a separate bureau? Why are Its inspectors lieutenants Instead of hosemen? Why should there be two bureaus engaged in building inspection? Are the fire marshal's powers ex ercised along reasonable lines or partly for the purpose of making a how of activity? Does co-operation exist through out the fire department? Does proper respect for authority? A CONGRESSIONAL AIR LINE. Plans are seriously discussed by senators and representatives from eastern states for chartering an air plane that would take them home every evening and back to Washing ton next morning in half the time now occupied by the railroad jour ney. This opens great possibilities. It is proposed to buy or rent -a plane with accommodations for fourteen or sixteen passengers, which would leave Washington at 5 P. M arrive in New York, 223 miles distant, at 7:30. leave on the return trip at 9:30 next morning and arrive in Wash ington at noon, when senate and house meet. By this system of air commuting a New Yorker or con gressman from any of the interven ing states could go home to dinner, sleep at home and escape the extor tionate rents and prices of the capi tal, und could also spend the week end at home. Once in successful operation, this plan would doubtIecs be extended to greater distances and in all direc tions from the capital. It is quite conceivable that all congressmen whose homes were within S00 miles could get home for the night within three hours. That radius would ex tend north to Hartford and Albany, N. Y., westward to Cleveland, CO" lumbus and eastern Kentucky and southward to the north line of South Carolina. It would make commuters of many members from New Eng land, more than half those from New York, all of those from Penn sylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware. Virginia, West Viriginia, North Carolina, many from Ohio and eome from Kentucky. For the week end a 500-mile radius should be practicable and would extend to Portland, Me., Buffalo, Indianapolis, Louisville, Atlanta and Savannah. Not only would congressmen es cape the rapacity of Washington landlords and store-keepers; they would also escape the tepid heat of the capital and would soar to cool, ethereal heights, where their weary brains would be cleared and their ? . jarred nerves invigorated. The heights to which they would ascend oratory, and new rivals to Webster and Clay might arise. Though over- fed on mere speeches, this genera- tion would be grateful to air travel if it should move some statesman to deliver a real oration. NO GBA8P. It was impossible for the commission by much questioning to secure from any source an estimate even an approximate estimate of the probable total cost of the new (county) hospital and all its nec essary appurtenances. A complete hospital programme was lacking and the commission found itself in the position of not being able to appraise the project as a whole. It did appear te the commission, how ever, that the undertaking was pursued on. too elaborate a scale and that it could hardly be justified under statutory author ity which permits the county to provide hospital facilities for the poor. The foregoing is from the final report of the Multnomah county tax supervising and conservation com mission. It is official expression of the essence of the criticisms that have been directed against the county hospital project, omitting only the factor of difficult accessibility. The hospital is extravagant in type and built without financial planning or conception of the ability of the pub lie to pay. The habitual state of mind of one or more of the county commissioners was further illustrated the other day, when suggestion came from them that interstate bridge tolls be used to retire county road bonds and build new bridges, among them the pro posed Sellwood structure. Although members of the paid interstate bridge commission, they seemed blissfully unaware that interstate . bridge tolls are not now coming in at a rate that will meet the annual bond redemp tion and interest payments which are a charge against the tolls. The county board, of the several departments of government, has long been conspicuous for its failure to grasp the financial and business de tails over which it has control. A NAVAL POLICY AT LAST. The vote of the house of repre senta'tives by which it is decided that the ratio of strength provided by the naval limitation treaty shall be maintained as to manpower as well as ship tonnage is a notable victory far those open-eyed men, led by Representative McArthur, who or ganized the opposition to the little navy plans of the appropriation com mittee. The issue was clean-cut. It was whether the naval limitation treaty, which fixes the strength of other leading navies in relation to our own, shall be the actual or a merely fictitious basis of our naval policy. The house has decided that this ratio shall be actual. For the first time in our history it may be said that we have a naval policy. Only by slow degrees has congress been brought to this point during the years that have elapsed since the building of the new navy began in the early eighties. Then we built cruisers, monitors and gun boats with an eye only to coast de fense and protection of merchant men. Gradually we advanced to building battleships, but congress had no definite purpose to construct a fleet adequate to maintain any particular policy against any prob able enemy. Thus we acquired the fleet which crushed Spain. Then maintenance of the Monroe doctrine by our own strength became the aim of the navy department under Roosevelt and Taft, but congress re fused to act up to that policy. Need of & battle fleet adequate to cope with that of