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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1922)
THE MOEXIXG OREGOXIiX, FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 1922 - pX$vnm Bre$anxan ESTABLISHED BY II EMiV L. PITTOCK. Published by Ths Oregonian Publishing Co. 135 Sixth Street, Portland. Oregon. C A. 1IORDEX E. B. PIPER. Manager. Editor. The Oregonian is a member of the Asso eiated Press. The Associated Press is ex clusively entitled to the use for publication of ail uewi dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights or publication of special dispatches aerem are also reserved. Subscription Kates Invariably in Advance. tBy Mail.) Daily. Sunday Included, one year. .. .$3.00 Iaiiy, Sunday included, sir months.. 4.25 Laily. 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Steger building, Chicago; Ver ree & Conklin, Free Press building. De troit, Mich.; Verree & Conklin, Monadnock building, San Francisco, Cal. THE WAK ON COMPETITION. One of the grave consequences of the principle maintained by Exam iner Disque of the interstate com merce commission in his report on the transcontinental rate case. If it should be sustained by the commis sion, ia brought out in the report of Chairman Devers to the Portland Traffic & Transportation association. Being forbidden to reduce rates to Pacific ports to the point where they could compete with water lines, rail roads would do their utmost to cause rates on water lines to remain at the level which the railroads would be compelled to maintain. " Freed from fear of railroad competition, inter coastal shipping lines would combine to maintain as high a standard of rates as possible without causing traffic to turn to the railroads, and the latter would in every conceiv able way encourage this tendency. While active competition prevails, the disposition of each party is to reduce the price of transportation until it pays only cost plus a living profit and thus to get traffic. Each drives the other down, forcing it to practice higher economy and effi ciency as the means of still realizing profit in spite of the reduction. The Disque theory would remove this pressure, 'and the public would be deprived of the benefits of competi tion between rail and water just when it is most needed to deflate cost of transportation. Railroads are already working on these lines with regard to inland waterways. The water competition produced by the Panama canal does not stop at the coasts; it extends up the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers all the way to Louis, Chicago and Pittsburg. The steel corporation, though its controlling powers are heavily interested in rail roads, has taken to shipping steel by barge from Pittsburg down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans for transhipment through the canal to the Pacific coast. The Harvester company has sent farm implements through the drainage canal and by the government barge line down the Mississippi to New Orleans for ship ment to Portland. The traffic of the barge line is rapidly increasing at the expense of the railroads. Their prices having fallen, manu facturers are seeking every avenue Ol escape Hum m tiiiuittiiy xiigii i.u- road rates, which remain at the peak except in particular instances where they have been reduced in order to stimulate or to prevent loss of traffic. on inland waterway competition. They won the fight to exact tolls from intercoastal ships on the Panama canal. They now make the serious proposal that the government should charge tolls on inland water ways suflicient to pay interest on the cost of improvement and cost of operation and maintenance. They du not stop with the rivers, but want the same rule applied to the Sault Ste Marie canal and other channels connecting tho reat lakes. Though the interstate commerce law requires through rates and through traffic by rail and water lines combined, rail roads refuse to comply and stub bornly oppose all efforts" to compel them. They still regard water lines on river, canal, lake or sea as their natural enemies, to be fought to the death. They already strive to kill inland waterway competition by raising its cost of operation through imposition of tolls. If they should be forbidden to compete with inter coastal ships by reducing trans continental rates, they would work harder than ever to prevent exemp tion of those ships from Panama canal tolls and they would do all in their power to cause cost of operat ing ships to be held high and to make water ratesjiigh in order that they might be able to compete at the high scale of rates which the Disque theory would force them to maintain. If the people of the iniermountain country who regard the Disque find ings as a victory for them believe that they would profit by elimina tion of railroad competition with water lines and that seaports would be the only losers, they delude them selves. To all interior points where the water rate plus the local rail rata on goods from the east would Kn la fVian the. frftnifintinpnl!il rail rate, goods would be carried by water, . and the same rule would j apply to goods shipped from interior points through Pacific ports to the Atlantic coast and foreign ports. The consumer pays the freight on niodities such as wheat, the price of which is fixed in world markets, the producer pays the freight, for every cent added to the freight is deducted from the price paid on the farm. Svutg excluded from competition for transcontinental traffic, the railroad must make good from other traffic the revenue that it loses. He looks to westbound traffic to pay the cost of hauling cars west for transporta tion of Pacific coast products east, just as a lumber sip relies on a cargo of coal from Newcastle, Aus tralia, to pay for the homeward voyage, and if possible to pay its share of the overhead cost. Oji the Disque principle the railroad must get this unavoidable part of its expenses from other traffic. That