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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1922)
..A' .HORNING OREGOXIAX, 3IONDAY, AUGUST 14, 1922 te ittornum (Srrpmait ' ' linen. fV( jt;.?ii br Tfc orri!tEi4n rub. c lie tti S:t. IVrl.r.4. ortloo. C A. iluKDK.V. K B rii-a.it X4Arf- feUluor. t The Ofoiii i mriRfefr tf tha A- aci:e4 ir. The A . ce4 I'r is c,ii,y B?itl-I ta IB dm for puti.i' r.u y asi.. .e-a to IB tta fox pubit ttsB u( all d.apatcRea) cr4.td to It oc Bt !hri: credlte.l in th-a prr ai4 a '.a La tocal Be aa pao..fte4 hr-:B. AH r.Tlta f pu4.Cft'..0O of SiBj tlis- p:cs.a Bcrcta aj bk reaerved. ould be excessively costly to In ccmpariiion with earn- n under private operation. 1-.-TAKU.-.HH. mv henry I- rtTTCMK j They were built as army transports ianri are not a ni.-uon lor vessels t x-.lt expretidy for pawonirer-rarKo iervice, A private line should be .!! to hoi J its own fn competition with them. The Canadian Pacific I n would compete more seriously, but a Portland line would have an advantage In It own territory, ow ing to the rail trip to the Canadian terminus. Outside of the American shipping companies that are tied" to Seattle or an Francisco by community of j ir.terest. there are certainly toma which are open for business where il is offered and that -have, or are able to buy. passenger ships suited to the trans-Pacif io route without dependence on the shipping: board to furnish them. To such a com pany Portland offers its trans-Pacific passenger and fast freight business with its Influence in Its Kaaaertptloa Kale IbtbtIbMt I Aaitaueea. Ujr Ma.l t Dai : jr. Sunday Incie4i, eat rear J- y. S4y Inc. a ii. ri txtcmtha .. 4 11 Ia: y. -atjr mr.ui I. tare moat&s 2 Ia..y. toinaay IncuMel. oa month .. .7i W r. wsthnat Sunday, oa yaar Iai;?. mt-.tBnaf Sunday. a. month Ia. r. ;,tal Mitdi). n Bot.;k .. ." Jmaday, oh year z&e 4 By Carrier. ) Ta!'y. Sunday iikIi 14. on year. . . .$ AO Ia!!v. Jun.Uf r. ,u.i--l. t .-. re tmtm Ika 2 - t'y. Wuntly (iwfihkd, & monta.. .75 I.:y. . hat on year.... T Iai.r. viihawl PuB4jr. titrr moat ha lS lMi.y. wuaottl aiunaay. on ruoftth.. . j Maw aa Remit Senl p.tof r.c mney rrter. trj or rnal ehecit oa)aur local ban, jniuipj. roin or currency ar at owner a n. cilv poatofr.c ail Ureaa is lull. tBr'aUimr county and atat. Faatawa Rate I to 14 aca. cent: IS to 12 pace. 3 ceata: 34 to rtfts. 3 ; It to rasa. 4 ceata. a to Vac. 1 caf.t. 91 la M tasa. cent fatOTi Mwalwoaa Otftl WB Varraa at Con. in. 10O )t4 tva avonue. New Irk; Vrr at Vr. :n. Bieg-er boHdioc. Chi tut. Verre a Conk.ra. Kre i'reaa bui In. ttroll. Mich.; Vei i" a CoaltHn. MoaadBKt baj.dia. Km Franciaco, Cai. Optic but wrote upon the Band. "Hatchie, the Guardian Slave." mentioned by his biographers as a type, symbolized the period in our literature in which we were begin ning to take boys into the fellow ship of literature but had not learned that the youngsters know a good deal more than we are apt to think they do. Oliver Optic's heroes represented an t imprt've nent over the srnug and self sufficient Kotlos of the Sunday school libraries of their day but, looking backward, we now realize that that was about all that could have been said for them. Nevertheless in the time to come whfirv juvenile departments will ;ave A! oriexixo roa fnirowvr.Rti. : There is at Portland a fine opeo- lrg for some well-established scamahlp company to operate a kne of passenger-cargo ships across the Pacific ocean to Japan. China and the Philippines- The shipping board's rejection of Portland a. the Home port of Its trans-lacific lines Is no evidence that a line from this port would not soon become a pay ing Investment. The board's chalr- man frankly admits that It cannot operate without losat lines that firi ate enterprise could operate at a vrofit. and he importunes congress to pajts a law that will facilitate sole of its ships to private operators, even averting that the government vould save money by paying direct subsidies exceeding $30,000,000 a jear with other valuable privileges; and seliimr its ships at a great loss. The ami incapacity of the board to - i perate economically may be rea sonably presumed to extend to Its ar lection of home ports and routes fc- its line Kxperienced-a.h ipownera are sruided In their selection of ports riot by the action of a government board which confesses Its inconipe- at trade territory for Increase of ll-at traffic. Naturally this port would prefer to be served by Ameri can ships, but. if they cannot be procured, the opportunity will be open to any foreign line. Having ben definitely turned down by the shipping board. Portland has no compunction about Inviting those of private owners, American pre ferred but foreign not excluded. It offers very attractive tonnage, most of which passes through other ports end therefore would be additional to what this port now handles; it also offers a large potential passen ger traffic. This port Is In the field for ships, and It comes with hands full of what ships want lucratit-e traffic. MV ItKOTlIHR-S BtKkKll'KK. One of the most extraordinary phenomena of the IJterarr Pigest's I.rohihitlon poll is the attitude of Oregon, as expressed therein. In the most recent tabulation It- is found that 97. voters of this slate favored modification of the Vol stead act. 268 were for repeal, and but 85 remained for enforcement. Here rises again the old question "Am I my brother's barkeeper." Obviously those residents of Ore gon wfto would amend or repeal the prohibition law so regard them selves. Theirs is the high-minded conviction that they know what la Ix at for the rest - of the nation. Cheerfully they accept the. role of ny brother's barkeeper. A good narkeeprr. you'll recall, never I.