Germaiiy was demon strated by the naval general board, but in Wilson's first two years con gress refused even to maintain the then existing ratio. Nothing but the imminence of war lea to adoption or tne pro gramme of 1916, intended to make our navy equal to that of any other power. Destruction of the German fleet left Great Britain and Japan as our only competitors, and the Wash ington treaty has enabled us to at tain the end sought in 116, to make our naval defense absolutely secure, yet greatly to diminish our fleet. It is too weak to attack any first-class power, and by accepting that condi tion we prove that we have no ag gressive aims. These are the elements of a sane. peaceful policy, on which the presi dent and a majority of the house, composed of meirfbers of both par ties, are agreed. The alternative was to take a chance with our national safety for the sake of immediate economy. We took a chance in the years of unpreparedness before 1917, and the consequences were our in volvement in the war and our pres ent huge debt and taxes. Our econ omy at that time cost us dearly and I might have been more costly if we ' . , j, i . . r : . : , . i The policy of the majorlty to take naa Deeu lorcea to 113111 unaiueu. no Chance of that kind- -is that of true economy. PICKING WILD FLOWERS. A further plea for the protection of wild flowers is made by the state botanist of New York, Dr. Homer D. House, in a protest against the act of a minister of Poughkeepsie who recently brought into the pulpit and gave to the members of hie congre gation some three hundred bunches of trailing arbutus, "to signalize," as is reported in the New York Times, "the coming of spring." The ques tion is whether the coming of spring might not have been hailed in some other equally satisfactory way, not Involving destruction of flowers which are disappearing all too rap idly as it is. The trailing arbutus the May flower of our New England ancestors and the ground laurel of those who came from the south is peculiarly fragile and more than most plants is subject to annihila tion by thoughtless Xandals. It Is difficult to garner it without pulling it up by the roots and it has been observed that the species does not long survive the inroads of popula tion for this reason. But Dr. House, who is both a scientist and a lover of the poetry of flowers; points out that there is an added reason why the more desir able wild flowers should be pro tected against, ill-considered raids by picknickers. The vacant spaces left by their elimination are filled by na ture, which is never idle, with ob noxious weeds, such as burdock, thistle and ragweed. This not only destroys what Dr. House calls the "balance of nature" but it consti tutes an economic menace. Curi ously, no one seems to appreciate the beauty of these weeds, although some of them are not bereft of a certain charm. The lace-like blos soms of the wild parsnip lack ap peal, somehow, perhaps because of I I its commonness. The wild plants that jare endowed with strength to fight ' ever so decorative the ox-eyed daisy is an example of this but I they are apt to go unregarded by the seeker after beauty in the woods and : fields. The state botanist proposes no drastic measure of relief. He would not prohibit altogether the picking of wild flowers, but he would restrict It, after the manner of sportsmen who declare a "bag limit" on game. ' He suggests a law against picking certain flowers "in large quantities." The practice of automobilists who use their cars for the purpose of bringing iff great quantities of aza leas, dogwoods and the like un doubtedly is destructive of the pris tine loveliness of the woodland land scape, tie would meanwhile permit the gathering of wild daisies, butter- cups and goldenrod, which appear to need no protection. It is doubtful if prohibitory laws will amount to much, but something may be gained through the agitation for them, which will serve to educate public opinion on the subject. A more gen eral appreciation of the ethics of the practice must be. relied on in the end to preserve the species that are threatened with extinction largely because of pure thoughtlessness. - COLLEGE DEBATES. It is) superficial to argue, as some are doing, that the college debate Is provocative of insincerity and there fore ought to be abolished. A sounder view is that there are two sides to most questions and that an unpre judiced decision must come from a balancing of all facts and considera tions. Practice In "seeing the other side," which most persons . will con cede is excellent training for practi cal affairs, is obtained through the marshaling of arguments for that side. It is not difficult to draw a distinction, and we suppose that it is drawn even by the debaters them selves, between the position of a speaker seeking to mold opinion on a definite issue and that of the re spective disputants in their efforts to bring out all that can legitimately be urged on each side. This is the view of James F. Mor ton, Jr., who is credited by "Who's Who" with having originated the in tercollegiate debate, and who writes to the New York Tribune that the devil'sadvocate" renders a service no less genuine, in his opinion, than his opponent, who is certain of the righteousness of . his cause. Indeed, we are reminded of a delightful and whimsical extract from Mark Twain's description of his mother, in the hitherto unpublished chapters of his 'Autobiography," now running in Harper's. Mrs. Clemens' kindly na ture found something to excuse even in those whom others almost uni versally condemned. "It was be lieved," says Twain, "that, Presby terian as she was, she could be be guiled into saying a