Morning Oregonian., May 13, 1922, Page 8, Image 8

THE MOBNIXG OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, MAY 13. 1922
8
ESTABLISHED BY HENRY I.. PITTOCK.
Published by The Oreg-onian Publishing Co.
135 Slxtb Street. Portland. Oregon.
C. A. MOKDEX, E. B. PIPER.
Uinst'r. Editor.
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troit, Mich.; Verree Conklin, Monadnock
building, San Francisco, Cal.
KEEPING IP THE BARS.
In signing the immigration bill
which extends for two years from
June 30 next the 3 per cent limit on
Immigration President Harding has
not only given assurance that the
bars will be kept up against a fur
ther influx of foreigners that the
country is poorly prepared to ab
sorb, but he has settled a contro
versy that threatened to embarrass
us in our foreign relations. The bill
In its present form provides a prac
ticable method for restricting immi
gration in a manner that can hardly
give offense; amendments which had
been proposed and badly worked-out
theories propounded by its opponents
gave promise of trouble and would
not have been a solution of our pres
ent problem in the end.
One of the suggestions made by
Mrs. Lillian Russell Moore on her
return to this country from a tour of
Inspection of the emigrant ports of
Europe was that a commission be
created, consisting of certain bureau
and department officials, with power
to fix quotas from time to time, in
accordance with the needs of the
country and its probable capacity for
absorbing particular classes of im
migrants into the population. A
similar plan, offered by an organ
ization of business men, proposed the
admission of aliens only "who will
make desirable citizens, at such
times and in such numbers as will
tend to contribute to our economic
growth, prosperity and social wel
fare." This body proposed the cre
ation of a commission similar to that
suggested by Mrs. Moore, the genius
of the scheme being that the quotas
of different national and racial
groups should be varied from time to
time, within a specified maximum
for all groups. In theory the idea
was sound; in practice there is
reason to suppose that it would have
opened a veritable Pandora's box of
trouble for our government.
The result which has been ac
complished by re-enactment of the
present law is that sufficiently gen
erous provision has been made for
the reuniting of families, some of
whose members have previously ob
tained admission to the United
States, which is conceded to be desir
able in order to promote the con
tentment of those now here and to
foster a sense of permanency of resi
dence which would not obtain If
families were divided. The 3 per
cent rule also leaves a margin to
spare for special cases and obviates
certain hardships which we would
like to avoid. The number who wll
be admitted on the oiJier hand will
not constitute a grave menace to our
own industrial situation during the
present period of unemployment. It
will give us an opportunity to perfect
arrangements for the assimilation of
foreigners, which are sadly in need
of repair, and it will reduce injustice
to the minimum. On the whole,
while it may deny opportunity to a
few worthy and. oppressed aliens, itS
advantages will greatly outweigh any
disadvantages that may accrue.
The counter proposals to which
allusion has been made would have
precipitated an issue of grave mo
ment as to our impartiality in the
treatment of other peoples. It is a
well-established principle that na
tions have the right to exclude for
eigners from their shores, yet the
most favored nation clause is jeal
ously guarded in practice and bears
with great force upon the imponder
able issue of national pride. The ad
mission of aliens is so general, says
an authority on international law,
that the exclusion of foreigners of
particular nationalities or of a par
ticular religious faith would be re
garded as an unfriendly act. Any
law for their exclusion must there
fore be general in its terms, and this
has been accomplished by the pro
vision that a definite percentage of
the number of alien-born of a given
nationality already in the country
shall be admitted, and no more. For
tunately, as was calculated by the
framers of the existing law, this gives
us a preponderance of immigrants
of the classes that we have come to
regard as most assimilable and it is
perhaps as near to the ideal as we
may hope to attain.
The right of exclusion, in which no
nationality is discriminated against,
on account of disease, or pauperism,
or probable inability to become self
supporting, is preserved in the law.
This gives to bureau officials a sub
stantial margin within which to ad
minister the statute to the advantage
of the country, and Is about as far as
we are prepared to go in granting
power to an administrative branch of
government. However, the immi
gration bureau automatically be
comes a highly important depart
ment. It can lawfully station agents
at ports of debarkation and there in
sist on certain standards of fitness,
within the law, which will forestall
congestion at our home porta
Nor is there anything to prevent
congress from providing further
measures for the distribution of ar
riving aliens. A policy which would
result in landing a certain propor
tion of them in other ports than
New York would measurably sim
plify our domestic problems. But
this should be preceded by the cre
ation of buuor facilities than now
exist for the Americanization of new
comers anri for a check on the ten
dency to grouping by nationalities!
which has so largely eontriDUiea to
the failure of the so-called melting
pot.
TIME TO CHANGE.
In a period of fourteen months
from January 6. 1919, to March 15,
1920 State Treasurer Hoff pur
chasedfrom Morris Bros. Inc.. bond
dealers, bonds for which he paid out
of the industrial accident fund $1,
172,223.12 On the transactions cov
ered by this amount the bond house
profited $84,076.09.
