THE 3I0BMXG OREGONIAN WEDNESDAY, - OCTOBER 11, 1922
J-jTABUSHED by HNEV i pittock
Published by The Oregonian Pub. Co..
135 Sixth Street, Portland. Oregon.
C. A. MORDEN, E. B. PIPER.
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I MIGRATIONS OF 1839.
' "Uncle Joe" Cannon, as he jour.
Tieys westward this week over the
route which he and his parents
traversed eighty-three years ago in
emigrating from the hills of North
Carolina to the fertile lowlands of
Illinois, presents a study in con
trasts that gives reality to the ro
mance of American life. The first
Journey was made by ox team
through a region not always pro
vided with passable roads. "Uncle
Joe" now rides in ease and comfort
in an automobile. If his parents
were exceptionally fortunate, and
met with no accidents on the way,
they might have expected to travel
fifteen miles in a day; it will not
greatly overtax the endurance of a
man of eighty-seven now to make
twenty times that distance between
early breakfast and late dinner
time. Moreover, he w il 1 pas's
through a country nearly every
foot of which has been reclaimed
from the virgin wilderness in the
lifetime of one who still lives to tell
the tale.
In 1839, the year of the Cannon
trek, the first immigration to Ore
gon was being organized in Peoria,
only a short distance from the re
gion for which the Cannons were
bound. The immigration from the
east to the Mississippi valley was
jnearly coincident with the emigra
tion from the valley to places yet
farther .west. The outstanding
social phenomenon of the fourth
decade of the century was its uni
versal unrest. The early, thirties in
this country, as James Christy Bell
Jr. reminds us in his "Opening a
Highway to the Pacific," were a
period of rash, buoyant, hopeful
prosperity. "Paper, printed either
as banknotes, or as plats of cities
which could never be, was plenti
ful, and was thought to be as good
as it was represented to be."
Speculation was frantic in tone;
stability of business conditions,
regularity and fundamental sound
ness, were not only disregarded but
probably undesired. There was no
well-ordered system of develop
ment of a country the resources of
"tVhich were beyond estimate. There
followed the panic of 1837, the
"consequence of overaction in all
. departments of business," as Van
Buren suggested; the embarrass
ments of that year were followed
by the second suspension of specie
payments in 18 39; this and the
cumulative effects of a "boom"
built on abstractions which took no
account of future necessitiy for
liquidation were responsible for the
paradox that people were begin
ning to move out of the upper Mis
sissippi valley at the same time
that others from farther east were
moving in.
If the Cannons had lived in Illi
nois instead of in North Carolina in
1839 it is probable that they would
, have been among the immigrants
to the Pacific coast. The vast
movement of which "Uncle Joe's"
present journey reminds us was
due to the most widespread social
chaos that the republic has ever
experienced. It was founded on
the universal desire of people to
Improve their situation, while they
"'had but nebulous ideas as to how
improvement was to be effected.
The 'notion that anywhere else
must be better than the place in
which the citizen then dwelt was
held by an enormous majority of
Americans in about 1839.
Those who went to Illinois in
that year, as the Cannons did, and
during the decade of the forties,
prospered accordingly as they prof
ited by the lessons of the previous
decade; and this was also true as
to those who at the same time
were seeking the end of the rain
bow farther out toward the setting
Bun. It probably would not have
been true, however, as some his
torians have assumed, that the
eame people would have equally
prospered if they had remained at
home. JThe ultimately stabilizing
Influence of those momentous mi
grations, the outlet they furnished
for boundless energy and seething
discontent, and moreover, the se
lective quality of their practical
operation, were more far-reaching
than the annalists of the period
have usually taken into account.
WHAT IS BRING DONE FOR VETER
ANS. Although the veto of the bonus
bill and the vote of the senate sus
taining it have decided that no
bonus is to be given by the govern
ment to able-bodied veterans of the
world war, the government had
down to September 1 expended $1..
S42.21T.01O on provision for sol
diers' families during the war, on
insurance, and on hospital care and
rehabilitation for the disabled and
nieU veterans both during and since
the war. Kvery provision is being
made to care for sick and disabled
veterans In hospitals and for their
continued vocational training, and
this work will continue as long as
the need exists.