soft word for the devil himself." And so a con spiracy was laid, with a result, we think, that furnishes reasonable ground for continuance of the prac tice of debating, if only for the pur pose of provoking reflection: She admitted that the indictment was sound: that Satan was utterly wicked and abandoned, Just as these people had said; but, would any claim that he had been treated fairly? A sinner was hut a sinner; Satan was just that, like the rest. What saves the rest their own efforts alone? or none might ever be saved. To their feeble effort is added the mighty help of pathetic, appealing, imploring prayers that go up daily out of all the churches in Christendom, and out of myriads upon myriads of pitying hearts Bur who prays for Satan? Who. In eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it mcst, ouf one fellow and brother who most needed a friend, yet had not a single one; the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest rierht to every Christian's daily and nightly prayers tor tne plain and unassailable reason that his was ths first and greatest need. It having been demonstrated that something after all can be. said for the devil by one who cannot be ac cused of insincerity, who is there who will say that other issues are not at least debatable? But we have in mind also the practice by which a good many clear thinkers have achieved reputations for the clear ness of their vision and the sound ness of their logic. If - only for training purposes, it is well that advocates should have opportunity to study such arguments as may be found in behalf of a cause, and it is likely that they will thereby be better fitted to view all subjects in a broader light. GUARD AGAINST ABUSE OF POWER. In revising the ship subsidy bill on which a joint committee is now hold ing a hearing, congress would do well to exercise extreme care that the law shall define the national merchant marine policy so plainly that every citizen may know under what conditions he may engage in theshipping business. The law should state the conditions with which ship owners must comply so exactly as to confine the discretion vested in the shipping board within the narrowest practicable limits. It should make the aid to be granted by the govern ment a vested right of all who con form to those conditions a right which can be maintained in the courts and cannot lawfully be with held by thg board. In short, the law should be a sort of omnibus charter under which any American citizen or any incorporated group of citizens may engage in the shipping business, under which no benefit is enjoyed by one that is not open to all on the same terms. The power granted to the board should be guarded against abuse by strict requirement for pub licity of its proceedings and deci sions, for formal, public hearings under oath and for formal, written decisions and opinions on which those decisions are based. Insistence on these principles -is important at this time, for they have been habitually ignored in the pro ceedings of the present and former shipping boards, and the bill sub mitted to congress contains not a vestige of them. The board has been and still is perhaps the most irre sponsible governmental body in this country. It shuns publicity and makes decisions, pulling down one and setting up another shipping company of which the public and even the parties adversely affected have no intimation until they are put in effect. It manages public prop erty which cost about three billion dollars, admits an annual loss of $50,000,000, to be borne by the treas ury, yet it handles its daily business. ' though often affecting interests of great magnitude, as though that business were private in character. It has made no attempt to execute some important provisions of the law j of 1920; on the contrary, it acts con- i trary to their spirit. Yet this board submits to congress a bill giving it j permanently an almost unlimited ' discretion in distributing' a fnnd of -: $30,000,000 or more a year, in he administration of which it could ex ercise the power of life and death over shipping enterprises. Even if the board had used well the ri"'r it now holds, there would be danger in permanently endowing it with the same, to say nothing of the far , . , .i larger power that it asks. Experi- ence shows that its powers have in many instances been much abused. An example ia the action of the board toward the United States Mail ! Steamship company. According to the New York Marine Record a for- mer board in 1920 turned over to that company $25,000,000 worth of ships, giving it unlimited credit. At government expense the shipping board advertised those ships, to gether with tljose of government owned lines, urging their use as a I patriotic duty. New York merchants sold supplies to the value of $1,500 000 to the company on credit, hav ing been misled to believe that the government was financially backing the line, because its ships were ad vertised by the board as "your ships," "our ships," and "under gov ernment control." The dompany failed to meet payments due on the ships, the board took possession of them, the company became bank rupt, and the present board denies any responsibility for supplies fur nished under those representations. The standing quotations of the board for sale of steel steamships for a considerable period were $165 to $180 a ton. Suddenly it was an nounced that the board had sold four ships to Captain Robert Dollar at $30 a ton cash, no advertisement that such a price would be accepted having been published, or, if any, in such papers that the offer did not become generally known. When an offer was made to buy other ships at the