On one sale of bonds to the state,
involving only $100,000, the bond
house profited $16,000.
There was no good reason why the
state treasurer should In many of
these transactions have patronized a
middleman. He could have bought
Oregon securities direct and saved
the exorbitant profits paid to the
bond dealers.
To the bond dealers the business
with the state treasurer was so prof
itable that it gave one deputy in the
office of the state treasurer more
than $800. Subsequent dealings with
another deputy were of a suspicious
character.
Information now comes to The
Oregonian from a reliable source
that the industrial accident commis
sion on January 1 of this year, wrote
off from its securities the sum of
$100,000 and stated that it was done
on account of poor bonds bought at
a price above their value by the pres
ent treasurer.
An inefficiency on the part of a
state officer which enables a deputy
to graft and deprives state funds of
their full benefit to the purpose for
which they were set aside is not to
be countenanced. There should be a
change in the office of state treas
urer and the primary election offers
the opportunity to secure it.
LET CS WAIT AND SEE.
Becau.se it gives The Oregonian an
opportunity to say again that its
news columns are free and its edi
torial opinions are its own, the fol
lowing from The Dalles Chronicle Is
reprinted:
First The Oregonian condemned Bev
eridge as a candidate for the republican
senatorial nomination In Indiana and then,
when he was given such an overwhelming
majority in the primaries this week, de
scribes him, in its headlines at least, as
being "close to Harding ideal."
Having intimated previously that In
diana's leading progressive was a party
pariah and sore-spot in the eyes of the
administration. The Oregonian's laudatory
article about Beveridge was anything but
consistent.
With the exception that The Ore
gonian did not condemn Beveridge,
did not refer to him as a pariah or
sore spot, and did not later describe
him as being "close to the Harding
Ideal," the foregoing Is correct
enough.
Following a survey of the Indiana
contest, on the day of election there,
wherein the positions of Senator New
and ex-Senator Beveridge were con
trasted, and wherein it was said that
"Beveridge is by far the most bril
liant and attractive figure, New the
safer." The Oregonian printed a tele
graphic letter from Mark Sullivan in
which it was prophesied that Senator
Beveridge would be found to be in
large policies in harmony with the
Har.ding administration, because
Harding and Beveridge stand for the
same ideals.
Let us hope that Mr. Sullivan is
right. He usually js. That is the
reason The Oregonian prints his let
ters. But, right or wrong, they are
Mr. Sullivan's views, not The Orego
nian's. They present always an in
dependent, informed. Interesting and
authoritative view of public men and
public affairs, and they serve to con
firm other judgments, or to correct
them, as the case may be.
It may be proper to add, in view of
the record, that if it shall be found
hereafter that Mr. Beveridge will
work in harmony with President
Harding, a miracle will have hap
pened. DEVELOPING THE GERM THEORY.
Announcement from Moscow of
the isolation of the germ of typhus
fever marks a further important step
toward control of a disease that has
claimed more victims and visited
greater devastation upon the human
race than all the wars in history. The
reported discovery is the work of Dr.
N. Kritch, a woman physician, whose
experiments were conducted under
the direction of Professor Parakin of
the Moscow Biological Institute. It
was made possible by American as
sistance, howover, and not by the aid
of the bolshevist government, under
whose regime scientific research has
been able to make no progress. The
particular significance of the news
lies in the promise it holds out for
tlio development of a curative serum.
The communicable nature of typhus
and the necessity for strict quaran
tine against it and also the fact that
its carrier is a body parasite have
long been well known.
Indeed, Dr. Kritch has but added
another stone to the vast monument
of evidence that certain germs are
the most malignant enemies with
which the race has to contend. Yet
it is only forty-one years this month
since the germ theory was first pub
licly demonstrated by Us foremost
exponent so convincingly that
thoughtful scientists have ever since
accepted it as a practical basis for
epidemic suppression. Louis Pas
teur's first announcement that he
had found the germ cause of splenic
fever or anthrax in cattle a highly
virulent disease when transmitted to
humans, was received with general
skepticism. The ensuing controversy
was marked by personal vilification
and abuse. The outcome was a chal
lenge issued by the reactionaries, the
acceptance of which by Pasteur in
May. 1881, still constitutes one of the
most memorable events in the his
tory of war on plagues.
Under the terms of the contest
each of twenty-five sheep were in
oculated with a vaccine of Pas
teur's making and twenty-five
others were not inoculated, the en
tire band being vaccinated some days
later with violent cultures of an
thrax bacilli. Pasteur predicted that
the vaccinated sheep would recover
and that the others would die. which
was precisely what came to pass.
Moreover, the bodies of those which
died were buried in a plot sur
rounded by a paling within which
ten other sheep were confined, to
test Pasteur's theory that earth
worms were responsible for bringing
to the surface the germs of the
disease recovered from the burled
bod.es. Here, too, the accuracy of
his theory was proved. No more
dramatic incident has occurred in
scientific history, unless we except
the death of Dr. Jesse W. Lazear in
Cuba, a sacrifice to science la an ef
fort to ascertain the method of
transmission of yellow fever.