-ank. Nor would they, whatever a national opinion might do toward the alcoholic alteration of Mr. Vol been all but abolished from public libraries Oliver Optic will be accorded the historical Interest that Is- his due. When it Is remembered that systematic education of young folks is still relatively in its in fancy, the wonder is rather that we have so quickly learned the lesson that the instinct of the youngster is a pretty reliable guide. The specially constructed "books for boys," mistakenly written down to a, supposedly inferior discrimina tion, died for want of demand as scon as schoolmasters and librar ians found out that the boy Is in deed the father to the man. Those who about half a century ago were reading Oliver Optic and his kind now find Inspiration and com panionship in sound and enduring literature that only grownups in that day were presumed to be able to understand. K pad's mirthless matemlece. The fence but by the volume of com-j fact is that Oregon, prior to the nerce that is already carried to and enactment of federal prohibitory from particular ports, by their geo- , legislation, had an excellent arid . graphical position and the oppor (unity for Increase of business that s offered by the producing and consuming territory tributary to t.irm. They cannot fail to be lm- p.-st-i by the growth of Portland's foreign trade from almost nothing i; the close of the w-ar to Imports f 314.009 tons on 81 sMps In the f:rst five months of 19IJ against " III. 153 on 62 ships in the same rertod of 1921; to exports of 493.- 219 toas on 11? ships In the first five months of this year as against 718.303 on 93 ships In the same I eriod of last year. Companies do- I pig tntercoa tal business should see the opening for Interchange of traf fic with their own trans-Pacific line that Is offered by an inbound traffic with domestic ports in five rror.ths Of 1922 of S59.190 tons on 7S1 -ships as against CS0.3SS tons on 115 ships irrothe same months of 1921. and by an outbound traffic rf T29.23S tons on SIS ships as against 502.911 toas on 23S ships In the Vtme five months of 1921. Vonnaje Is the magnet that attracts rhipowners. and Portland has It in . f sal-growing volume. Character of tonnage is also an Important consideration. Portland 1 for many years shipped bulk cargoes of lumber, wheat and flour. I ut as regular lines have been -tablLshed they have carried rapidly- rowing tonnage of parcel freight, such as Is desired for passenger . Imers. Though figures as to ton- - rage of this class f cargo are not available. Its increase Is Indicated bv the fact that terminal No. 1. ad jacent to the wholesale and ware house and manufacturing district here such shipments originate and are received, has been overtaxed, and that enough ships are In imme Ctate sight to occupy fully the new extension. This increase of parcel nipmenta has come when only - freighters were available, and could be swollen greatly If fast pajwnger- cargo ships ran to this port direct from the orient. There are whole sale firms, among the largest and oldest on the Pacific coast, that would Import by such ships hlgh c'as freight like tea. silk, coffee, licet, and would export goods of equally high value that are no longer carried by freighters. The one thing lacking Is the right type ofahsp. svltng directly to and from this port. Tributary to Port land Is a great fruit country which would fill the refrigerator spare of . Itt ships at highly remunerative rates. Portland is well located to as semble for export the products of the entire Columbia river basin. - comprising almost all of the states of Oregon. Washington and Idaho, western Montana and eastern Brit ish Columbia, an area of 250.000 square miles. This port srands at the head of deep water navigation In the Columbia basin with a year tound 30-foot channel to the sea. crd the bar at the mouth, of the Co lumbia is no longer an obstruction.! as hundreds of ship captains who fcave entered the river In the last few years can testify. The I'nlon j Pacific. Northern Pacific and Oreat Northern railroads cross the conti nent to enter the city on the water rrae through this city, and the Southern Pacific with a,r.etmork of lines through western Oregon comes down the Willamette valley. Thus Portland Is the logical point for collection of goods for export sod for distribution of Imports, not cily west but eat of the Rocky r.iour.t.iins. A trans-Pacific rwaenser line from Portland would compete with tr.e shipping board lines front San Francisco on the south and from Heattle on the north, also with the Canadian Pacific line from Van couver. B. t. Whil the competi tion with the Seattle line would be severe In the Mime triSutary terri tory, a privately owned and oper ated line mould have decided ad tnifi. Not only is private oper ation In general more economical than that by the government; the ehlppin board's liners are of a type act of Its own. It was known as "the bone-dry law." Though this measure slumbers today with Its head on Its paws. It Is still very n-urh alive and toothful. So we perceive, and would re mind those occasional electors who -e m to have forgotten." that the prohibition poll Is less than nothing to the dweller on the Willamette, the eastern Oregon rancher, the Itcgue river orchard 1st. Though north and south and eastward the hnd were again flowing with three- star, and the bibulous murmur of the gallon Jug resumed Its melody, Oregon would still remain a desert province, guarded by Us own bone dry law from the convivial whisky r.-.iesman and the fat fraternal pha lanx of the brewery boys. To such as have forgotten this the prohibit-on poll presents a bland mirage. TWO HINTS TO AfTHOKM. If you want to write fiction to sell, be sentimental in your writing, but decently so. Or if you would write a book on general theme of learning, for heaven's and your own sake humanize It. If you do these things deftly the book not only will sell, "but It will hold for an lndefi i te period the warmest nook In the heart of the reading public. These conclusions are unavoidably derived from the monthly score of most popular books, as kept by The licokman. Among the first ten works of fic tion, as claimed by demand during the month of June at all public libraries. Hutchinson's "If Winter Comes," easily led the rest. Many lave said that It is the tedious. fresome chronicle of a confirmed chump, but It is evident that the riajority do not no regard It. For them the frankly sentimental theme of the