same price on terms, it was rejected and no other quotation could be obtained. Thus the board makes private sales to selected companies at prices that are not open to all buyers. It requests that this prac tice be given the sanction of law by asking authority to raaie "public or private sale after appraisement and due advertisement," and even to sell without advertisement by affirma tive vote of five of its seven mem bers. Other departments of the gov ernment are required to make sales of public property after due adver tisement and by open, competitive bidding. There are strong reasons for not making the shipping board an exception to this rule; in fact, for insisting on its rigid observance. That would be the best protection against the board's habit of making private deals with its selected favorites. It has certainly not earned the ex ceptional confidence that it asks con gress to repose in it. In the face of its record, the board's subsidy bill abounds with provisions giving it even wider dis cretion. It could refuse, increase or decrease the direct subsidy to any shipping company. It could swing army transport business to its chosen port or shipping line. It could pay subsidy on the fraction of American tonnage owned by a company three fourths of whose fleet was under a foreign flag, serving a competitor of the United States in the shipping business and in foreign trade. It could do all these things without public notice, without hearing, with out formal decision, without appeal from wrongful action. The bill should be entirely rewritten in such form that the board would not be able further to depart from the American principle of equal oppor tunity for all, special privilege for none. A local manufacturer who supplies a wide range says there is more de mand for horse collars than people are aware. Not everybody knows the full use of a collar. When not on the animal it is the handiest thing made to sit the very young baby in while the mother is doing the dishes and other work. A tire is not to be considered. It is a lucky nation that doesn't get into the news nowadays. There are Holland, and the Scandinavian countries, and Roumania and Serbia, for example, from the silence as to which we are able to deduce that nothing much is happening except that they are minding their own business and reaping the profits of, a wise course of action. A Canadian fisheries man says all the "game" is taken from the sal mon by too much coddling in the fishery and the growing fish easily falls prey to the voracious. That may be true of fish; but it will be noted the incubator rooster is able to put up his spurs against anything raised under shelter of the hen's wing. Twelve are running for the nomi nation for mayor of Tacoma in the elimination primary tomorrow. There must be much glory or money in that job. "Demand for horse collars grow ing," says a headline. What a cruel remark that is just when the Beavers were beginning to win some ball games! A manufacturer of Scotch whisky has been elevated to the British peerage. Probably done so he can't advertise that his whisky is without a peer. A Seattle man was given ten years or more for murdering his mother-in-law. Here is thought for brain less jokers. Contenders would better beware! The Newberg Berrians have eyes on first prize for a float in the floral parade. Those minds that try to keep con tinuously In the same track with Mr. Wilson's sooner Or later hit an open switch. Oregon will be a political para dise when each candidate with the "best" platform is elected. . The umbrella was a necessary, part qf the Easter Sunday equipment, as customary, but went furled. The radiophone isn't much im provement over the other kind when the atmosphere is busy. Oregon Jerseys continue to hold the record, no matter how Other states' cows peg up. It was a happy choice of date for Portland's baseball resurrection. All other dates are off for tomor row afternoon. The Listening Post. By DeWltt 'Harry. i ' 1 , T71EW of ns have forgotten the days of bee8 Bnd the stimulus . , . . n6 got from this simple method of , " I competition. The question has arisen, ' therefore, if it would not be possible to compile a test of eome sort that would be, at one and the same time. simple, sane and comprehensive. How . well each has mastered his language is a matter of doubt. Even writers, whose tools are words, know from daily experience hew difficult it is to be absolutely correct all the time. For this reason every bit of newspaper copy is ready several times before it appears in the columns of the paper, and even then mistakes are apt to occur. t A local attorney received a trick sentence a few days ago that pre sents many pitfalls for the unwary speller. He offered to wager any one on his ability, when the sentence was dictated, to spell every word therein correctly, using Webster's un abridged dictionary as the authority and - the American spelling version to guide at all times. He did not lose a bet.. Here is the sentence, some of the words are misspelled not all try it out yourself: A HARASSED PEDLAR AND AN EMBARRASSED COHBELER SAT IN A DESSEKTED CEMBTARY GNAW ING DESSICATED POTATOS AND GUAGING WITH UNPARALELLED ECSTACY THE SYMETERY OF A YOUNG LADY'S ANKLE AND COR- RELATORY COROLARIES. Spun with just a dash of relish Is the story of the seagull in Utah that was sent in by Frank Moosman, game warden at Raymond, Wash. Moos man's tale is true, in the main, for the adventure of the gulls did take place in Utah and the statue he mentions can be seen in Salt Lake City by any visitor. "The summer of 1873 in the state of Utah was a year of splendid weather and prospects for a bounteous crop were