The discovery reported from Mos
cow lacks some of the force of a pio
neer achievement but its significance
cannot easily be overestimated. Dr.
Kritch's success In growing and re
producing the typhus germ outside
of the human body, which her co
workers predict will be followed by
the development of a suitable serum
in due course of time, means in all
probability that this scourge will
soon be relegated to the typhoid
class. The latter disease, which
caused more deaths than bullets In
the Spanish war, has been robbed of
its terrors as the direct result of the
principle which Pasteur established
in May, 1881. No deaths from this
cause occurred in our navy during
the world war, and there were few In
all the land armies which had op
portunity to immunize their soldiers
against it. Mortality, in fact, was
confined to the armies of the smaller
nations in central Europe In which
precautionary measures were ignored.
STRAINING AFTER PERFECTION.
fho 1H miActtnn whethap T,nl!Hri
should have any influence whatever
in appointment of postmasters is
raised again by the National Civil
Serviee Reform league. It acknowl
edges that President Harding has
made a decided advance on the
methods of President Wilson, but it
is still driving for perfection. Mr.
Wilson ordered that all vacancies oc
curring through death, removal or
resignation be filled by appointment
of one among the three who stood
highest in an examination of candi
dates. Mr. Harding applies this rule
to all appointments, but when a re
publican endorsed by a republican
congressman or other republican
leader is among the first three, he
gets the appointment. The league
objects that "within the highest
three eligibles political patronage is
still controlling." It recommends
that the highest man on the list be
appointed, that presidential post
masterships be added to the classi
fied civil service and that congres
sional endorsements be prohibited.
This is the controversy that comes
anew with the advent of every new
administration, especially when con
trol of the government passes from
one party to the other. With almost
every new administration more of
fices have been fortified against the
spoilsmen. by adding new categories
to the classified service, but usually
this has been done after a president
has filled the. offices with men of his
own party and has been denounced
by his opponents for resort to a hy
pocritical device to prevent his suc
cessor from turning "the rascal3 out"
in case the opposition party should
win the next election. These pro
tests are inspired by objection to be
ing deprived of the means to reward
the faithful, which is the euphemism
of each party for those whom the
other party used to call rascals.
When in order to stop this gamf
the league proposes that politics
should have nothing to do with the
case, It offers a counsel of perfection
that cannot be followed in practical
politics. When three persons are
proved by examination to be quali
fied for postmaster and when a re
publican Is appointed from among
those three, politics come as near to
perfection as is possible. The people
get a competent official, and a man
or woman who has worked for tri
umph of party principles has received
a reward. The league could hardly
expect the republicans to give the
jobs to democrats when it knows
well that democrats would not give
them to republicans.
The most forcible criticism that
has been made of strictly partisan
appointments is that the congress
man who makes the selection gains
ten enemies to every friend that he
holds. The examination system gives
him some relief, for it cuts the ratio
down to two enemies for one friend
at the worst, while if there should be
a political opponent among the
three, the ratio is one to one. That
is mortifying enough, for the chief
aim of politicians is to make friends
without thereby making enemies. If
the league's counsel of perfection
should be adopted, they would make
no enemies by distribution of patron
age, but they would make no friends.
It seems impossible to realize the
ideals of both the league and the
politicians. Somebody will be disap
pointed, and we suspect it will be the
league for many years hence.
COMBAT THE SOCIALIST DELUSION.
Socialism still has its adherents,
still is an aggressive force in every
country, not even excepting China.
Though carried to its illogical con
clusion and proved a monstrous fal
lacy In Russia, it retains its hold on
minds so easily gullible that they ac
cept without question the bolshevist
explanations of its failure the block
ade by bourgeois governments which
is a pure invention, and the civil war,
which caused no more destruction
than that from which France quickly
recovered after the first revolution.
How does socialism retain its hold
in the face of proof by most tragic
experiment that It is false, destruc
tive and brings most misery to the
proletariat whom it t professes to
benefit?
Socialists, though misguided, are
in earnest, they are well organized
and they work unceasingly. They
have a theory that ostensibly sets up
a high ideal of justice and equality,
of human perfection. They have a
rich field for recruits among the
lazy, ignorant, inefficient, who' al
ways seek some person or thing
other than themselves on which to
blame their failure in life. They
glibly attribute to "capitalism" the
inevitable defects and injustices that
mar all human institutions. They
pass over as incidents of "the class
struggle" the outright murder of al
most two million persons, the death
by famine and disease of many mil
lions more, the ruin of a great na
tion and the despotic rule of five
persons which mark the triumph of
their theory in Russia. Intense
prejudice closes the minds of their
dupes to the truth, for all that tends
to discredit the cult is called "capi
talist lies."