novel, unspoiled by mawklah ress and brazen sex episodes. Is as refreshing as a hill breeze. They like It a very great deal, and much they do desire to be as Its hero, as ii.t heroine. When it shall pass I'om popularity it will not pass to .obscurity, by any means. It will pass because most readers have read it. and It will retain Its place on the .elf for the delight of the rising generation. Among general literary offerings, j "The Outline of History" rolls stoutly onward at the head of the ! stingnUhed processional. Many a lance hits been broken on its tough covers, and the historians have plainly shown their peeve at Mr. Wells for having dared to desecrate historical tradition with his own observations, often with hla own in accuracies. He has created, how ever, a model for all future his torians. Of what profit Is a his tory, anyhow. If It be not read or is scanned perforce? Mr. Wells has demonstrated that history is alive, c-r should be. and that when It la folks really like it the more so if they thirst for erudition easily ac quired. We have not time to be ttudents. but we have ample time be readers. THE GOOD OLD GAME OF HORSE SHOES. Oyezl Irt Iowa, at the state fair of the tall oorn commonwealth, will bo held the national tournament of horseshoe pitching, with hundreds of contestants vielng for glory and thousands of dollars in prize money. The bleachers wlU seat 12,000 more or less rural Americans, and the placid ozone of August will from time to time be rent by their cheers. So thronged the patrician and ple tian enthusiasts around the Roman arena, when steel struck sparks from steel, and white teeth crunched savagely. But this Is a gentler spectacle, without scath to any. and In a way it typifies the fine smpliclty of our nation, proving that the spirit of old days is not yet stifled by the fumes of twin-sixes and the heady effluvia of jazz. It promises well for the republic, that horseshoe tournament. It fortifies our faith. One wonders if, among that gal axy of stars, many of them re trulled from our colleges, there Is the talent, the genius, that once crew grudging praise from the loungers at the country store, from the loiterers back of the smithy, in the shade of the oaks. There were men and horseshoe pitchers in those daysr. Lean and brown and tough sr whipcord they were, or broad of shoulder and ridged with brawn, or fat and slothful and mild of speech but when they balanced the favorite horseshoe, and drew back :he miraculous right arm for a cast. they were sportsmen of proweea and Judgment, and the loafers paid them tribute of amaze. "All the brothers were valiant." A gentle sport and blessed, as all buccolic pastimes are. The fine arc of the pitched shoe, soaring to fall with unerring precision upon the peg that battered goal of the adept the spurt of dust which an swered, the Jangle of Iron against Iron, mingled with the terse com ment of the players Into an epic of the country town. There were champions among them who dw?lt wr.h fondness, comparable only to that of the lover of guns, upon the balance and accuracy of their treasured horseshoe, bright with the polish of use. Such men could r.ine times In ten. contrive to launch f shoe so deftly that it would strike n opponent's cast from the stake nd win a point where all seemed tost save honor. Twilight came upon them at their game. Cxoir is a great sport lor young and old. and baseball Is untouched by time. Yet there was a game that asked no preparatory expense cr learned arbiters. A stretch of turf, a set of discarded horseshoes, a patch of shade, a pipe, a mouthful of plug, and men were armed for contest. Iet us be grateful that it 1 as not pastsed, the sturdy old de vice that It Is, but that the years have merely confirmed its excellent attributes and commended It to the attention of those who, but for the game, would possibly have won ?cred often why an hour could be sc Idle and profitless. co bscends as a gas, as a distinct part rnd parcel of the air, but descends, rot as a gas or as any pa'rt of the 8ir, but as a liquid, in the form Of rain, or a solid, such as mow or sleet. The importance of the dis d.nction is indicated by the calcu lation that a greater mass of air goes up than comes down by at least 20,000.000 tons per second measured in terms of world-wide precipitation. So, too, most of ua will be sur prised to be told that the way to coo! air is to heat it. Alice in Won derland found nothing more seem ingly contradictory in her travels in nnnscnsfi land than this succinct statement of a scientific fact. Al lowing, as our physics teachers per mit us to do, for a basic change of temperature of 1 degree centigrade for every 100 meters change in elevation, and making further al lowance for Its expansion and con traction at varying temperatures. tle meteorologist calculates that a mass of air heated 1 degree will rise bOO meters before attaining its equilibrium, and in doing so will lose six tiegrees of temperature. The paradoxical process of cooling by l.fating the heating being mainly at the surface, however, as the in vestigator explains Is illustrated by the formation of cumulus clouds and by the generation of the famil iar "heat thunderstorm." But the paradox goes bewllder ingly farther. "It is not the air that is heated, but the air that Is rot heated, that is warmed." For the air that is heated is driven up ward by the surrounding denser at mosphere and cooled dynamically, while the air that drives It does so by dropping to a lower level, where Is more or less compressed and onsequently warmed. Though it may not be a matter of concern to the Citizen who wishes only for a lower surrounding temperature, it is a fact of scientific interest that the air that was originally heated gets colder than it was initially, while other air that was not heated at all drops to the lower level and gets warmer in doing so. At the higher elevations it has been ascertained that the warmest air covers the coolest parts of the earth; that is 'to say, at the alti tude at which temperatures are presumed to become constant It Is colder by some 70 degrees Centi