never better. One beautiful aft ernoon Bishop Jones sat on his front porch in the shade surrounded by a half dozen of his wives. The other 16 were out in the garden extermin ating doodle bugs. The bishop leaned back restfully while his favorite wife fans the flies from his upper garret. He was at peace with all the world. His wives had all been selected by an elder who knew a good thing when he saw it,, and the bishop was especially pleased with his newest wife a beau tiful Finn woman. This lady could knit, tat, skate, shoe a mule, plow and pray. . ' ' Bishop Jones looked towards the mountains. There came in sight a black, far-flung cloud, and when it descended to the earth it was seen that it was a horde of locusts or grasshoppers. They came in billions and came down on the growing crops and went through the harvest fields like asready spender through Holly wood. The bishop, as the shades of night fell, could hear the hoppers eating the roof from his hogpen. It looked like hia winter's supply of pork would soon be on the hop or in the hoppers. Bishop Jones saw starvation staring him in the face, and worse, if the hoppers did not get indigestion before the crops gave out. He was afraid he would even have to go to work to support his small but helpless little family of 22 wives and two children. A meeting was called at the great temple The Mormons gathered that night and prayed to be relieved of this great plague. Just as the morn ing sun shone on the temple there came hundreds of thousands of big white seagulls, who flew in countless numbers upon the locusts, and by sunset the danger was past. In Salt Lake City today is a great -marble shaft surmounted by a beauti ful white seagull with outflung wings. Inscribed on this monument are the thanks of the people of Utah to the seagull for saving the crops of her people. ' ' Sir Arthur Couas Doyle. Ay see Sir Arthur Doyle ban har, To mak big' speeches eferwhar, Bote lots gude sperits he ban know, An vat kin' place dos ghosts skol go. Val, Art, Ay alvays tank you ;an Vun gude, smart kin' of Englishman; Ay yust lak reading Skerlock Home, An tank you having gude big dome. But ven you starting talk with ghosts, An trying max vith heav'nly hostd, Ay tank lot folks skol having laugh, An saying, "Arthur ban gone daff." If you ban stick to Skerlock stuff, Ve all ban giving you gude puff; Ay bat ve calling you' big man, An all ban vanting shak your han'. Ay tank gude Lord ban wise enough, To mak our bodies gude an tough, So ve skol seeing dem all right. But sperits ban kap' out of sight. Ay tank folks having sense to know. Ve not skol seeing sperits go. An tak der flight, an rap, an talK Ay tal you, Art, on das ve balk. OLE OLESON. We hate to admit it but this column seems to have scored a heat on de velopment of modern cake-eater Or flapper slang. Here- we' have been broadcasting this stuff for three weeks or more and only last week the news agencies managed to tumble to it. Here's some more Just off the 360 meter wave, that is passed on for what it is worth. Holy Smokes Probation officers whose duty is to detect improper dancing. Brush Ape Any one from the Sticks. Oneway Kid One with fishhook pockets. Frog's Eyebrows Nice, fine. Crumb Gobbler- A small-time cake eater. Ostrich One who thinks he knows it all. , Weasel A snake,, a scandal-walker who tries larceny of affections. Slunge The lowest kind of a hu man being. Grummy In the dumps, blue. Wurp Anyone who is a social wet blanket. The Weeds A wild one. Woof! Woof! Exclamation of ridi cule or indication. Gobby Adjective meaning no brains, no style, no nothing. Sharpshooter Good dancer and free spender. Sharpie One who tries to imitate a sharpshooter. Flat Shoe A fuss between a flap per and her goof. Houdini To be on time for a date. Those Who Come and Go. Tales of Folks at the Hotels. i The livestock industry is now rap- idly improving, according to Harry C. Cranke, cattle auctioneer of Mosoow, Idaho, who was at ths Portland yes terday. He is en route to California, where he will sell a large number of pureblood stock. "The stock men tf Idaho have practically exhausted their supplies of feed." declared Mr. Cranke yesterday. "The winter has been hard and the ranges have been covered with snow. The cattle are in good shape and the prospects for in creased prices are great. Cattlemen have been hit hard financially for the past two seasons, but nowconditions are more favora.ble. Most of them will hi ahla tn llniiMsta thale Hohts fli J tne banks and loan agencies in due course of time. Others are in such bad financial condition that they never can liquidate. The one re course they will have is the bank ruptcy courts. There they can have their debts wiped out and start anew. The banks and loan companies have realized the problems that the cattle men have faced and have been ex tremely lenient. Where it has been possible they have extended credit to growers, hoping that conditions would improve to such an extent that they could eventually get back their loans." "Your smelt run is wonderful," re marked a guest of the Multnoman yesterday after he had made a trip to the Sandy river. "Yes, and it's a good thing for the Rose Festival too." replied a Portland man. "How's that?" was the inquiry. "Well it 1 this way. Every fisherman is going out to the Sandy and catching sev eral sacks full of the fish. Each brings home more smelt than he and his family can eat in months. The wife fixes up a lot and sends the hus band next door to present them to a neighbor. While he is gone another neighbor appears at the front door with a big dish of smelt. Before the dav ends neighbors have delivered bundle after bundle of smelt to the