means an increase in the general scale of rates, including those which the interior pays on sea-borne goods to and from the coast. It would be no small increase. On the Northern Pacific alone revenue from trans continental traffic is estimated at $12,000,000 to $15,000,000 a year. The interior people by killing rail road competition with water lines would help all those influences, both railroad and shipping, which strive to keep rates high, and they pay the freight. The most serious remaining obstacle to complete return of normal pros perity is high cost of transportation. Prices have fallen, but this cost in general has not nowhere in the same proportion. It is therefore a greater burden than it was when prices were at the peak, for it is a higher percentage of the selling price of goods. The one factor which has done most to revive pros perity is, the revival of sea trans portation and the fall in ocean freight. It has enabled lumber to reach Atlantic coast markets in great quantities when railroad rates were prohibitive. It has lowered trans portation cost for the intermountain country as well as for the coast. The interest of all, in the interior as well as on the coast, demands that this cost shall continue to go down, down, down to the minimum at which a fair return on capital can be paid and the efficiency of the railroad system can be maintained. Competition alone can determine what that minimum is. It is more powerful and more accurate in its Working than any law, any decree of a court or any decision of a commis sion, for it consists of the combined force of the instinctive desire of many millions to supply their needs at the lowest possible price. expectancy figures, read by them selves, might be misleading, since they would not take into account the greater liability of men to violent death as the result of their more general employment in hazardous occupations. But even in the ages when the chances of both sexes ought to be equal, females exhibit a greater capacity to survive. In the United States 127 males die in in fancy to every 100 females. Norway is often cited as having the low est infant death rate of any country in the world, yet 81 Norwegian boy babies die before the age of one year to every 67 girl babies who fail to survive the first 12 months. Pre sumably in this as.well as other civ ilized countries infants of both sexes have the benefit of equally intellf gent and affectionate care. The deep-lying processes of nature in its efforts to preserve the race against extinction still baffle analysis. We are no nearer to the truth in this respect than we have ever been. ' SHALL PORTLAND PAY FOB IT? The decision of the managing committee of the 1925 exposition to go ahead with its plans was alto gether proper, in the circumstances. It is indicative of the spirit to do and to serve which has made Port land a strong and growing city and which refuses to accept or recognize failure in any enterprise for the benefit of community and state. In view of the offer last fall for an outright appropriation of $2,000,000 by Portland vote of more than 4 to 1 the committee correctly deter mined that it was under definite instructions to act.' But it is not too readily to be assumed that Portland alone has decided to finance the fair. Ob viously a satisfying exposition can not be held unless Portland ia willing to give directly more than $2,000,000. There must be a stock subscription of. $1,000,000, and the people in the city must vote $3,000,000. It is to be noted that the committee in its statement declared that, its "plans are not in any wise contingent upon any legislative appropriation." Yet it is clear that, if the state is to participate, It must be through legis lative action. The intent of the exposition management, doubtless, is to leave that question wholly and freely to the legislature. WTiether it appropriates anything or nothing, there will be a fair, provided (mark the "provided") that the people of Portland subscribe to $1,000,000 in stock, and vote directly to give $3,000,000. If the state appropriates anything, one-third will be paid by Portland. The question of holding the expo sition is to be re-decided by Portland. That the decision will be favorable Is probable,; but it can all the better be assured by- clear evidence of the state's Interest. That interest will be shown in the first instance by the extent of outside stock subscrip tions. If they are meager the re action upon Portland will not be agreeable. For whatever Portland does about an exposition it will be an Oregon, not a Portland, enterprise. FIRE BUREAU DUPLICATION. The legislature of 1921 created the office of state fire marshal and levied an assessment against the gross premiums of fire Insurance companies far maintenance of the office. For the year 1921 the reve nues for this purpose were $27,736; for 1922 the sum of $22,364 has been collected. The state fire marshal and his deputies are charged with inspection of buildings for fire hazards, with investigation of fires, with enforce ment of fire drills in the public schools and similar duties. Yet in Portland the taxpayers support their own fire marshal and 11 lieutenants who perform similar inspections and investigations. The taxpayers also support a separate building inspec tion department, clothed with some of the powers of the fire prevention bureau. By state law the Portland fire marshal is an assistant state fire marshal and is required to perform the duties thereof without additional compensation. If there were no city fire marshal, the fire chief would automatically become assistant state fire marshal. If it were deemed lm practical for hosemen to make the required inspections and investiga tions, there Is no equitable reason why some of the state fund used foi paying the salaries of deputy state fire marshals should not be devoted to that purpose in Portland. For while the cost of the state fire mar shal's office is paid by assessing