grade In the region of the equator than within the polar circles, a fact that may yet determine upon the Arctic zone as the one most ad vantageous for world aviation. The further paradox that the coldest weather does not commonly occur during the shortest days, when the supply of heat from the sun Is least, is already honored by observers who have noted that January in the northern hemisphere Is com nonly a colder month than Decem ber, in which occurs the shortest day of the year. This Is due. of course, to the radiation of stored heat and was recognized by our grandfathers when they coined the proverb: As the day irrow longer Tbo cold growl strbniffer. , A distinct association of para doxes undoubtedly accounts) for the circumstance that noon Is not the warmest hour of the day nor mid- eight the hour of lowest tempera ture. And the evidence, the scien tist says. Is strong, though the para- Cox may not yet have been fully conceded, that "the hotter the sun the colder the earth." I'pon this point we await the further meas urements and calculations that have been promised us. It would comfort us to believe that the earth will gowight on functioning, though our celestial source of heat shall ecome dark and heatless within the next twenty trillion years. LOADING IP WITH MORE TAXES Income i . i Those Who Come and! Go. Tales of Folks at the Hotels. State Papers Uiacnas the Tax Proposal. Silverton Tribune. The proposed income tax measure on the ballot at the coming election' The Alaska gold rush had nothing proposes to reduce the property tax I on the rush that was made to El In other word's, wrTi.o t ne'tnv i dorado. Ark., almost two years ago assisting the farmer bv oromlsina- tn when a "wildcat" oil well' spouting reauce nis property tax. the bills lu.tfuu oarreis a aay came in. accora Burroughs Nature Club. Copyright, Houghton-SIiffliit Co. would double the tax on the income from industry, farming and manu; factoring enterprises. The result would be that the in vestor would not care to place his money in Oregon and pay the addi tional burden of a state income tax on any profits he might make. This would reflect directly to the detriment of the farmer who de pends for his markets on the in dustrial growth and Incoming popu lation to the state. Experience has proven that any new form of taxation Is simply "added taxation." New forms of taxation do not reduce the former total tax bill they simply make it ing to Tiffin Gilmore of that city, who was at the Portland hotel yes terday. Geologists had been mak ing surveys in the El Dorado dis trict for a long time, and several wells had been sunk with no re- i suits, Mr. Gilmore said. At last a company was organized and a well was started not far from the city limits. As the well went deeper In vestors became more and more dlsy couraged and almost gave up hope of oil discovery. One man who had been having his laundry done by a Chinaman was so hard pressed for money that he surrendered his stock larger and establish another pay- I in navment of his bilL The oriental ment which the taxpayer must meet. ; urotested acainst the acceptance of A ONE-TIME JITEMll BKST SELLER The older generation, being r o lnded that this year is the cen tenary of the birth of William Tay lor Adams, long famous under the r-seudonym "Oliver Optic" as a writer of Juvenile , books and stories, will seek in vain to refresh their memories of his work from the shelves of the Portland public library. Yet millions of his books were sold and there was a time when his popularity was quite without precedent or parallel. His Industry was prodigious. In his lifetime he produced more than a hundred titles and In addition to them wrote upwards of a thousand short stories. For many years with :n the memory of men who have not. yet attained the sear and yel low he conducted a magazine for o-,iths that exercised a not-lncon-uderable Influence on the rising generation. Notwithstanding the general wholesomeness of hla storiea Oliver. WEATHER PARADOXES, The frequently peculiar behavior of the weather at this season of the year gives interest to a discussion cf some of the common but little known meteorological paradoxes which is printed In the last annua! report of the Smithsonian Institu tion. The author is W. J. Humph reys; late president of the Philo. rophical Society of Washington. Mr. Humphreys reminds us that a para- cox la but an exception, to some fa miliar generalization which has been stated too Inclusively, which therefore has both the appeal of the riddle and the charm of surprise. It goes without saying that the ap peal and the charm will be all the more Impelling to those thinkers who have succeeded In discovering the flaw In the generalization for themselves. Among the weather paradoxes "Mr. Humphreys gives first place to the statement that rain dries the air. Those of us who have been wont to wish foradownpour because we believed that the air was "dry ing up" can continue to hope for rain, though we need to revise our reason. Yet the seeming paradox Is after all not strange. There Is continuous and often rapid evapor ation of moisture from the surface cf the earth, though the atmos phere never becomes even approxi mately saturated. The latter con dition, which would soon become intolerable, is prevented by the pre cipitation out of It of rain. The 1 a ym a n who has not already thought it out on his own account a ill be able to derive a certain vica- rfous satisfaction from realization that not many others have done so, either. The relation between rain fall and humidity Is one of the least rnderstood of the common weather phenomena. Destruction of our cherished : proverb that "everything that goes vp must come down" requires aj somewhat more elaborate and tech- I nical explanation. Iess air' comes clown than goes up because one of the Important constituents of the air Is water vapor, wiUcb, invariably Only coincidence can account -for the fact, disclosed by analysis of the surgeon-general's report on the physical condition of our soldiers in the world war, that the shortest men came from Ilhode Island, the