In order that socialism may make
fewer converts and that it may be
driven from the minds of the honestly
deluded, it should be constantly
fought in organized fashion with at
least some of its own weapons. The
converse of socialism is individual
ism, but comparatively few know it
as a definite principle, and the great
majoritiy of people, as the New York
Independent says, "while not social
ists, take no stand against socialism,
think (rightly enough) that 'there is
a good deal to be said tor socialism."
By their indifference and their fail
ure to grasp the fact that two op
posing principles are involved, they
"give the socialists the advantage of
playing the role of high-minded
idealists, leaving to us that of sordid
worldlings." We need men who will
band themselves together, saying, as
Herbert Hoover says: "I am an indi
vidualist an unashamed individual
ist a proud individualist," and who
will propagate their ideal as founded
on natural law and the character of
man, as the motive power of human
progress.
Individualism is peculiarly at
home in America, for it is Ameri
canism. It led the colonists across
the Atlantic to found new states and
cities. It caused them to establish
an independent republic, that they
might give free play to their ener
gies. It caused them to push their
way across the continent in search of
gold, to make farms, build railroads
and cities. The pioneer was the
typical individualist, asking no odds
of any man. In fact socialism is a
foreign Import, brought here by
those who fled from the restrictions
placed on their hopes and ambitions
by the system of class distinction and
privilege that rules the old world,
and most of its converts have been
made among immigrants born under
that system. It Is an exotic in a
country which knows no classes and
where opportunity is open to all wno
see and seize it. Native converts to
this alien cult have been men who
were too Incompetent or too lazy to
succeed but too vain to acknowedge
tlia r-rnfh tn themselves, or those Who
are naturally inclined to revolution
ary agitation or those wno are at
tracted by the superficial beauties of
the Marxian Utopia the academic
dreamers who form schemes for an
imaginary world of unselfish, per
foot men itrnnriner man's inherent
selfishness and imperfections.
Individualism can Desc comuau
socialism by organized effort to
ictinn of its'merits among
the indifferent who compose the
great majority of the population. j.l
can tear the beautiful cloak of ideal
it, frTM t fincinlist creed and
show that in practice the theory is
an opiate to personal eiiort, amui
tinn o n initiative hv robbing men of
the incentive of personal gain, com
fort and fame. Sy maKing uuviu
ualism a positive, aggressive, politi
cal force, those who believe in it can
prevent the adoption of schemes by
which we have been sliding down to
crtiQiicm Thpv can nrouerly con
cede that modern invention has en
abled communities to render some
forms of service which were formerly
nviimia PTitpmme. They can
check the extremes to which greed
leads men who, by exercising
rights beyond reason, make recruits
for the party which would deprive
them of those rights.
The time is ripe ror a succcsjiui
i.omont nf this kind. Russia is a
horrible example of the fruits of so
cialism when freed from odsixucuoh
to its full realization. The heavy
taxes of which our own people com
plain are in part the result of so
cialist experiments that have been
hxr omntinnal executives and
legislators. By tracing the cost of
these experiments to tneir source, in
dividualists can gain public atten
tion and open men's minds to their
own principle.
The Sanity League of America, an
nidation camDaiening for beer
and light wines, in some of its lit
erature speaks of Its memnersiup
made up of "100 per cent Ameri-
Prohablv a misprint. One
hundred proof Americans would be
more like it.
Clarke county democrats will hold
a convention tomorrow to elect dele
gates to a state platform convention
and Oregonians with happy memo
ries can motor over and see "how the
old thing works."
The only excuse for a driver who
speeds past a loading or unloading
.,.. io innhiHHr tn control, and he
should be deprived of a license when
he leaves jail.
Why can't the government ever ar
range to take a census around elec
tion time? By counting all the candi
dates Portland would be certain to
pass Seattle.
A teacher with bobbed hair is held
unfit in New York, while one with
rather short skirts is upheld in Cali
fornia. All depends on the view
point. The kaiser is said to be devoting
a.l his time nowadays to the study qf
religion. Probably getting ready to
declare the Bible a scrap of paper.
The Philadelphia fair people seek
ing a manager are overlooking John
Barrett of Oregon, a man with a
grasp on two countinents.
Old-time republican workers are
getting into this campaign with a
noise like the snort of a warhorse, a
democratic animal.
The purse seiner, outlawed, pur
poses to work outside the three-mile
limit, but may drift in to his discom
fiture. A bee farmer up Nisqually way is
charged with moonshining, a grand
way to work off surplus honey.
Now they can combine the rose
festival with the Fourth of July and
make it a real celebration.
New York city, having exhausted
the three dimensions, talks of attain
ing the fourth seaward.
The California orange crop will be
half short, but something just as
good grows in Oregon.
Mayor Baker must stop the dis
order on the waterfront. In fact,
he can and will.
Perhaps all McCredie needed was
transplanting. He has his winning
streak with him.
These "off again, on agains" en
cumber court business, but there is
no relief.