. The entire sum paid in pensions
and in cost of the pension system
from 1866 to 1921 inclusive was
J6.1-S1.7S9.76S. The number of
pensioners attained the maximum
of 999,446 in 1902 and was still
566,053 in 1921, including mainly
veterans of the civil war. There is
no doubt that, as age and infirmity
overtake the world war veterans.
increased provision will be made by
congress for those who need it.
Almost a third of the sum ex
pended on the civil war veterans in
55 years has already been expended
on the world war veterans in little
more than four years. From that
fact we, may infer, regardless of
the bonus bill, what large sums will
yet be expended on their account
for many years to come.
There was certainly inexcusable
neglect of the nation's duty to its
defenders during the period of de
mobilization, but there is no neg
lect of the disabled at the present
time, or if there is it is quickly
remedied. Defeat of the bonus bill
does not mean that the nation re
fuses to do its duty; it means that
one manner of performing' that
duty has been rejected. In what
manner that duty shall be per
formed will be decided in the near
future or as soon as it becomes
urgent. -
liOFTY -PURPOSE DEBASED.
The people of Oregon cheerfully
made a substantial sacrifice when
they -authorized state aid in the
form of money or loans to the ser
vice men of the world war. There
was, too, an element of solemnity in
thus compensating loss suffered at
the behest of patriotism. Because
ojthese things attempts by realty
owners to profiteer off state or
veteran are peculiarly worthy of
stern attention from the law. The
bonus law is liberal in the matter
of loans. It asks put a small mar
gin in excess of the loan as security.
By being far more liberal in the
ratio of loan to security than pri
vate capital ever was and in charg
ing much less than the market in
terest rate for money, the state
takes a moral risk, confident that
men who have pledged their lives
to it in a crisis are of the stuff that
does not evade a financial ob
ligation. The honorable man hav
ing to do with administration of
such a law will look upon his part
in distributing the fund as a sacred
trust.
Yet the world war veterans' state
aid commission has discovered what
it believes to be serious fraud in
land appraisals in one of the central
Oregon counties fraud by which
an appraiser under appointment of
this commission profited at ex
pense of both veteran and state.
The charges are that a trust has
been violated, that the high ideals
that should attend administration
of this law have been degraded into
quest for sordid graft. It is not
proper that the incident should end
with publicity of the charges, dis
missal of the accused and re-examination
of property appraised in his
district. The case calls for thorough
grand jury investigation, and prose
cution if the charges seem to be
sustained.
CAME AS AN ASSET.
Dr. T. S. Palmer, an expert In
game conservation and an attache
of the United States biological sur
vey, makes the point in a recent
bulletin of the bureau that the ten
dency to look upon "game" as a
means of recreation has largely ob
scured the economic value of ani
mals which occupy areas not utilized
for any other purpose, which he
finds upon investigation to be ex
ceedingly large. Specifically, he
estimates the number of deer killed
in the country in a single year to
have been between 75,000 and 80,
000. Taking the average weight of
a dressed deer as 150 pounds, and
the average value of the meat as
10 cents a pound, he calculates that
this meat would be worth $1,250,-
000, while at 20 cents a pound.
which is a much fairer estimate of
the value of the domestic meat
which it would replace, it would
be $2,500,000.
But the elk, which only a short
while ago was shown to be threat
ened with extinction by starvation
and not as a result of hunting in
violation of local laws, is an even
more valuable source of food than
the deer. It is heavier and conse
quently worth more; mainly if it
has reasonable opportunity it is
better able to take care of itself;
and "no big game animal," says
Dr. Palmer, "is easier to raise on a
preserve or in semi-domestication,
when suitably located and provided
with food." Hunting is now re
stricted by law in the few states in
which it is possible, but as has al
ready been shown the hunter is not
the elk's principal foe. Moose are
still hunted In Minnesota and
Maine, butare rapidly vanishing and
the only moose worth counting are
found in northeastern Canada. -The
caribou in all likelihood would
have been reduced to the status of
the moose ere this if it had not
been for the labors of a few de
voted individuals who saw in this
animal a potential means of saving
the lives of the human' aborigines
of the northern part of North
America. But the movement,
which had its inception in a hu
mane endeavor to improve the eco
nomic situation of the Eskimo, has
within a few years developed an
important source of food for the
whites. The growing' importance
of the caribou industry is but an
indication of the possibilities at
tending a wise policy of conserva
tion of other game animals in the
states.