smallest state in the union, while the tallest, on the average, were from Texas, the largest state. It Is more explicable, however, that the heaviest and also, in general, the taller ones were from the most re cently settled communities. The process of selection was a natural one; the great westward movement was initiated largely by the most venturesome, who were usually the most physically fit. while there has been less opportunity for dilution of the pioneer srfain with elements yhich would make for smaller Etature and lighter weight. It is no mystery therefore that the men of Oregon, Washington and tldaho were very near the top in this re spect, and that their proportion of physical defectives was among the most favorable mado by any of the s; ates. Let the people beware of loading themselves with new tax burdens. Tax reduction will be secured by making less need for tax revenue rather than by creating more tax revenue from new sources of tax. Baker Democrat. The suggestion that is frequently advanced for reducing the growing tax burden Is to "shift the load" from one claes of taxpayers to an other. No relief would fce thus secured. Relieving the farmer or the work man or the average citizen of tax payments and adding the amount to industries or those having large in comes would simply mean that the money to raise these tax payments would be shifted back to the indi vidual through increased cost of liv ing, thus shoving the cost of living up another notch. The programme of taxing invested or accumulated capital to the point of confiscation will in a short time reduce this source of taxable wealth to the point where it can no longer pay the taxes required. Then, the burden of taxation falls back auto matically on the small taxpayer. . Shifting the load will only aggra vate the'sltuation. The one remedy is to bring about a reduction taxation demands and increase effi ciency in governmental management and expenditure of public funds. Myrtle Point American. It will be another proof that Ore gon is the fool of the family of western states If the people adopt a state income tax. With high property taxes, backed1 by political machinery in high gear and operated with the taxpayers' money, a state income tax. is silly. Federal Income taxes and inter nal revenue taxes are eating up business incomes now and a state Income tax is economic folly. All the leaders In the movement are persons without incomes and pay no property taxes, run no busi ness, employ no labor and live most ly or entirely off the taxpayer and prnducer. Of course, they favor a state in come tax because they have no re sponsibility of any kind and have nothing to lose. But they would all get a job. It Is a significant fact that one of the largest Portland bankers Is ad vocating a state income tax "to hlp the farmer!" Ha! Ha! Why set up another big army of tax collectors at Salem and Fort-land? REPAIRS ACCEPTED ON FAITH It is a joyous revenge that wife ill Massachusetts is taking in get ting a divorce from a husband who liae been living seven years with an affinity, that he be compelled to marry her and give their six chil dren a legal name. Marriage may be the last thing a fellow of the kind contemplates. , The truly thrifty man la the one who takes advantage of the half price straw hat sales and puts a lid away Tor next summer . Men, urf I.'ke women, are unhandlcapped by frequent changes of the modes, yet when it comes to matters of econ omy they still have a lot to learn from their wives. They reckon on the basis of in complete data who calculate that a drop of 2 cents a gallon in the price of gasoline will save the molforlsts of the couiatry $70,000,000 fn the t ext year. With that much cut from his gas bill, the motorist will be able to afford a bigger car. In the face of other and larger disturbances we confess that the threat of a strike of the. golf cad dies leaves us cold. Yet It might help bring the railroad managers :o a realization of the value of con ciliation in serious differences be tween man and man. - - One of the few times we are in clined to question the accuracy of the news dispatches is when we compare the announcement that short skirts have disappeared with the easily observed nether gafments. that are still being worn on the streets. Hoeatlons Raised as to Need for Cer tifying; Skill of Aoto Mechanic. LEWISTON". Idaho, Aug. 13. (To the Editor.) In The Oregonian July 30 are two very interesting articles for those in any way associated with autos. In the first you cite the fact that in Oregon there are approxi mately 110,000 motor vehicles, as suming that the average value of these is 11000. This represents $110, 000,000 by way of investment. There are expended, in the upkeep of these several million dollars more. In ad dition to this there are thousands of autos passing through your state annually, from other sections of, the country, iney, too, expend mucn in passing. Allowing that an average of four persons is served by eacn auto, this will mean that the lives of one-half m'llion people are directly or indi rectly connected with the mechani cal safety of these machines. In the second article mention is made of the machine of some man who had something wrong with the engine, and the owner was- advised to go to an expert to see what the trouble was. He became impatient and wanted a mechanic put on the machine at once, but the expert as sured him that. the wise thing to do was to find out the trouble. There are just four questions I should like to ask in connection with these articles: I. w hat are the laws, if any, in Oregon governing the qualifica tions of those .In charge of a ga rage; also tlse laws of Idaho and Washington, on the same subject? 2. Should not every one in charge of a garage and the mechanic under him be compelled to pass some sort of state examination, showing quali fications for this work, in order that these vast investments .and safety of lives of so many people may be safeguarded"? 