door. About midnight you hear a noise in the back yard and know that it is friend husband burying his sur plus supply of smelt in .the back yard among the rose bushes. Smelt make great fertilizer and Portland should have a great crop of roses for the festival this season." Artesian wells have been the sal vation of the country around Fort Rock, according to John H. Harrison, who is at the Oregon. A year ago the country was considered one of the most hopeless sections of the state. Located on a high desert it was practically impossible to obtain water in sufficient quantities to pro vide for the stock and the settlers. People who had located in the dis trict were deserting their homes and going to other sect-ions, of the state. Prospects were that the entire sec tion would in time be deserted of In habitants. Some time ago experi ments were made and a number of artesian wells were sunk. Large quantities of water were found at considerable depth. The settlerB now have hopes that through these wells which are being sunk in various parts of the district an irrigation system mav be started. Many of those who deserted their homes have grown more optimistic and now are moving back into the Fort Rock country. Bond business in the Puget sound country is improving greatly, accord ing to A J. Croteau of Tacoma, who is a guest at the Oregon. During the war Croteau enlisted at Fort George Wright in Spokane and was sent to Fort Riley, Kan. Later he was trans ferred to Camp Lewis and became a part of the 348th machine gun bat talion. He was making all plans to accompany the organization overseas when he was again transferred to a training camp for officers. He wound uu his war career as an Instructor at Camp Meade, Maryland. Then he came back to the coast ana nas oeen en gaged in the bond business since. J. F. Dixon, cattle man of the Fort Klamath country, arrived in Portland yesterday with a shipment of stoK for the local markets. He comes from a section of the country where the livestock industry is greatly increas ing. He reports that cattle men are feeling much more optimistic now) than they have felt for a long period. The price advances have given many of them hope that conditions will continue to improve. Mr. Dixon is at the Imperial hotel. When weather conditions permit, A. W. Stone, apple grower of Hood River, takes the automobile out of the garage on Sunday mornings, loads in the golf clubs and starts down the Co lumbia river highway for Portland. He arrived at the Portland hotel yes terday morning, signed his name on the register and then made for the golf links where he spent the day. "There is nothing to it I'm going to be the next governor of Oregon." declared Senator Walter Pierce of Union county, yesterday afternoon at the Imperial. "I'll get the democratic nomination in the primaries and then win out in the general election." Sen ator Pierce has been active in taxa tion legislation for some time and will be in Salem today aiding In the prepa ration of a state income tax law. Learning the lunrher business from the ground up is the pursuit of four young men who were registered at the Portland yesterday. They are W. H. and John Woodard of Silverton, E A. Maling of the same city, and Henry B. Pretzlaff of 'Westport. They are all working at the mills in West port, Or., and are learning the rudi ments of the lumbering industy. Easter brought no joys to J. R. Devlan, clerk at the Multnomah hotel. He parked his automobile back of the building Saturday night, locked the vehicle and stuck the key in his pocket. When he had finished his duties he went Out to enjoy the ride home and found that a thief had "beat him to it" and departed with the ma chine. The names of a number of Corvallis citizens appeared on the Multnomah register yesterday. Among them were Herman Belt, John Taylor, Earl Hart, Carl S. Daniel and Dick Lewis. Orin L. Patterson, attorney of Can yon City, is in Portland and his name appears among those on the Imperial hotel register. Ben Poindexter of Seward, Alaska, is one of the Imperial hotel's guests. E. M. Duffy of Oregon Agricultural ' college is at the Oregon notti. Formal Evening- Dress. ASTORIA. Or., April 16. (To the Editor.) Kindly tell me the correct form of dress for a gentleman when attending a formal evening ball. ( M. W. Full dress suit, white tie, white vest, pearl or gray-pearl button and stud set; black overcoat. Bilk hat, or can wear a derby, but formal rule is. silk (stove - pipe); patent leather shoes, white kid gloves. Women and Callows. p"ORT TOWNSEND, Wash., April 12. (To the Editor.) Has' there ever been a woman hanged for murder in the United States? E. L. P. Mrs. Mary Surratt was hanged as one of the conspirators in the assas- sination of Abraham Lincoln. Burroughs Nature Club. Copyright, Houghton-Mlffllu Co. Cast 1'ou Answer These 4uesttonaf 1. Do skunks. and coons breed the first year? 2. What sort of nesting box should I provide for house wrens?. 3. " I would like to know a kind of tree that cattle will not bother, so I can grow trees in a wet part of my pasture that is unsuited to other planting. Willows and poplars do well, but the cattle eat the young shoots. Answers in tomorrow's nature notes. Answers to Previous Questions. 1. Do birds all have the same num ber of feathers in their wings? No, the suPly of flight feathers Is regulated by the bird's requirements. The longer the wing-bone, the more feathers are needed to cover it. It is the secondaries in the wing which are conspicuously multiplied: The alba tross, which has a huge wing spread, has 40 secondaries. 