A news dispatch telling of the
sale of muskrats for food in an
eastern city at 50 cents each will
not shock the sense of propriety of
those pld-timers who used to eat
the ground squirrel and found it
excellent, or that of those pioneers
of the upper Mississippi valley who
knew that the so-called "prairie
dog" was good food. These men
were not deceived by an erroneous
nomenclature and knew that they
were eating neither rats nor dogs.
But the cottontail rabbit, suffering
under so such handicap of dises
teem, is eaten in the eastern states
in annual quantities that Dr. Pal
mer fisrures as the equivalent of
$5,000,000 in a relatively cheap
meat. "More important than its
value." he adds, "is the fact that a
nutritious and relatively cheap
meat is distributed and made avail
able to persons who can ill afford
to pay high prices for beef, mutton
and pork."
Peer, elk, moose, rabbits, quail,
waterfowl in addition to moun
tain goats and mountain sheep
have a. distinct food value that
gives them high standing in the
economic scheme. The rabbit needs
no conserving, being a pest to
crops, but it involves a. problem of
distribution in markets that have
been shown to be able to absorb
Jarge quantities. The other forms
of game call for an enlightened
policy by which they may be per
mitted to multiply and subsist on
ranges not required for other eco
nomic purposes and by which they
may be hunted when consistent
with the preservation of the bal
ance between nature and man.
Solution of the problem, in the
opinion of experts, ultimately will
require modification of the hard
and fast regulations which have
prevailed In the past, and the sub
stitution of a more pliable system
by which open and closed seasons
may be adjusted to particular and
local needs.
CONSIDER ALL USES OF WATER.
The controversy as Ho whether
the Columbia basin irrigation proj
ect should be effected' by means of
a dam in the Columbia river at the
head of Grand coulee or by
gravity supply of water diverted
from the Pend d'Oreille river at
Albany Falls simply demonstrates
that all the uses of water should be
developed together as parts of
single scheme, no one being sub
ordinated to the others. Power
development is not subordinate to
irrigation, nor Irrigation to power
or navigation. All three are so In
terlocked that they should be
treated as parts of a whole.
Ihe two plans for procuring
water to irrigate the big bend
should be considered from ihe
viewpoint of the triple use of the
river. Irrigation of that great area
will involve high cost per acre at
best, and the cost should not be en
hanced by construction of works
for one without regard to, or to the
subordination of, the other two.
It is certainly possible to provide
water for irrigation and in doing so
to .serve the purposes of power de
velopment and navigation also.
This would be the greater economy,
for these latter uses of water would
also serve irrigation.
PROS AND CONS OF HARBORS.
Collision between the steamships
Lyman Stewart and Walter A
Luckenback near the Golden Gate
in a dense fog serves to remind us
that there are only about half as
many hours of fog off the Colum
bia river as there are off the
Golden Gate or the strait of Juan
de Fuca, though our fog season is
at hand. Every port is prone to
magnify its advantages and mini
mize or deny its handicaps, but all
have some of each.
San Francisco has just about
enough depth in its entrance and
bay, but is plagued with fogs.
Puget sound has a wide, deep en
trance and passage and deep har
bors some of them inconveniently
deep but has many fogs, and
ships approaching the entrance in
a storm run risk of being driven on
the rocky coast of Vancouver
island. The Columbia river was
formerly obstructed by a bar, but
now has a deep entrance wide
enough for any navigator who
takes ordinary care. The channel
to Portland was formerly narrow
and troubled with several shoals,
but has been widened and deepened
adequately for all but the very
largest ships, and is being straight
ened at the worst bends. Its fresh
water is also preferred to salt water
that is infested with teredos.
The 'moral of it all is that a har
bor absolutely perfect in all re-
spects probably does not exist. ' Na
ture always leaves some obstacles
which man cannot overcome, some
improvements which man must
make, for nature's work is only
done in the rough. After improv
ing nature's work the best we can
do is to set the good points against
the bad and strike a balance. Then
it is rash for one port to crow over
the misfortunes of another, for it
can never tell how soon some mis
hap may befall.
A PROPHET OF AGRICCLTCRAI.
DISASTER.