3. Should not every man In charge of a garage be compelled to give bond to insure the satisfactory performance of his work? V 4. Might not the fees charged for licenses or otherwise be very ap propriately apportioned to the road fund, thereby making these people who profit so largely from this bus iness contribute something to the good roads fund, just as every own er of a motor vehicle must do? H. L. TALKIXGTON. . There is no law In Oregon gov erning qualifications of automobile mechanics or requiring a bond from garage owners. the stock; he desired cash, but it was the best settlement that he could get and he laid the stock away among his valuables. One day the well came in a "gusher." The news went out from the city that a big discovery had been made. The next trains out of Tulsa, St. Louis and other cities were carrying hun dreds of oil men to the new field. In a few days the quiet little Arkan sas town was transformed into a seething mass of humanity. "Lease hounds'" wet? going out over the surrounding country 'buying up leases for miles around. New com panies were organized and financed in a few hours. Hotels were unable to accommodate their hundreds of guests. Sandwiches sold for SI each. and men made good money selling coffee on street corners at 25 cents a cup. The day of the Chinese laundryman had arrived. He took his "worthless" stock and had no difficulty in disposing of - it; for $34,000. The city was in 'debtj and several members of the council de cided that the best way to remove the debt was to sink four wells at the earners of the block that held the cityhall. This was opposed on the grounds that - citizens did not want the proposed wells to '"come in" and spread oil all over their homes and business houses. El Dorado has settled down by this time and is now a normal oil town, Mr. dilmore said. Idaho citizens are realizing the value-of good roads, and new paving and hard surfacing is continually being done, according to H. W. Mor rison, road builder, of Boise, who was at- the Multnomah hotel yester day. Mr. Morrison is a member of the firm of Morrison-Knutson com pany, which organization is one of the largest construction concerns in Idaho. It has done the paving for many of the highways that are now dally in use by the tourists who pass through the state. "I'm the man who brought the vice-president to Portland," declared John Westerlund of Medford yester day at the Imperial. "At least I w-as on the same car with him on the way up here." Mr. Westerlund, who now is proprietor of the Holland hotel, was formerly a member of the state legislature from Jackson county. He came north for the pur pose of spending a few days at Sea side, for which resort he departed yesterday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. A N. Orcutt of Rose- burg came here several days ago for the express purpose of going to Seaside. Yesterday they left the Portland hotel with that idea in mind and were well started down the Columbia River highway when a storm came up. They returned to the hotel. Mr. Orcutt was one of Dr. Brumfield's attorneys in the celebrated murder case. Can. Yon Answer Thee Questions? tCoovrisht. 1922, by Houfthtoh-Mif flin Company.) 1. Is the white-tailed -deer's tail all white? 2. Kindly tell what bird sings with two short notes, followed by a loud whistle. It is about six inches long, brown stripes, reddish brown shoulder, white throat and striped breast? 3. How did the sphinx moth get its name? Answers in . tomorrow's nature notes. - Answers to Previous Questions. 1. How does the woodpecker know where to strike when boring into bark? Woodpeckers are credited with very sensitive hearing, or at least, with some faculty very responsive to vibration. Students believe the hidden grub causes some sort of commotion in or under the bark; that is detected by the -woodpecker. Of oourse long-implanted habit keeps the bird in situations where these vibrations or commotions are likely to happen. t. Are oranges native American fruit? Thoroughly naturalized here, but all the citrous fruits like oranges, lemons, shaddocks, mandarins, etc., are believed to have come originally from the orient, perhaps China or Cochin-CMna. Travelers brought home specimen, or seeds, and spread the culture of such fruits gradually westward, reaching India, Palestine, Egypt, South Europe, and eventually the New World. ' a 3. Were there ever any elephants in America? Any native wild ones, we suppose you mean. Yes, only they lived so long ago, following the glacier period, that we were not "America" then! pre-historic elephants are now called mastodons and mammoths, and their fossil remains have been dug up both east and "west. From its bones, the mastodon is estimated to have been about the size of a present-day Indian elephant, but with longer tusks. Mammoths were larger, with huge, in-curved tusks. More Truth Than Poetry. By James J. Montague. REPAIR PLANT IS NOT OPPOSED Accompanied by 43 persons who are associated with him in the in surance business, Lorenzo N. Stahl of Salt Lake City is making a,tourl work of the Pacific coast. The party is at the Multnomah hotel. Several months ago a, contest was started among the insurance employes, and the winners are those who are ac companying Mr. Stahl on the trip. Yesterday they were on the Colum bia Riiter highway. They will go to Seattle and then to California points. Ben F. Dorris, who carries the title of the "Lane County Filbert King," was in Portland Saturday night and made his headquarters around the lobby of the Multnomah hotel. He was in the city for only a few hours. "I can't leave the nuts long this time of theyear," he said. "This is our working season, and one has to be on the job from early morning until late at night." The rainfall of the past few days will be of great value to the prune growers of Polk county, in the opinion of J. P. Craven, banker of Dallas, who was at the Imperial yesterday. . Many of the young prunes had started to fall, on ac count of the long dry period, Mr. Craven said, and the rain will have a tendency to prevent this and make the crops larger than they otherwise would be. Polk county, growers expect a large crop this i season. Contractors Only Against City Com petition on Original