With closing of the polls in a week,
measure of sanity will be restored.
The disorderly striker knows but
one deterrent the policeman's club.
Order today the flowers and the
candy for "Mother."
Another week of "agony" and a
rest for months.
Pound a pan! The Beavers won a
Crams.
SYSTEM DEBASES WORKJIAS5HIP
Employes' Efficiency Reduced Under
Public Official Contractors.
PORTLAND, Or., May 12. (To the
Editor.) We read with great interest
The Oregonian's contribution to the
cause of private ownership of hydro
electric plants May 1, and In this
connection ask the privilege to raise
the question as to whether or not
your extended opportunity for obser
vation would not lead you to the same
conclusions that you reach in this
study, in a consideration of the quite
prevalent practice of the public offi
cial citoiriig public construction work.
Do not the same four elements that
are urged in favor of public owner
ship apply with equal if not greater
force when applied to public con
struction done by the public official?
When a rigid comparison is made
between the high-salaried and highly
efficient employes of the private con
tractor and '.he class of men the low
er pay of the public service is able to
attract on a political basis, the claim
that better men and better and more
work is turned out by the public of
ficial contractor does not appear well
founded. And when it comes to a
comparison of the mechanics the
workmen themselves it is a notori
ous fact that a season in the employ
of the public official contractor will
ru'n a good man, slow him down, take
the pep out of h'm, destroy his initi
ative and play the devil with him
generally, so that he will not be
again employed by the private con
tractor if he can be avoided. His
only hope of continued employment
is to stick on public work or go
where he is not known.
A carpenter cannot work for the
city on one job and for a private
contractor on the next, and so on
back and forth as the work comes
up, as Is the case as between private
contractors as a practice. A painter
may not paint school buildings for
the school board during the summer
season, when their work is done, and
when laid off in- the fall go back and
pick up his old job with the master
painter where he dropped it for the
public work, unless shortness of help
compels that he be taken back. This
is not because there is any ill will en
gendered, but because the workman
has deteriorated. This is a well
known fact, that the public official
contractor is a debaser of labor and
does an irreparable injury to the
workers.
The public official has co argu
ment, or real results, that justify him
in taking over the business that nat
urally and logically and for the best
interests of the community belongs
to the private citizens engaged in
that part'cular line. Actually, one is
almost driven to the conclusion after
careful study of the matter that the
motif is political rather than indus
trial. O. G. HUGHSON,
Secretary Associated General Con
tractors of Portland.
Duties of County Commissioner.
CORBBTT, Or., May 11. (To the
Editor.) (1) Where and at what time
may a taxpayer find the county com
missioners? (2) Do they have an
office in the courthouse? (3) What
pay do they draw? Do they get paid
by the month or by the day? (4) Do
they ever look after county roads
outside of city limits?
SUBSCRIBER AND TAXPAYER.
1. Though the three county com
missioners have desks in the suite in
county courthouse entered through
room 200, their office hours are very
irregular. They can more often be
found in the offices of their private
businesses. Usually all three com
missioners are present between 9 and
11 A. M. on Mondays and Wednesdays,
when regular meetings are held.
2. Each commissioner receives
$3000 a year in salary from the county
and $600 a year from the earnings
of the interstate bridge, for they are
ex-offlcio interstate bridge commis
sioners. 3. County roads outside the city
limits are supposed to be their spe
cial province.
ISHMAEL.
"The wilderness wind without, is wild.
Open! Spirit! and let me in!
I am your brother, your father's child,
I am the child of sin;
The child of murder, and purpose fell;
I am your brother, Ishmael!"
"Open, Spirit! I strive without.
Open! and let me taste your cheer!
I am weary of song, and revel, and
rout.
Weary of grief and fear!
You are lying where love and mercy
dwell,
Open the gate! I am Ishmael!"
"Open, Spirit! Yor house is swept
And decked for an unsought guest;
The place of repentance is yet un
wept. And I hunger for your rest.
Come, spirit of peace, and ewift dispel
The curse of your brother Ishmael!"
"ishmael! go where the darkness
waits,
Where the winds are sighing to
hold you fast;
I have fastened my door, and barred
my gates;
I have turned my face from the
past.
For spirit and flesh must say 'fare
well'; Seek the house of death, oh Ishmael!"
MARY ALETHEA WOODWARD,
Small Claims Court.
PORTLAND, May 12. (To the Edi
tor.) 1. I wish to know if there is a
court or department of the city gov
ernment which collects small amounts
or adjusts wrongs for poor people, such
as failure to pay a small board bill,
free of cost. If not, how would one
proceed to obtain justice at small
cost?
2. Do the employes of Henry Ford's
plant receive the same pay with the
five-day week as they received with
a six-day week, or is it reduced one
sixth? SUBSCRIBER.
1. Litigation involvingsmall amounts
can be brought at a cost not to exceed
75 cents in the "small claims court."
For details concerning its operation
see Frank Manning, clerk of the dis
trict court third floor, courthouse,
Fifth and Salmon streets.