the premiums of the insurance compa nies, such assessments come out of the pockets of the policy holders and the policy holders of Portland pay a large share of the fire insur ance premiums collected in Oregon. The policy holder is in most cases a taxpayer. He pays twice for fire prevention. Still, some folks wonder why taxes are high. LIVING LONGER. We are not prepared to accept the conclusions of Dr. M. P. Ravenal, of St. Louis, ..who is quoted by the Globe-Democrat as saying that "Americans are living too hard and too fast," just because the aver age expectancy of life has been in creased chiefly as the result of the greater age at which children die during the first five years, while less progress has been made as to dis eases of middle life and later. The charge that "Americans have not learned how to live" has become a cant phrase, not always, however, bearing the hallmark of thought. The testimony of nearly all men who have lived long and usefully agrees on the point that the constantly busy man has the- best chance of reaching a good age. The death rate for both sexes, Dr. Ravenal finds, is lower in the coun try than in the town, from which we shall not too hastily assume that this is so because life is "less stren uous" amid bucolic surroundings. Other factors may account for the difference, the economic among them, but in all probability a great er proportion of outdoor workers, who may or may not be "strenuous ly" occupied, has a good deal to do with the showing made. The hy gienic advantages of fresh air and exercise are undoubted but they do not necessarily prove that the w-ay to live longer is to slow up. A de creased average life expectancy after the age of 50, often cited in sup port of the theory that we "live too fast," is misleading, taken by itself. Allowance is not always made, as it ought to be, for the circumstance that in saving a greater proportion of lives in the earlier years, a great- ! er number of individuals are pre served to swell the mortality totals from degenerative diseases. Unwise living, though not necessarily faster living, undoubtedly contributes to the result. . The doctor does not Interpret, either, the figures which he cites as showing that the longevity of women is increasing by comparison with that of men. One of the social phenomena of the century has been the vastly accelerated pace of wom en by comparison with the past. Yet the new freedom, with its Industrial burdens, its women in industry and the professions, its jazz, its social complications and its nerve-racking demands, has not, it seems, short ened women's lives. Why it should do this for men and not for women is not explained; a convenient infer ence is that the so-called killing pace of civilization is not so devastating after all. It is not, in any event, killing the women, as the figures show. The average expectancy for females of all ages, which 10 years ago was three years greater than that for males, is now three and a half years greater. It is incidentally interesting to note that the innate vitality of the feminine sex continues to be strong er than that of the males. Average A WELL-MERITED REBUKE. ' Rejection by the majority of house republicans of the leadership of their own chiefs in favor of that of Presi dent Harding on the naval bill is an example of what the president can do when he chooses to take the lead. It is a merited rebuke to those re publican leaders in the house who have on several occasions under taken to shape legislation according to their own ideas without attempt to work in harmony with the presi dent,' and to act contrary to his advice, even to the point of seriously interfering with his administration of the government. The proposal of the majority of the appropriations committee to cut the manpower of the navy far below the limit recommended by the navy department was a particularly flag rant case. The president had by means of the Washington five power treaty effected a great meas ure of economy while providing adequately for the national defense at sea, and the ratification of that treaty by the -senate had made it law. Determination of the number of men needed for the navy thus provided was a work of simple cal culation for the navy department, and the house should without much debate have voted that number of men and the necessary funds. With an eye to the campaign, the house leaders undertook to make a record for economy all their own by cutting down the force, though they would have wrecked the president's work by reducing the navy below the agreed ratio, even below the, strength accepted by Japan. This was spur ious economy which would seriously impair the national defense and would entail national danger and excessive expense whenever we be came engaged in war. It is greatly to the credit of the majority of republicans led by Representative McArthur and of those democrats who joined them that they stood by the president and deserted their recreant leaders. Having been beaten by a majority of almost two to one in their own party the little navy men should be in a very chastened mood. It is much to be desired that the president would more often assert himself as leader of the republican party, as he did on this occasion. The people hold that party respon sible for the government, and they look to Mr. Harding to lead it. extra-legal executions is not In a situation to exult over another merely because the latter has com mitted the same offense a greater number of times. The moral issues are lost to sight when the contro versy takes this turn, heat rather than light is emitted and people who ought to unite to remove the cause dissipate their energies in a series of non sequiturs. The minister quotes the prophet Isaiah: "He that covereth his sin shall not prosper." There is no doubt, he avers, that a very large number of people who regard them selves as good citizens on the whole either excuse or indorse lynching. "Many of them will not