Paving. - PORTLAND, Aug." 11. (To the Editor.) The report has gained prevalence that the Associated Gen eral Contractors are making an at tempt to have the city abolish the municipal paving plant altogether. But such is not the case and we are asking space to say that this asso ciation has nowhere,- nor at any time, advocated a policy of discon tinuance of the plant on repair and upkeep work, for the maintainence of 445 miles of paved streets is some job in itself and no private con tractor can maintain a plant to be hauled about the city from patch to patch for what is in the jobs. But when it comes to new construction work the association is satisfied that to put the first cost per square yard as the first consideration is a very wrong method and can but lead to disaster and extra expense. It is not only a wrong method, but it is wrong jn principle for the pri vate contractor justly and properly builds up an organization to handle -this legitimate business only 1 to have it made useless by the non profit competition of the city. While we might concede the legitimacy of a city plant to keep off the grip of monopoly, we. submit if it does not seem unfair, that the estimates submitted by the city plant for that purpose should contain no items to balance up with the cost - of the certified check that the contractor must deposit with his bid. The city does not nor the cost of a main tenance bond to guarantee good and workmanship that the contractor must furnish, nor the cost of cashing warrants given for work when there is no money in the fund for this purpose, etc. All these the private contractor must reckon with and they Increase the cost of his bid, we are told, from 10 to 12 per cent. So even If the mayor's suggestion that a differen tial be worked out so the contractor would be obliged to absorb so great a difference in his bid, it would have to be in excess of this per cent to take care of the item of profit in any measure. It would almost seem on the face of it that no citizen, himself a busi ness man, would demand that his fellow citizens .compete "on work done for him against the municipal plant that submits only an estimate and turns in a bill for the actual cost of the work. O. G. HUGHSOX, Executive Secretary Portland Branch, Associated General - Contractors of America. NOT SO BAD AS IT MIGHT BE. Europe ruined -by inflation; finan ciers in consternation; No one sees an indication of a better, brighter day. 1 Germans worried; marks have tum bled, British flurried credit's Crumbled, De Valera licked and humbled just the very deuce to pay. Congress seeks to duck the onus for the passage of the bonus; All the banks refuse to loan us money for our income-tax. Warring couples seek divorcement, government denies indorse ment To high-sea dry-law enforcement; everything is slack and lax. Coal is going daily higher; only wealthy may aspire To a cheerful winter fire; strikers won't return to work. Railroad magnates sadly harried, not a pound of freight is car ried, Every dream of joy is burled in a cloud of gloom and murk. Yet the world rolls round serenely and the sea winds blow as keenly And the moon Is Just as queenly as she was in days of yore. So we venture the prediction with out fear of contradiction That we'll weather this affliction; we have been through worse before! Not as Represented. Pola? movies and books convince us that life is not all pie for the Eskimos. v Fighting Togs. Overalls and jumpers make rather too striking a costume on a certain section of the (population. a a Hardly Worth the Ppkerp. The New York city government seems to think that all the Brooklyn bridge will be used for In a few years is a monument to Steve Brodie. (Oopyright. 1B22, by Bell Syndicate, Inc.) In Other Days. Fifty Years Ago. Ffcm Tha Oresronian of August 14, 1872. Dirblin. The Catholics of Ireland are. preparing to celebrate the pas sage of the repeal act. Leading Orange officers advise Orangemen not to interfere with the celebration. Sioux City. Sixty chiefs of the different tribes of the upper Mis souri, in charge of Assistant Secre tary Cowan and Commissioner Bru no, will arrive here next week en route to Washington. Sitting Bull is among the party which includes representatives from all the North Pacific tribes. ' The police commissioners met last night in their rooms. The books were examined and found satisfac tory. An officer was suspended on a charge of disorderly conduct until the charges can be examined into. A shoddy matron told one of her gentlemen friends that one of her daughters was a "bluenet" and the other a "bronze." Twenty-five Years Ago. From The Oregonian of August 14, lwflt. NewYork. Twenty-five hundred men and women who made tobacco cigarettes are out of work because of the failure of the internal revenue department in Washington to supply the deputy collectors in this city with the new 1 revenue stamps provided for in the new tariff. Springfield, 111. Governor Tanner has received a dispatch from Fulton asking that troops be sent from there to quell the riot among mem bers of the Modern Woodmen. A HUNTING SEASON HONEYMOON. Lying outon a run-way with my I Now they are talking of Introduc ng the post of divorcee-of-honor at weddings of motion picture stars. Thero-is the making of a pretty cus tom in it. and one that is unlikely to lapse for the want of those quali fied lor tha place Question of Copyright. SALEM. x Or., Aug. 13. (To the Editor.) 1. Kindly explain the need of the last three words in the fol lowing: All rights reserved, in cluding that of translation in-to for eign languages, including the Scan dinavian. 2. Are there any publishing houses in Portland which make a specialty of book publication? RUPERT O. EDMONDS. ' 1. tAlthough no definite informa tion Is available, it is noted in the Britannica under the section deal ing with international copyright that the regulations governing such copyright formulated and adopted at Berne in 1R87 were not adopted by the Scandinavian countries. No mention is made of this, but no Scandinavian countries are, men tioned In the list which was rep resented at the convention and which signed the document. ' Con sequently it would follow that sep arate rights would be necessary for protection, in those countries. 