2. Mr. Ford's employes are paid by
the day. They receive five days' pay
for five days' work.
Methodists Grateful for Publicity.
PORTLAND, May 12. (To the Edi
tor.) As chairman of the publicity
committee for the Methodist crusade,
I want to thank you for the way in
which The Oregonian has given pub
licity to the meetings. .
We appreciate greatly the attitude
of The Oregonian to our work in gen
eral as well as in this particular case.
In all of my experience I do not know
of any meeting of the kind that has
ever received such large publicity
from the standpoint of the newspa
pers as this meeting has.
I felt that we owed it to you to
bring to you this formal word of en
couragement and appreciation.
A. L. HOWARTH.
Marriage of Divorced Person.
pnpTl.lvn Mav 12. fTo the Edi
tor.) Is it necessary ior a oivorceo
, u,- - ortifipH nnnv nf
divorce papers in order to marry?
. rt.
Not unless such proof is demanded
by the person performing the cere
mony. -
Those Who Come and Go.
Tales of Folks at tne Hotels,
Having traveled 400 miles in cen
tral Oregon, Dr. W. H. Lytle says that
there has been considerable loss
among the horses of the range. "It
was a case of the survival of the
fattest," observed the state veterin
arian, at the Imperial yesterday. "The
horses were doing pretty well until
January, when a frost came along
which withered the grass and only
the fat ones managed to live through
the hard period following. It is es
timated that about 10 or 15 per cent
of the range horses died during the
winter. These were the yearlings
and the old horses. There was no
loss in cattle, but some loss was
reported among sheep, but the cheep
losses were confined to the old ewes.
There Is a man in central Oregon
who has contracted to buy 500 range
horses at $25 a head and these are
to be gathered up when the animals
are fat, but when a range horse is
fat he is pretty difficult to capture.".
For the first time since he has been
in town when there was a meeting of
the state highway commission, James
S. Stewart of Corvallis, failed to put
in an appearance and ask the com
mission for aid on some road. Mr.
Stewart was at the Perkins while the
members of the commission were
holding hearings and letting con
tracts, but the Corvallis road booster
was too busy with other matters to
attend. A few weeks ago there was
a strong demand for Mr. Stewart to
be a candidate for the state senate
from Polk and Benton counties and
he filed his announcement with the
secretary of state, but on the very
last day he withdrew, .owing to Ill
health. When Mr. Stewart pulled out,
the friends of A. J. Johnson of Cor
vallis jumped Into an automobile and
rushed to Salem and filed Johnson's
announcement.
Dr. Fred Vincent, manager of the
power plant at Pendleton, arrived in
Portland, having driven down by ma
chine from the eastern Oregon me
tropolis. Dr. Vincent's juice comes
over W miles of wire from the plant
at Walla Walla, Wash., although
there is a steam plant in Pendleton.
The doctor, who has a reputation in
Pendleton for being strong for sta
tistics, says that the roads between
the round-up town and the Rose City
are in first-class condition. The doc
tor is one of the active members of
the taxpayers' league, which was or
ganized in Umatilla county about six
months ago for the purpose of hold
ing down taxes.
R. G. Hard arrived at the Hotel
Oregon yesterday from Gold Beach,
at the mouth of the Rogue River.
There Is a good run of fish in the
Rogue this season and there are
great takings of steelhead eggs tar
the hatcheries in the upper reaches
of the river. Some day some enter
prising and adventurous motion pic
ture company will undertake to film
a story with scenes along the Rogue
and when they do they will have
"locations" which cannot be sur
passed for wildness on the Pacific
coast.
Sam Crouch, who Is in the hard
ware business at Roseburg, is among
the arrivals at the Hotel Portland.
Mr. Crouch says he Is in town buy
ing more goods for his establishment
and incidentally mentions that Rose
burg is picking up and things are
looking prosperous. Already the mu
nicipal automobile camp is being
tw tmirits nn the Pacific high
way, which is one of the certain
sign's that spring has arrived.
C. Scheubel of Oregon City, who has
been preparing a measure to equalize
the tax burden of the state, said
measure to be placed on the Novem
ber ballot through the initiative, was
in Portland yesterday conferring with
Charles E. Spence on the matter. Mr.
Scheubel leaves for Des Moines, Iowa,
"where the tall corn grows," tomor
row. F. J. Goodnough, years ago in the
hotel business at Salem, is an arrival
at the Perkins, looking around Wash
ington street and comparing the traf
fic with Court and Commercial streets
at home. Mr. Goodnough is convinced
that Salem is a better place for au
tomobiles than Portland because Sa
lem has streets so wide that they
could take care of the traffic on
Fifth avenue, New York.
Just as Al Kader temple of Shrin
ers is going to Baker to stage a cere
monial and put a bunch of neopHltes
over the hot sands, George Hunting
ton Currey. editor of thfe Herald of
that city, escaped and came to Port
land. Mr. Currey is here to take a
last survey of the poKtieai situation
before the primary campaign closes.