admit it when stated baldly, but it is the everlasting truth." Most all news papers and nearly all lawyers and preachers denounce lynching for any and every offense, but a majority condone it "under certain circum stances," forgetting that when one excuses or indorses it for one of fense one has let down the bars and indorsed or excused for everything. No fence is higher than its lowest place and no chain is stronger than its weakest link. The gap in the fence and the wen . place in the chain, in this observer's opinion, are found in the reluctance, sometimes inspired by fear, of the better class of citizens to aid in bringing lynch ers to justice. It is constantly omit ted from the calculations of such men that, as Epictetus said, "I am never a great sufferer except by my own faults." Lynching reacts upon the community that permits It, just as crimes that inspire lynching cause irreparable injury to those who ex cuse them. The- remedy suggested Is briefly the systematic education of public opinion upon the subject. Admitting that his own state of Georgia Is sta tistically the worst offender among the states, the minister believes that it should be the central point from which should radiate a great organ ization having this purpose in view. He outlines a programme. He would make the state the unit of organiza tion and would carry his propaganda into the schools. He would offer prizes to white scholars for best es says or speeches on the cause and cure of lynching; and particularly in the southern states he would carry out a similar programme in the negro schools, where he would offer prizes for essays on the best way to promote co-operation between the races in working out the problem. To this extent he recognizes the racial character of the issue in cer tain localities, but he would go fur ther than that. Ultimately it is his aim to create a first-class literature on a topic that has suffered in the past for want of orderly, thoughtful consideration. He believes it pos sible thus to develop "such a con science as would touch the whole state." Leadership is needed at the outset, but this need not be hard to find. There will be general agreement that it is only through the develop ment of a sound opinion among the people that permanent reform can be hoped for. The fact is plain to those who think broadly that defi ance of the law in the long run oper ates against the community which practices or tolerates it. There is need of a vigorous educational cam paign in behalf of respect for the law, in other particulars than lynch ing, but this crime, because of its enormous social consequences and its menace to organized society, fur nishes a convenient starting point. It may be that it is not the only way to check lynching, but It would seem to be one way. It is, moreover, a good sign that the suggestion has been received seriously by the people of the south itself. The Listening Post. By nJwitt Harry. PREVENTION OF LYNCHING. A thought-provoking contribution to the discussion of the causes and the cure of lynching is made by a Methodist minister in Georgia, who, in a letter to the Atlanta Constitu tion, points out that a mistake has been made in the past by those who have persisted in regarding lynching as primarily either a racial, a sec tional or a political issue. Funda mentally, he says, it is neither, and every word said with these assump tions as a basis has only complicated matters without clarifying them. The main features are mora, rather than political, and -national rather than sectional or racial. The writer holds that by taking the parochial view w o u 1 d-b e reformers have greatly retarded accomplishment of the object of their desire. Lynching is not confined to the south, though the south appears on the face of the statistics to be the worst offender. Other sections may well take note that when the lawless spirit holds sway, mob violence is apt to overrun geographical lines. That disregard for law feeds upon itself is well known, and is a fact at tested by the circumstance that a minority of lynchings in recent years have been incited by the particular crime which formerly used to be cited in excuse for lynching. The principle that mob rule is wrong does not rest upon numerical com parisons and a region that permits Senator Shortridge of California would tax all aliens $24 a year so long as they do riot become citizens and put the money in a fund for education in Americanism. The esti mate of $2 a month as the value of the protection of the stars and stripes is low enough, to say the least, and an alien who does not think the figure reasonable can well be spared. Canadian officials are co-operat ing with United States prohibition officials, it is announced, jo prevent the shipment of American bonded whisky into Canada to be re-shipped back into the United States. Well, it's only natural that" they should give preferential rights to British Scotch. Nevada is tiring of notoriety con sequent upon use of lethal gas in executing criminals. let tne vic tim" can in all decency be given a choice of means without offending anybody. Rope or ball hurts, while the gas route may be gentle trans lation. - A jury of men in New Jersey promptly acquitted a wife who felt compelled to kill her young sister for intimacy with the husband. It might seem the man most needed killing, but the jury thought other wise. A jury of women might vote differently. - . ERIC HAUSEE is a regular fellow, the sort who never backs down in anything. His ventures in Portland have proved him of this type and a recent adventure serves to accentuate it. Chauncey Bishop of Pendleton sent half a dozen of the biggest chiefs of the inland empire down to visit the French warrior, Joffre. Poker Jim, chief of the Cayuse tribe, led the delegation) while Roy Bishop acted the role of chaperon while the red men were in the big city. They were guests of the Multnomah hotel and Eric Hauser, being their friend of several round-ups