2. There are no publishln-g houses In Portland making a specialty of book publication, but there aije printing offices sufficiently equipped to .publish hooks for authors, ( Ben F. Jones of Newport, who is one of the most enthusiastic boosters in the state for the Roose velt highway, was at the Imperial yesterday. He declared that he would never be satisfied with life until the highway has been con structed down the Oregon coast, Mr. Jones has long been active in republican politics and is a mem ber of the. state legislature. Carroll W. Smith, lumberman of Marshfield, is at the Portland hotel. He reported yesterday that conditions In the Coos Bay district are better than they have been for a long ime and that all of the mills are worKing nara in an ef fort to keep up with the tide of orders for lumber that are coming in from all part9 of the United States. J. H. Carter, newspaperman of Everett, Wash., was one of the Ore gon hotel's guests yesterday. He la connected with the Everett Her ald. Other newspapermen at the Oregon werer Harry Kuck of the Pendleton Tribune, and L. D. Drake of the Astoria Budget. After having spent last week in Portland, where he " attended the Buyers' week gathering, A. A. Pen nington, merchant of -Tillamook, left the Multnomah hotel yesterday and departed for southern Oregon, where he will spend a short vacation. . Colonel C. W. Furlong, author of "Let'er Buck," who makes his home In Pendleton and boosts for the Roundup, was a guest at the Ben eon hotel yesterday." ) The name of E. M. Duffy, who is connected with the Oregon Agricul ture College at Corvallis, was in Portland yesterday and his name appeared among the guests of the Oregon. gun across my arm, . Lying out on a run-way, when might be dry and warm Somewhere under a roof in town. Today if I play in luck. (The frost last night left the maples bare). I ought to bring down a buck. The rain's soaked- into my rawhide 1 boots. And -it s made a path too. of its own; It's stintring and cold and the stream's In flood, and the stream-ibed's my backbone. That's the kind of a fool I am my world boils down to a deer: That's he kind of a fool I am when the hunting season a nere Never can tell about a girl when you meet her at teasin town; Got to get her out in the woods with the rain a-pouring- down. But you cooked that porcupine' to day, and, more, you ate your share! (With plenty of saleratus it tastes a bit like bear. And now I can look across at you, as I wait for the deer, and grin At the gun, in your hand- with the . . wedding ring, at the set of your stubborn chin! Lying out on the run-way, with the cold rain soaking through That's the kind of a fool I am and thank God you're that kind, too! -- MARY CAROLYN DA VIES. Reeovery of Estate. PORTLAND, Aug. 11. (To the Editor.) 1. More than 100 years ago a man died, leaving 160 acres of land to his heirs, who leased It for 99 years. In the meantime the papers relating to the case were ac cidentally destroyed. Have the present heirs any chance to recover the property, which is very valuable, and what steps should they take? z. Also where can one get books on unclaimed estates? SUBSCRIBER. , 1. It is a matter of proof and only alawyer who had knowledge of all the provable facts could ad vise you. 2. We know of no such books. It is not an uncommon form of swindle to obtain, ostensibly for litigation, money from persons on the representation that they have a legal right to. property leased by their forbears. It is advisable not to give money to unknown persons on such representations. ' I PASSIVITY. The breakers of a pain unspent, In foamy tumult, far away; Are pressing with a passion, tur bulent. And madly breaking through their bars of spray; A famished multitude that cry. Seeking the soul upon the strand; Roaring aloud their ceaseless "Cru cify!" And, ever drawing nearer to the land; NO wrestler this, with dauntless heart. To battle seaward with on-coming fate; E. K. Piasecki, formerly district I But, patient, meeting the dead attorney of Polk county and now a I wave's dull smart, practicing lawyer- In Dallas, accom- I The soul hag learned his victory la nanied by his wife, was at the Im- I to wait! perial jestexday, ,. , , e-:aiAXU':ALEIHJ. Wjj0pwABft J Much Fruit Stealing. PORTLAND, Aug. 11. (To the Editor.) There are many parents in the city who are not aware of the fact that their boys are stealing fruit from other people's yards which is highly valued by the owners. Last year I had to pick my fruit before ripe to get any of it, and I have heard of many others making a similar complaint this year. It is a practice, that should be stopped. SUBSCRIBER. Ready Wit There. Judge. The late Professor James, the great psychologist, was being vis ited by his friend. Professor George Smith, the noted theologian of Ed inburgh, Scotland. As they walked along Boston streets Professor James was telling Professor Smith about a recent study he had been making of, the psychology of the typical American street boy. It was most interesting! He emphasized the mental alert ness and quickness of reaction; and to illustrate this point, he said: "Here comes a boy now. I will ask him some unexpected question and we will see how he replies." Then, just as the boy was about to pass. Professor James turned sud denly, pointed into his face and asked him: "My boy, what time is it by your feel?" And the boy replied instantly: "Don't know, sir; my feet ain't run Kin' today." The Reason for It. . ' ' Punch. Old Gentleman Does your mcther allow you to smoke in here? Youthful Son of the House Oh. yes; good for the moths. Old Gentleman Ah! Suffer from moths? So that's what's the matter with you! So Comforting. Boston Transcript. Hub My doctor says that if I keep on working at this pace, I shall -toe a wreck at 45. Wife Never mind, dear, by that time we shall be able to afford it. He Knew. New York Sun. Teacher What comes after first of the month? Willie Short AU the collectors. the 1