He is registered at the Imperial.
The national livestock exchange is
to meet In the east in a few days
and H. H. Cofoid, who will be a dele
gate from the yards of North Port
land, will leave for the meeting to
morrow. The general situation of the
livestock producers will be discussed
at the convention.
"Shorty" Feller is in from the ranch
near Arlington and is at the Perkins.
He is known in that section as
"Shorty" and he has heard his real
front name so infrequently that he
never even thinks of using it, so he
registers as "Shorty."
Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Stahl, tourists
from Rotterdam, Holland, arrived at
the Benson yesterday. They are mak
ing a tour of the Pacific coast and
comparing Conditions and customs
here with those in Holland.
M. J. Findlayson, a sheepman of the
Antelope country, is among the ar
rivals at the Perkins, coming to town
on one of his occasional business
trips.
William G. Hare, state senator for
Washington county, is in Portland on
legal business.
B. W. Dyer of the United States bu
reau of mines, is .registered at the
Imperial.
S. G. Shotwell, contractor from
Hermlston, Or., is at the Perkins.
CANDIDATES ARE QUESTIONED
Aspirants for County Commissioner
Quizzed ou Gas and Bridge Rake-off.
PORTLAND May 12. (To the Edi
tor). Please publish this open letter
to Dow Walker. A. A. Muck. Ralph
Hoyt, Rufus Holman, W. L. Lightner,
Robert Sawyer, J. H. Rankin.
In discussing with a bunch of tax
payers the other day, the candidates
for county commissioner, it was the
unanimous decision of all present,
that they would not vote for any can
didate for county commissioner unless
he was willing to buy his own gaso
line and tires for his private car, and
also refuse to take the $50 per month
graft from the interstate bridge.
The undersigned was requested to
ascertain from the candidates what
their attitude is on these matters.
Kindly answer through the Orego
nian. E. A. FEARING.
Refunal to Testify.
CHEHALIS, Wash., May 12. (To
the Editor.) vv nat is me imjiu,
rofiniPB in tnke Oath and teS
he Editor.) What Is the penalty if a
i tify when summoned to court as a
material wniieae: iwioo.
Refusal to testify may be punished
as a contempt of court either by fine
lor jail sentence.
More Truth Than Poetry.
By James J. Montague.
THE POWER OF MEMORY.
The burglar was not always bad.
Nor swift to club and shoot;
He did not practice as a lad
His criminal pursuit.
Beforu to follow wicked ways.
He xoolishly decided.
He fee red a teacher's piercing gaze
The same as you and I did.
To youthful memories he clings
The -.hile his trade he piles.
The thought of school and teacher
brings
The'molsture to his eyes.
His mind moves back across the years
And often he will start.
Responsive to the self-same fears
That smote his childish heart.
A burglar came the other night
To l ob a furnished flat.
Where 'neath a soft and rosy light
A lady teacher sat.
She did not scream and leave the place,
Or give a frightened cry,
But fixed upon the burglar's face
A stern, reproving eye.
He dropped his jimmy on a chair;
His face went ashen gray.
And cowed by that familiar stare.
He slowly slunk away.
For bu'glars, quite like you and me.
Although behaving ill.
At times, when moved by memory.
Are little children still.
Explained.
According to London Punch the in
habitants of Genoa were forbidden to
expose their washing during the con
ference. The clothes lines were prob
ably all reserved for the dirty linen of
the powers representee tner-.
Coming Back.
Genoa has regained some of the pub
licity Christopher Columbus gave the
place by leaving it.
Modest Ambition.
All that Germany and Russia ask of
the other powers is to leave them
alone till they are In a position to lick
the world.
Burroughs Nature Club.
Copyrlebt, Houa-hton-Mlfflln Co.
Can You Answer These Questional
1. What color are grebes' eggs?
2. Do spiders eat other insects be
side flies?
3. Are weeds useful?
Answers in tomorrow's Nature
Notes.
Answers to Previous Questions.
1. Is there a plant or tree that
catches and consumes mammals or
even people?
We believe this question probably
came from somebody's vague memory
of the sundew genus, Drosert. These
plants have a sticky secretion which
attracts and holds fast small Insects,
which tne plant consumes.
2. Why do parrots have such hooked
bills if they are not birds of prey?
In a wild state parrots live in holes
in trees, and often do some carpenter
work with the bill. In some regions
they dig grubs from tree bark: and
some parrots feed partly on bulbs,
insects' eggs, etc., dug from the
ground. Soms studtnts believe the
parrot originally ate flesh, as in cap
tivity they will occasionally take
flesh. If this was a natural habit,
the hooked bill would be needed to
tear up the prey.