back, had the' six chiefs as his guests at breakfast one morning. Now if there is any one thing at which an Indian excels it is at table sports. Hauser turned the chiefs loose on the menu and they did it justice, paid the hotel and the chef and the entire management a sincere compliment, somewhat like the one the locusts paid the Mormons' crops. The check for the six Indians' break fast totaled $42. In line with our recent eyebrow hint one of our flapper readers asks If we know how to measure ear rings, and then goes on to explain the process. It seems that the longer the neck the greater the possibili ties. The ear-ring of this day is at tached by means of a set screw and it is no longer necessary for the one who wants so to adorn herself to go through the tortures that the orig inal savages did when they had the lobes of their ears bored or pierced. When they used to expose the ears and .cover the knees, back in the days whenpompadours were the rage, the girls wore solitaire diamonds in their ears, but no diamond cl03ely attached after this fashion would have the ghost of a chance now when the ear snugly nestles in a bun of hair. Dangling attachments are necessary In order that they may be seen, and now comes the secret for measurement, according to our in formant. The longer the neck, the longer the ear-rings, or whatever they should be called today. Those Who Come and Go. Tales of Folks at the Hotels. Glide Vork, Mare Buker! Ay vanting say Aman to Mare, An' all dps folks das ban prepare To mak big fight on all kin' drug, An' giving peddlers gude big slug. Ay alvays tank, lak. Canon Bliss, Dat sailing drug ban Yudas kiss. An' not skol be no meaner skunk Dan faller charging two, tree plunk For dope das robbing pocketbook An' sending soul to hal to cook. Ay hope bote tousand man or two Ban yoining dls har fighting crew. An' make gude scrap vith des har scamp An cleaning out dope peddlers' camp. By yee, it seem lak dos ban shame, Ven gude young vomen sal der name An' eferding dey prizing most And mak demsalf ban look lak ghost, Ven some slick faller ban to blame And wracking vomen ban has aim. Ay tank gude yank of hangman's rope Ban lot too gude for saling dope. An ven detectiff catch dos houn Ay bat Ve run dem out uas town An' landing dem in som gude penn Ver not skol ruin folks again. OLE OLESON. On of the members of this con spiracy, that is one of the regular readers of the column, reports what she considers the highest test of friendshin as it occurred on a Union- avenue ear the other evening; Two girls ridiaa together, one in dire dis tress but with no handkerchief. After feverish search for the bit of linen her companion came to her relief by passing over the much needed ac commodation. After use the hanky was returned, the impressive fact be ing the total absence of any appear ance of the unusual in the transac tion. One night last week at a house party at which a newly married cou ple attended there were several sin gle young men. The bridegroom" hap pened to discover a woman's hand kerchief on a chair. He raised it to his nose and pocketed it, with no dea that he was doing anything out of the way. It greatly amused the bachelors, who had never seen any thing of the kind before and they re ceived a totally new idea of how well married couples become ac quainted when they get things down to such a fine point that all their senses are on the alert to tell of each other. Just as soon as he can sell out his holdings in New York he intends re turning to Portland and remaining here. This was the announced inten tion of Thomas C. Devlin when he left for the east last night after a brief visit here. Mr. Devlin was, a few years ago, one of the best-known men in Portland, For years he was city auditor and then became a candi date for mayor in one of the most hotly contested campaigns that was ever waged in this community. Fol lowing the campaign Mr. Devlin suf fered a breakdown in health and went to the east, settling in New York state. For about five years he had never slept in a bed until his recent trip to Portland, owing to his com plaint, and all his sleeping had to be accomplished in a chair. While in Portland Mr. Devlin felt so much better that he resolved to return here permanently. When he left New York for the Pacific coast his health was such that it was believed he could not survive the trip, but mak ing the voyage by steamer greatly improved his condition. Before be coming a mayoralty candidate Mr. Devlin was the author of a textbook on municipal government. In the olden' days he had a personal friend who has since become celebrated as a writer, Harry Leon Wilson, author of "Ruggles, "Merton of the Movies and "Ma Pettingill." P. A. Flnseth has owned the Bee Hive clothing store on Main street in Dallas since the memory of man runs not to the contrary. There in the spring and in the fall the youths of the Polk 'county metropolis flock to obtain the latest styles. Mr. Fln seth was In Portland yesterday to transact some purchasing business and was at the Imperial. He is the father of Lelf Finseth, grand chan cellor of the Knights of Pythias of the state. Some time ago Mr. Fin seth made a trip to Norway, where he visited his old home. He also went to Paris, Berlin and other European cities. At the present time he is keenly interested in the prima situa tion. Growers of the country around Dallas are expecting great prune crops this season, he said yesterday. Last year the prune crop in Polk county was practically a failure and many of the growers- did not go to the expense of harvesting their crops. This season a contrary condition exists and the trees are loaded down with buds that are starting to burst. Many of the prune men are of the opinion that it would be much better were the trees not to be so heavily loaded with fruit as prospects now indicate they will be. "They desire quality rather than great quantity," declared Mr. Finseth yesterday. "A heavily loaded tree