Eugene Davenport, for a third of
a century dean of the Illinois col
lege of agriculture and a widely
recognized authority on farm eco
nomics, takes -a gloomy view of the
future of production of the prime
necessities of life, based on the too,
general practice of taking more out
of the soil than is put back into it
but he falls into the error common
to prophets of pessimism, of neg-
lecting to take account of the
larger forces which, since long be
fore the time of Malthus, laave op
erated in unexpected ways to ren
der prophecy futile and void. That
Dean Davenport has a glimpse of
this tendency of matters to adjust
themselves before the worst has
come to pass is apparent from
some of the illustrations which he
himself employs. . The picture ap
pears dark to him, however, be
cause the abuses are so manifest
that they seem to overshadow
those less apparent factors which
ultimately must be counted on to
rescue us from the slough of ere
spond.
For e x a m pi e, the so-called
"nitrogen m y s t e r y." Writing in
Farm and Fireside on the depress
ing topic, "Will the Human Race
Finally Starve?" Dean Davenport
reminds us that "a good proportion
of what we know of the science of
agriculture has been developed
within the third of a century of
which we are speaking." It is not
very long, as history runs, since the
world had but a vague notion of
the function of nitrogen in sustain
ing plant "life and noted botanists
were advising that "warts" be bred
off clover roots, whereas we now
know that the nodules on legumi
nous plants are part of their mech
anism which constitutes one of the
master keys to soil fertility.
About this time, as the writer
goes on to say, a noted British
economist pointed out to a veteran
agriculturist that within his life
time England had virtually ex.
hausted the guano beds of the
South Sea islands, which had been
thousands of years in forming. As
is also well known, the South
American nitrate beds have since
been developed and give promise
of supplying world needs for a long
time to come. This resource, how
ever, lacks permanency, since even
an immense supply must in time
come to its end, and obviously a.
mere postponement of the cata
clysm for a century or more cannot
be viewed otherwise than with
alarm. But the discovery of mo
ment within the third of a century
in question has been the process of
fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, In
which the formerly despised root
nodules of legumes play so im
portant a part, and which has been
supplemented by mechanical meth
ods of nitrogen recovery which in
all probability will revolutionize the
agriculture of the world.
A better reason for present pes
simism is given by Dean Davenport
when he asks whether we are not
using the results of scientific in
vention and of Increasing capital,
not to strengthen the country as a
whole, .but largely to substitute
idleness for labor and to cater to
our appetites for ease and luxury.
It is unquestionable that men do
not now toil as incessantly and as
assiduously as their grandfathers
did, and while it Is undeniable that
some of the benefits of Invention
ought to be enjoyed in the form of
wider opportunities for individual
expansion, the issue suggested by
the writer is whether the balance
has been preserved whether the
demand for leisure and luxury may
not have been carried to an ex
treme. . But he points out also that
farming as now organized differs
from other forms of business In the
respeet that, whereas if another
kind of business fails as the result
of a bad guess as to what the pub
lic will pay for, no great damage
has been done beyond a certain loss
to individuals which does not im
poverish the country as a whole,
the farmer,, be he ever so ineffi
cient, will not fail in the eense that
business fails so long as he con
trives to keep out of debt. The
writer goes on:
He will live cheaply, rear a large fam
ily of children and work them to the
Iimlt and take everything possible out
of the land. If there were oniy here
and there an individual of this sort,
there would be little Involved beyond the
social damage to the community. But
there are thousands of people of this class
on the farms of the eountrv. Thev are
gradually being crowded onto the pooret
tanas, to De sure, out they are a damage
to any soil because they take without
giving back.
Dean Davenport observes, as an
example of socially wasteful meth
ods which have been employed
since the country was young, that
we are finishing houses and mak
ing furniture now with worse lum
ber than that which went into
packing boxes a generation ago."
We used to make fences and pig
pens of clear, stiff pine, and now it
no longer exists, except as one of
the rarer woods. But a fact of im
portance, which he ignores, is that
forest conservation has long been
scientifically practiced in other
countries than in the United States
and is making rapid headway in
thiB country, and that the funda
mental reason for the so-called
waste of a generation ago was that
men were then compelled to re
gard conservation and waste in
terms of labor and tune. Denuda
tion of woodlots was not waste a
third of a century ago in the same
sense that it is now, because rela
tionships were different, and be
cause timber, for which there was
no transportation and little market
only cumbered the land. So also
the invention of many substitutes
for wood for purposes for which
timber was formerly exclusively
used bears a relation to the indus
try similar to that which the dis-
covery of nitrogen fixation bears to
threatened total depletion of the
soil.