3. What should rabbits eat?
Their staple food is hay particu
larly when largely clover oats and
greens. Green food should never be
wet or wilted. Lettuce, celery, some
cabbage, turnip, carrots, beets, etc.,
with dandelion, plantain, fresh grass
occasionally. Some mash made of pre
pared meal can be given. Rabbits
need clean drinking water all the
time. Young people interested in
rabbit raising will get good hints
from Crandall's "Pets and How to
Care for Them," or from the United
States department of agriculture
bulletin 784. "Rabbit Growing to
Supplement the Meat Supply."
In Other Day.
Twenty-five Years Ago.
From The Oregonian of May 13. 1897.
Elijah Corbett, elder and only liv
ing brother of United States Senator
H. W. Corbett, died last night at his
home, 675 Sixth street.
Constantinople. Turkey, will ac
cede to the d mauds of the European
powers for an armistice.
Washington The senate foreign
relations comittee has decided to act
cautiously in all matters relating to
Cuba.
Fort Missoula, Mont. Lieutenant
James A. Moss of the 25th Infantry,
U. S. A., will test the availability of
the bicycle for the army by leading 20
soldiers in a cross country Journey
to St. Louis.
Fifty Years Abo.
From The Oregonian of May Is, 1872.
Chicago General Butler predicts
that Greeley will be nominated on the
first ballot by a large majority at the
Philadelphia convention.
Madrid Government officials an
nounce that the Carllsts are surren
dering in large numbers to the loyal
ist forces and that the Insurrection is
over.
The Republican county convention
for Multnomah county was held In the
courthouse Saturday.
Jacksonville United States Attorney-General
Williams leaves for
Douglas county tomorrow.
Letter Writer Admits Mistake.
CASCADE LOCKS, Or., May 11. (To
the Editor.) The facts about the
fishing license episode published over
my name in The Oregonian are ficti
tious. I was informed by the Stevenson
clerk that the non-residence license
fee was J2.50, but was not Informed
that this was for a county license
only, the state license being $10. I
naturally took it for granted that we
were getting the worst of it without
any further investigation.
I guess the only way an Oregonian
gets soaked is by the Oregon mist.
P. BOGARDUS.
Count of Crlbbage Hand.
ASTORIA, Or.. May 12. (To the Edl
ltor.) Kindly give the count of the
following cribbage hand; A queen
and four fives. SUBSCRIBER.
The queen with each of the five
counts four fifteen-twos, or eight;
the fives give four fifteen-twos, or
eight; the fives counted as six pairs,
twelve; total, 28.
I'lural of Brother-ln-Ua .
REDMOND. Or., May 11. (To the
Editor.) Kindly tell me which is
right "brothers-in-law" or "brother-in-laws"?
MARGERY C. YOUNG.
Brothers-in-law,
How Inside
Burglars
Get the Booty
Crook who made away with
thousands by building up repu
tation as an honest butler tells
some of the tricks of the trade
in this article which will ap
pear in The Sunday Oregonian.
Sample Ballots
of the Election
These and a list of polling
places will be given for the
benefit of the voters in tomor
row's paper.
The Passing of
Kincaid Field
Interesting incidents in the his
tory of this famous athletic
ground at Oregon related.
Another Margot
Asquith Article
Further sidelights by this fa
mous Englishwoman on her re
cent trip through America.
In the Magazine
Eyes Declared the
Weapons of Vamp
Men are not led astray by bare
legs or freak dresses, says psy
chologist. To Seek Lost
Sahara Tribes
Young Lady Mills to brave des
ert dangers in romantic quest
of long-lost race.
Ghost-making
Is a Business
Permanent spook ready for
work costs but $6, says pro
prietor of new industry.
Pretty Girls
Catch Rats
Two maids who make their liv
ing by making war on those
animals shown in illustrated
section.
Reading Public
in Cartoons
Another of those interesting
series of sketches by W. E.
Hill, treating of types in hu
morous way.
"Love and Learn"
Fiction Feature
If your soul spectrum happens
to be overshot with blue try
this lively humorous yarn of
college life.
Logger's Life
Vastly Changed
Hard-boiled days of yore van
ish like magic, says article on
life of lumberjack by DeWitt
Hairy.
Other Features
Rose Festival
to Be Best Ever
Plans for Portland's flower
fete related in article; illus
trated with photos of Queen
Harriet and her ladies in wait
ing. Mother's Day
to Be Observed
Plans of city churches for cele
bration include special music
and decorations.
Bellingham Festival
Attracts Visitors
One hundred decorated floats
and 50 automobiles compete in
tulip fete.
Vancouver Elks
Entertain by Radio
All the latest news in the
world of wireless related in tht
regular Sunday radio depart
ment. New Sport Togs
for the Summer
The fashion department gives
the latest mode from New York
and Paris on the question of
dress.
Baseball and
Business News
Features for all the family
from the box scores of the b!g
games to the stock and bond
quotations and from society
and women's clubs to movie
gossip are to be four.d in The
Sunday Oregon ian, the paper
for the whole family.
All the News of All the
World Found in
The Sunday Oregonian.
Just 5 Cents