cannot produce the good grade of prunes that can be obtained from a moderately loaded tree." A. J. Dickinson, passenger traffic manager of the Great Northern rail road of St. Paul, Minn., and C. W. Meldrum, assistant passenger agent of Seattle, are registered at the Mult nomah. Mr. Dickinson states that 'many of the special parties of Shrin ers who will go to San Francisco this summer to attend their convention have made plans to stop over in Port land. As a result of his investigation of conditions on this trip, Mr. Dickin son believes that business conditions a-re generally improving. . J. F. Kronenberg, a merchant of Bandon, is at the Multnomah. B&ndon is looking forward to the time when there will be a good highway betwee that town and Coquille, which will place it at an advantageous spot on the Roosevelt highway. Bandon is th shipping point for white cedar an dairy produce from Curry county Bandon being the only suitable outie for the dairy products, although con siderable of the cedar goes out of Port Orford harbor. Every so often Joe Matty of Lafay ette. Or., takes a few montns on e-oes back to England, the scene of hi boyhood. - Mr. Matty is a wealthy farmer in the Lafayette district, al though he uses McMinnvme as ni rjostoffice. His activities have not heen confined to Yamhill county, how ever, for years ago he invested in Portland and built the Lafayette block in this city. Mr. Matty will be in England several months but has no intention or caning on olius i6 L. A. Duncan, in the insurance busl ness in The Dalles, is registered at the Tmnerial. The Dalles likes to cal itself the cherry city, without regard for the feelings of the people ot ta- 7em. Within two weeks the cherry nrfharris around The Dalles will be in full bloom. The lower parts of the rreea am now throwing out a few blooms. Among the arrivals at the Benson is one of the four democratic can didates for eovernor. Will E. fnray, who has a bath house at Salem. He was elected one of the delegates to the democratic national convention in San Francisco from Oregon and offended some of his fellow dele gates from the Beaver state by the policy he pursued mere. One of the prominent stockmen of the John Day country is rl. ri. l row bridge, who is in own for a few days. Mr. Trowbridge registers from the town -ot John Day, which is on the John Day highway, and the John Day river flows nearby, jonn w was a pioneer hunter, and, as Irving Cobb would say, it is a pity that they Burroughs Nature Club. Copyrleht, Houehton-Mtfflln Co, More Truth Than Poetry. By Janrs J. Moatagne. What has put the spirit of hope into the hearts of-so many democrats this spring to induce them to file for nomination? The optimism of Dr. Morrow, national committeeman, must be all-pervading. Sam Kozer, secretary of state, figures on need of 140,000 motor licenses next year. Sam is an opti mist, but this is real business. About every rod of new- pavement means a few more. It is said people use profanity because their vocabularies are lim ited. Just so! Only somebody tell us what a linguist says when he hits his thumb. But how can any serious pro nouncement for the Russian govern ment be expected of an envoy who spells his name Chicherin? As to drunken affrays at inns and such, it would seem to be the duty of prohibition officials to find the sources of the intoxicants. The vogue of taking over an old barn and transforming it into an at tractive residence has been receiving a great impetus of late years, espe- ( aldn't name something after him cially in view of increased building costs. There are any number of per sons who have made exhaustive studies of the subject and who are endowed with an all sufficient vision when it comeB to looking at an old tumble-down house and plotting out, In their Inind's eye, just how neat it would appear with a little gable stuck on here or there and a new en trance hall with a trellis and a few yards of lattice fence. But when it comes to the remodel ing, taking the1 word of one who has made the experiment, another sort of a story develops. It seems that it costs quite a lot to go out and make over the old barn into a neat little plastered bungalow and then, only too often, the result is not altogether satisfactory. A man went into bankruptcy the other day with $35,000 liabilities and no assets. One who can do that is a real "financer." Despite her career. Lady Astor is charmingly old-fashioned about woman's dress. Spokane is in a "milky" way, the price dropping three cents. Oregon 192 5 Portland. Striking incidents of daily life fre quently passed by as too usual receive accentuation from contact. How many people wear glasses, how many are taking X-ray treatments, how many eat beans for lunch, how many chew gum, how many visit fortune tellers? These questions at random give some idea of the scope of the field for the one who will observe more than ordi narily. Just step into an optical shop the number of patrons is astounding. It seems as if everyone is wearing glasses. In the specialist's office the same is the rule, hundreds of patients come every day seeking attention for some complaint. In the beanery they cannot seem to serve the crowds. The lobby confectionery stands pass out tons of gum weekly that go to spat ter the pavements or find a resting place under restaurant chairs or ta bles. And the fortune tellers find that more than one is born every minute. George T. Cochran of La Grande, stato water suoerintendent, is regis tered at the Imperial while on his way to Salem. Supervision or tne waters of the state and of their ap propriation, distribution and diver sion, and the adjudication of existing water rights, are some of the things which occupy the time and attention of Mr. Cochran. Conditions in Idaho are improving and the advance in the price of wool and spring lambs means much for the stockmen in the southern part or tne state, according to H. F. Wood of Nampa. who is at the Multnomah with his wife. Astoria arrivals at the Benson today are John Tait, laundryman, and W. P. O'Brien, lumberman, both of whom are about as well known in Portland as they are on Commercial street in the city by the sea. R. Whitman Jr. and E. W. Brain- ara oi jviarsniieia are in rui nu-iiu at tending the Penney stores convention and are registered at the Multnomah. H. S. Royce is a fairly important factor in the automotive industry of Oregsm, for he is a dealer in Medford, Klamath Falls and Bend. A. L. Ribelin and family are at the Multnomah from Chehalis, Wash, where Mr. Ribelin is a merchant. Annulment of Contract. FOREST GROVE, Or., April 19.