The prophet of disaster serves a
not unuseful purpose in directing
attention to conditions which ought
to be remembered speedily. There
is scarcely a statement in Dean
Davenport's review that is not a
true picture of present conditions.
We are very rapidly building up a
great country," he says, for illus
tration, "but very largely at the ex
pense of the virgin fertility of our
lands." The land is not properly
drained, it is not properly fed, nor
are its betterments , what they
should be, considering that this
generation of farmers is mining out
of its natural store more than any
other generation has ever mined
out before or ever will be able to
mine out again." But it is also true
that necessity has a way of forcing
its own remedies, that genuine
crises are always recognized in ad
vance of their coming, and that the
changed popular attitude toward
scientific agriculture which has
come about in the past generation
is not the product of chance.
The crowded situation of all the
institutions in which husbandry is
taught,' the multiplication of ex
periment statio"ns and demonstra
tion farms, the closer contacts of
farmers with each other and with
numerous sources of information.
the constantly increasing number
of individuals who are able to
make a living from the land while
they are also improving its condi
tion are measurable offsets to the
deplorable fact that bad farming
continues to impoverish land. We
are unduly pessimistic if we fore
cast world starvation on the sole
ground that a single generation has
not sufficed to overcome the cumu
lative waste and extravagance of
centuries before.
A valuable aid to understanding
of the near east situation is a map
of. that region published . by the
Irving National bank of "New York.
Designed primarily for use of those
who are engaged in foreign trade,
it is also an aid to understanding
of the political situation. The map
embraces southeastern Europe, in
cluding the Balkan countries and
the states formed out of Austria-
Hungary, southern Russia, and
Asia as far east as the Indian bor
der.- It also shows steamer routes,
railroads, navigable rivers, caravan
routes, wireless stations, consular
offices, and the natural resources
and trade possibilities of each
country, also population and rain
fall. It is an aid. to intelligent
reading of the news and to business
as well. I
The kaiser's new bride will call
herself "Queen Wilhelmina of
Prussia." which is one title that no
American heiress seems to want.
There are 112,8 73 voters regis
tered in Multnomah and a safe
guesa is -that all but the three last
figures will be counted.
Now and then you see a man in
prime health eating an apple. Per
haps the apple does It the Oregon
apple. '
The trouble with the tax con
servation commission is that it de
clines to be ornamental.
When you read that a "masher"
as been arrested, it doesn't always
mean a moonshiner.
The ex-kaiser is feeling like
every other old widower as the day
pproaches. 1
Fifteen candidates for city com
missioner will make a battle royal.
Peace or war is up to Angora, as
good a goat as any.
"Rain," says the weatherman.
Where?
SCRE WAT TO INJECT STRIKE f
Traasfer of Rellgrtoae lastraettoa to
Psblie School ta Caase Troable.
PORTLAND. Oct. 19. It seems to
me that many writers in favor of
abolishing the private schools are
setting themselves into" hot water.
What seemed at first an easy
proposition is getting harder every
day. Hence the many explanat'ons
the contradictory plans, the wild
suggestions.
J. E. H. allows parochial schools.
Lutheran schools, St. Helen s hall.
Hill Military academy and others
the right under the new statute to
keen oDen nights, to teach the cnu
dren there in their sleep or to hold
classes in the moonlight. Keligion,
according to his notion, is so much
a "s'de issue" that it ought to ahun
the light of day, be crammed into
the child s mind when It is so urea
by attendance at school during the
day that it cant keep awake a
aurht.
If religious teaching is of so little
account why bother about his plan
of introducing it into the publ'c
schools. "There is too little religion
m the public schools." he ay. Then
why object to those who want it
taught outside the publio schools?
I thought we were trying to keep
religion out of the public school.