2. Please tell me how to rid my seashore cottage of .fleas. My last tenant had two dogs, and left ths place swarming. Wash the floors with hot strong suds, and when dry, apply gasoline or coal oil to kill any eggs. Treat the base boards the same way, if walla are not papered; if papered, put on ths oil or gasoline and let it dry the spot will dry out in time. 4Or cover the floor with napthallne and seal doors and windows and fireplaces. After 24 hours, sweep it up, and save it for later usage if necessary. This won't kill eggs, but will clear out adult fleas. , , 3. Why should bread turn moldy even in a clean place, sometimes? It is pretty hard to get a place in domestic usage positively clean. The air is full of mold germs. Invisible, but always on the hunt for a place to lodge and root. Warmth, darkness, and moisture are favorable to their growth, and bread laid away any time in a dark breadbox, in a moderately warm room, with some moisture In its own composition, offers the germs a good rooting place. Scalding the box and drying in sun or over heat is a precaution. DEBT MENACES PUBLIC WELFARE Dangerous Crase Held to Permeate Official and Business Circles. PORTLAND, April 15. (To the Edi tor.) Isn't it high time we awakened from our slumbering dream? We are sleeping upon a volcano every night and going at breakneck speed every day. Where? How far? And when will we reach the precipice? Noth ing but debt, borrow, bond upon bond, multiplying interest upon in terest. I know of no less than three towns in the hands of receivers now and at least one state bankrupt cannot meet their obligations, and their own banks refuse to lend them another dollar. Will we reach that? Every town and village wants a new school house; every fraternity and society wants a new temple or club house; every denomination wants a new church; every cross-roads wants a new highway all are eager to get ahead fcr fear the money will all be gone before they can reach it. A disease seems to have been con tracted from the kaiser. All seem to be following in the wake of his frenzied destruction. Many years ago Philadelphia wanted a heavy debt. . Benjam'n Franklin said, "Worthy no question of doubt'S but that no man was en titled to the second suit of clothes if he could not pay for it, or anything else, and that debt was the worst and most dangerous enemy that man had. Are we reading history any more or are we too busy to bother with it? Remember, it always re peats itself, and will again. The time has come for curtailment. readjustment, equalization and stand ardization of prices. When will busi ness be better? Never while graft and profiteering live. Both cannot live together. There never was time and probably never will be again when people can show their manhood and honest, conscientious business principles as now. Let every execu tive private, public or political- cut expenses, commencing with them selves, whether in salaries or other wise. These men will be prayed for and all be kept in their respective places, or higher up, and cannot be kept out. "Let every town, village, city, county, state and country adopt this rule and the whole world will be normal in very short order. J. H. MINK. ISSUE TAKEN IN BECK KILLINI. Writer Finds No Evidence to Support Pastor's Condemnation. HALSEY, Or., April 15. (To the Editor.) Pastor Bennett in The Ore gonlan writes as If he had informa tion regarding the killing of Lieu tenant Beck by Judge Day that I tiivc been unable to find in any published teports. He calls it a "cold-blooded and un justifiable homicide." The ev'denn is that the killing was not cold blooded because there was no intent i to kill, but that the weapon was pro cured for use if needed in self-defense in the lawful act of rejecting ai offender from the home, and ths.! it was accidentally discharged when a blow was struck with it. The reverend gentleman gratui tously intimates that Beck had been "overcome with her (Mrs. Day's) blandishments." No svldence of such blandishments has been disclosed, and I am afraid Mr. Bennett has failed to give due heed to the commandment ag-alnst bearing false witness. Uixy urn; im to udcu uuuecosaF t It-rcB 111 eiiuruTuijiig lu CACiiiBt: iii.i lawful right to eject Beck, and there by have become guilty of involuntary manslaughter, though the coroner's jury ruled otherwise, but there is no evidence to justify Mr. Bennett's ex treme language. Mr. Bennett says there is no un written law. There was a time when all laws were unwritten. Mosev and the other sacred writers did not write them all. or the churches have been wasting a lot of time In law making. Congress and the legisla tures have not written them all, either, or there would be no further need for those bodies to meet. Too many laws have been written, but some good ones remain unwritten. WM. H. WHEELER. Address) of Lvtner Burlvank. BANKS, Or., April 15. (To the Edi tor.) Please print if Mr. Burbank. the originator of the Burbank potato, is still living, and If so, his address. (2) Does he still raise the Burbank potato? - L. B. H. 1. Yes. Santa Rosa. Cal. 2. Mr. Burbank 's not a commer cial potato grower. Hia work is along lines of plant development and experimentation, covering over 4000 experiments and more than 5009 dis tinct botanical specimens. Hen La Kcwple Egg. NAIICOTTA Wash., April 15. (To the Editor.) I see quite a number of descriptions of freak egg, so will teli what I found from one of my flock of Rhode Island Reds. It resembles a kewpie. having body, with head attached, the head having a nose, the whole thing standing about 1 V4 inches. M. A. 6ARGANT. More Truth Than Poetry. By Jantea J. Montague. WHERE StlEMK FAILED. (A popular magazine Informs ill that paint has a controlling effect on the disposition, turning pleasant people