- (To the Editor.) A sells a tract of land to B under contract, saia con tract providing that in case B fails to keep up his monthly payments he shall forfeit the contract. B failed to keep up his payments. The con tract was witnessed but did not have any notary seal thereon. Would A have to take the matter before the courts to have the contract annuled? OLD SUBSCRIBER. Where time is essence of .the con tract and the contract is not recorded, court procedure ia not necessary. Can Yon Answer These Questlonsf 1. Is there any rule for the number of eggs in birds' nestsT 2. Are garter snakes useful? should they be protected? 3. Does the American prong-horn antelope shed the core ot its horns and, if so, at what season? Answers In tomorrow's nature notes. Answers to Previous Questions. 1. What do daddy-longlegs feed on? , On small insects, especially aphlds. They feed in the day time, but do not enjoy the full strength of sunlight. Harmless to man. 2. What is the bright gold-colored blight on the enclosed specimen of blackberry leaf? This was a "rust" which afflicts both blackberry and raspberry bushes, and is the cause of much loss to fruit growers. Also called spring rust, red rust and bramble rust, and Is caused by the bramble fungus. Once it gets established on a bush, it cannot be eradicated. Wild or cultivated bushes with it should be dug up aad care fully burned to prevent the spread of the disease. Pamphlets dealing with it can be obtained from various state agricultural experiment sta tions. 3. How do gulls manage about get ting food by following vessels dur ing the nesting season? And do they cross all the way with one ship, or go part way with one, and then pick up another to return with? It is supposed they feed near home while busy with feeding their young. The nestlings eat squid and sundry marine refuse picked up near the beaches. ' Inland, they are fed on in sects. If the parents follow vessels at this season, they may take turns in nesting duties. We do not know positively as to general custom of traveling a great distance with one ship, but individual cases have been watched and known to travel from the Irish coast to America. FOR. SEPARATION OF TAX ISSUE Reduction League Is Held to Be In viting Detent. PORTLAND, April 20. (To the Ed itor.) It seems to me that it would be wise and fair to have the proposal to repeal the 1.2 mills tax for the sup port of the higher educational Institu tions on a separate initiative bill, for a great many electors will not vote for a measure that will cripple the institutions of higher education. Prob ably half of the voters in this state are unconcerned about the tax rate, but a very large percentage of such are ardent supporters of all public schools. Fifty-five years ago, or thereabouts, a distinguished citizen of Portland had controlled the public schools here for years and was deservedly popular. Then a demand for a high school went out. He opposed it. A contest en sued at the next school election. The distinguished citizen was overwhelm ingly defeated, although he had been supported by all the banks and big business. A fine school building now bears his name, but his influence In school direction was never regained. Let us profit by his example. I have considerable unproductive real estate on which the tax burden Js dreadful. I voted against all road bond laws and in favor of the mill age taxes for the institutions of higher education. The radical changes which the self- styled tax reducers appear to have planned will have a mighty "hard row to hoe" without the opposition of the friends of the University of Oregon and the Oregon Agricultural college. Therefore, separate the issues. Let each stand on its own merits. W. S. CHAPMAN. NOTHING TO WORK FOR. (Seed catalogues now print accurst and truthful pictures ot tho vsci-tabies they list.) 1 learn with much displeasure That fiction, which in youth I fondly used to treasure. Has been replaced by truth. No longer have I reason To ply the spade and hoe. At this delightful season. And aim to make things grow. Though gross exaggerations. The pictures 1 beheld Raised up my expectations. And hope within ma welled. Potatoes like galoshes (Regarding shape and size); Leviathanic squashes, I used to visualise; I dreamed of giant berries While delving In the sod; Of peas as big as cherries A dozen to the pod. I knew I'd never reap them. Because of bugs and blight. But memory used to keep then Before my dazzled sight. That no such things existed On earth full well I knew. Yet fancy still Insisted The catalogues were trus. I knew ths rare profusion The seedman'a art displayed Was only an illusion And speedily must fads. But these fond dreams I cherished. Through all the days of yore. And now that they havt perished I'll never Harden mors! Overproduction. Every fly lays a billion eggs In a season. Somebody ought to send Mrs. Margaret Sanger to talk to those In sects. ess Busy. No one has heard from Senator Borah lately. Ha has probably con to his private observatory to look for another war cloud. Just as Satisfactory. There are few hotels In Genes, but most of the delegates to the confer ence will want to live at the golf club, anyway. (Copyright by ths Bell swHcats. Tim. Morning'. By Grace K. HalL It is the sweet return of life Incoming tide Prom the far shores of sleep, Where day-fret died; Rebirth of thought To live Its little span And wane again With ebbing strength of man. It is resumption of the melody Of feathered throats. Hushed by night. To soft staccato notes: Continuation of eternal dreams That break at last With sunset's fading gleams And sink, at close of day, E'en as the sun. Into a sea, cool, gray Oblivion. Morning Is the opening of a door That lets the sunlight through; The lifting of a somber shade To show a patch Of blue; The gracious opportunity That God presents Kach day to man To kindle every sense. In Other Days. Washington School Elections. SKAMOKAWA. Wash., April 19. (To the Edrtor.) 