That's what many say is the pur
pose of the bill. But J- E. H. wants
to turn the public schools nto
churches of the different denomina
tions. Our public schools would
look like a real world's fair of re
ligions with a Methodist, a Baptist,
a Seventh-day Adventist, a Jewish
and a hundred other denominational
halls tacked onto them. Children
of the public schools would get i
fine idea of rel'gion with all the dif
ferent sects warring against each
other right before their eyes, who
is going to teach religion in the
.public schools? What religion will
be taught? Answer these questions
and we will fall for religion in the
schools that are now free of re-
i'gious strife.
It all simmers down to this. Don't
stir up a hornet's nest. Let well
enough go. The parents who send
their children to the public schools
are satisfied. So are those who pay
for separate schools. The United
States hasn't blown up with both
schools serving the cause of edu
cation and Americanization in the
past. It might blow up if a ne
plan is adopted that won't work out
but only give rise to religious strife.
Mr. J. E. H. makes an awful blun
der when he says that "the public
schools will breed contempt for the
church of Rome." Does he imagine
any real supporter of the public
schools will stomach that? He only
indicates the underlying motive for
his wild schemes for sidestepping
the true purpose of the bill. The
public schools will continue to in
spire loftier sentiments, combat
prejudice and prevent religious
strife if they are allowed to remain
as they are, free, public, non-sec
tarian schools and all religious con
troversy kept Out of them by allow
ing those who want more religion to
teach it at their own expense, in
their own schools, to their own chil
dren, according to their own con
science, with the guarantee under
the law now in operation that the
other branches of education do not
thereby suffer deterioration.
D. S. D.
HIGH TAXES MADE BY PIBLIC
People 3fot Pierce, Olrott or Gump,
Can Reduce Them.
TANGENT, Or., Oct. 8. Oregon
voters can elect Pierce if they so
desire. A republican majority is
no impassable obstacle; indeed, it
gives proof that Pierce possesses no
small degree of confidence in his
ability as a oolitical spellbinder.
With reliance upon his political as
tuteness, he sallies forth, stumps a
republican state on a platform de
mauding economy, and apprises vot
ters of his great secret taxes are
too high and must be reduced. In
gratitude for this staggering i
formation, are we not' bound by
honor to cast our vote for the demo
cratic gubernatorial aspirant?
For the present oppressive taxes
the people have no one in particular
to blame but themselves. War wages
fostered extravagance. Large ap
propriations meant but a few cents
more on the thousand. The average
voter, being a light taxpayer, will
vote for anything that pleases his
fancy or affords employment. The
Portland vote on the fair is a case
:n point. The supporters of the fait
bond measure are undoubtedly trem
bllng in their political boots iest
the democratic deliverer rise up in
his tax reduction wrath and place
his everlasting kibosh on the whole
proposition. .
Waste is general in county admin
istration and many, perhaps through
necessity or revenge, filch a sub
stantial share of their income from
the counties of this state. When
the commercial club crowd and the
automo bile enthusiasts forced
through the various bonding pro
grammes, the -procedure was the
very essence of simplicity, and every
politician in the state shouted him
self hoarse for good roads and those
who ventured feeble protest were
ridiculed as cranks and mossbacks
and relegated to private life. A
mosquito might bite through a brick
wall and a world series baseball
game might be settled by friendly
arbitration with the players left in
their clubhouses, but neither Pierce
nor anyone else could have pacified
the mighty clamor that resulted in
vast addition to the indebtedness
of the state. Road bond interest de
mands payment and no amount vof
political piffle can render the' pay
ment painless. Belated lamentations
on the road debt may help Pierce
in a political way but will never
make possible a lower license on
automobiles. The road dollar never
did its full duty and it never will.
Taxes have been oppressive be
tween elections and before poli
ticians begin to cast about for at
tractive catchalls for unthinking
votes. Past decisions will keep these
high when Pierce and Olcott are
gone and forgotten. Candidate
Pierce might effect some minor eco
nomies, but genuine economy will
probably be scorned in the future as
it Has been in the past. Whoever
may be elected, substantial taxpay
ers will wish him a measure of suc
cess, but the people need not ex
pect much in the way of tax reduc
tion, for they will not get it. We
can vote for Pierce. Olcott or.An
drew Gump; the situation will be
unchanged. H. BLATCHFORD.
Geese Lost la Snowstorm.
KELSO. Wash., Oct. 9. (To the
Editor) The Oregonian's editorial,
"The Flight of a Teal." reminds me
of Bryant's familiar lines to a wa
ter fowl:
"He who from zone to zone
Guides thy unerring flight."