to brutes, and vice versa.) When Paul, our bulldog, got so mean He'd bite the hand that whaled him. We chanced to see a magazine Which hinted at what ailed him. "A man," It said, "although a saint. All kindly thoughts will smother, If he's inflamed by jarring paint. And punch hia only brother." "L'ks man like dog." we softly said: "It fills us with contrition To think the kennel's painted red; It spoils Paul's disposition. If It Is tinted pearly gray The hue will so delight him. He'll let the ice man go his way And never seek to bite him." A pearly gray we painted It, But Paul, still grim of feature. Strolled out the following day and bit The children's music teacher. Nor when his house was painted blue, Did we abate the danger: He started out forthwith to chew A timid total stranger. We've bought all colors we could find. And used them in rotation. But still the an'mals's inclined To fits of indignation. Tc every passer-by he shows The most actue unklndncss. For no good reason, goodness knows. Unless it's color blindness! ' In tne Kirk, of Time. Only its discussion by the Eplsconal convention has saved the word oby from becoming "obsolete." A Recommendation, If it takes a thief to catch a thief there can be no doubt whatever of the absolute honesty of the New York police force. Envious! After observing how much Turkey got out of the war Lenlne Is now trying to be known as the sick man of Europe. (Copyright by the Bell Syndicate, Ine.) NO FIGHT OJI COLOR OR CREED Fraternal Federation vDbJet Only to Employment of Alien. PORTLAND. April 15. (To the Kdl tor.) There appeared In the Oregon Voter of April 15, page 14. an article regarding the Oregon Federation of Fraternal Societies, headed "Against Allen Employment," which In a way is misleading and In which there ap peared at least one misstatement, as follows: "Dr. C. H. Parrtsh active In many lodges,' city health office, and one of Mayor George L. Baker's most active political props." The Dr. C. H. Parrlsh. member of the board of directors of the Oregon Federation of Fraternal Societies, rep resents Liberty Assembly, No. 621 United Artisans, and is .not, at this time, a practicing physician, but Is employed in the shops of this school district. As far as the membership of a number of those mentioned In the Ku Klux Klan. this organization has no knowledge of, nor is It oonversant with their personal lodge affiliations. They have come to us with the proper credentials from various fraternal or ganizations of this city. The article also states that ismploy. ers are afraid of the federation affil iating with the Ku Klux Klan in boy cotting different lines of business. V know nothing of the Ku Klux or their intentions, but wish to state that this federation has no intention of instl- . tuting a boycott on any employer, but we do intend to insist that Ameri can citizens be given employment in stead of aliens. The statement that one restaurant became so frightened that It at once laid off its Filipino bus boys, would have no bearing on this federation from the fact that the Filipinos are American citizens, and we are not making any fight on the citizens of the United States on account of their color or religion. We believe that the American citizen, regardless of who, he is or where he comes from, should be given employment before the alien, who will not, and cannot, become a citizen of this country. OREGON FEDERATION OF FRA. TERNAL SOCIETIES. M. F. WRIGHT, Sec. Electric Lights and IHorlsaira, GLADSTONE. Or., April 15. (To the Editor.) 1. What was the first city in the United States to use elec tric lights and the date? 2. Can a married man owning real estate In his own name legally mort gage same without the consent nf his wife? SUBSCRIBER. 1. The first Incandescent lighting plant put in operation was the Pearl street Edison lighting station In New York in 1882. Arc lighting had been previously used In a more or less ex perimental way in large auditorium, railroad stations and ths like In New York, Cleveland and Newark. 2. Signature of ths wife Is neces sary unless the mortgag Is given for part of the purchase price of prop erty. IHotherw' Pension In Oregon. PORTLAND, April 14. (To the Edi tor.) Does Oregon pay a mothers' pension? My husband was born In Oregon and lived In Oregon a itmiri part of the time but wax sick and sent to California for his htallh and disil there. Would I be entitled to It? I have two minor children dependt-nis. To whom should I spplv? A eJUHrlCniBKK. Tlire is a mothers' pension law In Oregon. Your letter does not Klvu facts sufficient to determine your eligibility. For Information go to Judge Tazwell's department, court house. Time and C'anndlnn Exchange. CLATSKAN1K, Or.. April 15. (To the Editor.) For the benefit of mm old subsoriber. will you puhllsh tho valua of Canadian money In i:niil States and the reverse? Also the difference between Pacific, mountain, central and eastern time? E. 1. A Canadian d llai' is now worth "V cents on exchange In this couBr try. 2. When It is 1 o'clock Pacific time it is 2 o'clock mountain time, 3 o'clock central time and 4 o'clock eastern time. M; VOIR O-l EKTIO.V Every person who deslres that a question be answered on this page Is requested to send his true name and address. The name will be omitted if desired. One of several reasons for this requirement Is that questions frequently omit facts essentia! to definite answer. In such an Instance If the true name of the inquirer Is known the dlffi'-ulty can be explained hy letter. Otherwise nothing is gained by printing the qiustion and its omission is not understood. Do not ask that business ad dresses be printed. Send post age for letter reply.