1. If a married woman is born and reared in a cer tain school district and has lived there all her life, and the husband has been working In a logging camp perate battle, have captured Damasl Twenty-five Years A sro. Prom The Oregonian of April 21. If7 Dublin. There was a largo attend ance of prominent Parnellitcs at the Parnellite convention summoned to meet in this city by John Redmond. Athens. The Greeks, after a des- in Alaska, coming home but twice year on a visit, can she be refused a vote at a school election for the pur pose of consolidating schools? 2. Can a married woman who was born and reared in the same district but lived in Oregon until her hus bands death, some two years ago, and then returned to the home of her parents, only leaving to work occa sionally, but claims her residence at the home of her parents, where she holds an interest in property, also being in district 4 months prior to election be refused a vote in that district at an election for the pur pose of consolidating schools? A SUBSCRIBER. 1. She is entitled to. vote. 2. She is entitled to vote. Descent of Estate. PORTLAND, April 20. (To the Editor.) 1. A man takes out insur ance in favor of his wife, naming her in the policy, thus: Maud X. Smith. She dies. In the event of the man's decease, childless, can the sec ond wife collect the insurance? 2. In case of a man and wife's joint ownership of property, where the wife dies, and the man, childless and intestate, remarries, does the property in the event of the man's decease go to the second wife? SUBSCRIBER. 1. The insurance would go to his estate and if he made no will and had no children, his wife would in herit it. 2. Yes. from the Turks, and another division of Greek troops has traversed the Reveni pass. New York. The first Cuban coin, a dollar, about the size of a Spanish 6 peseta piece, will be put In circulation soon. Work on the fortification at Fort Stevens is well along toward comple tion, and the fortifications at Scar borough head will soon be started. Fifty Years Abo. From The Oreitonia'n of April ?1, 1R7?. Washington. Representative Bing ham today opposed the civil service bill on the grounds that It Is uncon stitutional and will overthrow oui system of government. General Walker, superintendent nt the census, has reported that the real and personal estate of the nation val ues $30,068,018,607. While our government is consider lng tho policy of forbidding the slaughter of buffalo. England in tak lng precautions againut the threat ened extinction of elephants. A resident of East Portland won bet from bis wife the other night by undressing, getting into bed, gettinK up. dressing, undressing and getting Into bed again ere his wife undressed Bonus (and Divorce. LITTLE ROCK, Wash.. April 20. (To the Editor.) 1. Can a man who enlisted in Wyoming In 1917 and whose parents live In New York state, but whose home is wherever his work is, get the state bonus from the state where he enlisted? 2. How long after getting a divorce in the state of Washington before one can marry? EX-SOLDIER. 1. The service man is usually re quired to prove residence at time of enlistment In the state In which he applies for bonus. 2. Washington now withholds de cree for six montns ana marriage cannot be contracted until the ex piration of six months after decree has been entered. The effect is to delay marriage for one year after the divorce hearing. THE KO:VG OF THE FKOfiH, While sitting alone In the twilight Of a perfect April day, A troop of phantoms came toward me From the shadows across the way. One was the song that my mother sung To lighten a chlldinh wov And ono was the path beside the brook Where the cowslips used, to grow One was the look in a loved one'r eyes. Another the scene of flowers on rrave. And one was the night I was sick with fear. Though I smiled and they called me bravo. They passed and I followed to find their home. Through rushes and over log", To find they were memories of by gone days, Awakened by little green frogs. MRS. MAUD SPOKKOilD KUIILET When Dob- Is Wot Paid For. PORTLAND, April 20. (To the Edi tor.) A sells B a valuable puppy with the understanding that B will pay for the same on the following pay day. The time has gone on for four months, and the bill Is still un paid. Can A levy on the pup and take it back? CONSTANT SUBSCRIBER. You can sue on the debt and attach the dog or other property belonging to B which is not exempt. Capital of Russia. GRESHAM, Or., April 19. (To the Editor.) What Is the capital of Rus sia? Is it Moscow or Petrograd? GRIS PUPIL. Moscow. Poll Tax In Wasbincion. ROSBURO. Wash., April 19. T' the Editor.) Please state whethe the poll tax law Is constitutional l Washington and if tne same was up held by the United States supreme court recently, as tiiey are collectlm same in this vicinity now and say 1 has to be in by April 25. GUY W. FARMER. The constitutionality of the Wash lngton poll tax law has been uphek by the supreme court of that slate. Compromise Indicated on Beer. London Punch. Farmer (who has sent some beer o' doubful quality out to the lisrves field) What be ye lookin' at the neei like that for? Anybody 'ud thlnl there was summat the matter will it." ' Jarge Well, I were Just a-thlnkln If 'twere any worse we couldn't a-drlnk It, an' If 'twere any belt' we shouldn't 'a' got it.