During my boyhood in Michigan
my father and I were digging tur
nips .late one fall when a sudden
heavy, snowstorm occurred. Above
us we beard the honk of wild geese
flying northwards as plainly lost as
a man would have been under the
same circumstances. W. H. W.
Postal Civil Servian.
PORTLAND, Oct. 9. (To the Ed
itor.) Kindly state what studies
one has to take in civil service, or
where can be had books for studies
for one wishing a position as rural
carrier or postmaster.
SUBSCRIBER.
Write to civil service clerk)
Postoffice building, Portland. '
Those Who Come and Go.
Tales of Folks at the Hotels.
"The iWillamette valley Is to be
come a second Yakima or San Jose."
predicts Louts Lachmund. former
mayor of Salem. "The valley farm
ers are producing fruit and small
berries in a larger quantity than
can be taken cafe of. We have
several canneries in Salem,v which
employ hundreds of men. women
and children, but the crops are too
large. We have cherries, berries
and prunes, and in the peak loads
the canneries cannot take care of
all the stuff that is offered. The
strawberry season, for example, is
too short. We have too many fruits
that cannot be handled by the can
neries. To meet this demand we
have built a cold storage plant.
The plant is inadequate and so ws
are planning; to increase its ca
pacity 200 per cent. When the ca
pacity of the cold storage plant is
enlarged, we expect to take care
of the berries and fruit so that the
canneries can pack the stuff and
take care of it after the peak has
been reached. This is the only way
that the crop can be cared for. In
time, as the cold storage is de
veloped, the many canneries will
be able to work the year around."
Potatoes are the main thins; In
the life of George Burtt of San
Francisco. Therefore when Mr.
Burtt heard of the potato fair at
Redmond. Or., he headed north. Mr.
Burtt contends that the best po
tato country in America Is in the
Redmond section. To look over the
exhibit Mr. Burtt has come to Port
land on his way to eastern Oregon.
The spud market has been rather
bad this year, admits Mr. Burtt, and
the price has been low. In Idaho
prices are 50 cents per hundred
pounds, which is too low for the
growers to make a profit. Mr.
Burtt is the owner of several thou
sand acres of potato land near
Redmond, the same land which has
caused considerable argument be
cause of the suspicion that it was
to be farmed by Japanese potato
experts. Mr. Burtt leaves tonight
for central Oregon.
Albert Johnson, representative of
the third congressional district of
Washington, passed through Port
land yesterday. Representative
Johnson, who comes from Hoqutara,
was on his way to Camas, Wash.,
electioneering. He says that the
republican congress has put up a
stiff fight for the west. The con
gressional delegations from Cali
fornia. Oregon. Washington and
the rest of the states west of the
Rocky mountains, are fewer in
number than the delegation from
New York, but the western men
stand together and by uniting in a
common cause are successful in se
curing appropriations which would
otherwise be impossible. Mr. John
son is conducting a vigorous ct,m
pa'gn which will keep him busy
ntil election time.
W. 6. Caverhill. county commis
sioner of Grant county. Is registered
at the Imperial. Commissioner
Caverhill is anxious to have the
highway commission Improve the
road from Pendleton to John Day.
He registers from Caverhill, a post
office which consists of 'his home a
few miles from Long CreefrMn one
of the most isolated sections of
Oregon. Commissioner Caverhill, a
graduate of the Oregon Agricultural
college and a former school teacher.
wants the road constructed so that
he can get to Pendleton over the
north fork grade without breaking
his neck.
In a canyon, in the heart of the
range country, not far from where
the state highway Is being surfaced
with a substance which makes sli
ver polish, is Long Creek. From
this point come Mr. and Mrs. W. H.
Crowley to the Imperial. The high-
wajsouth of Long Creek is In trie
forest reserve and a good grade Is
now being established by the gov
ernment.
Reliance, a timber camp on the
Tillamook railroad, is where E. W.
Talbott registers from. Thred years
ago Reliance was a virgin forest.
but the logging operations have
been so active since then that Re
liance is now a field of jagged
stumps, which present a problem to
the producer.
Captain William Wolff Smith, of
the quartermaster department, ar
rived in Portland yesterday on his
way to Washington, D. C. Captain
Smith was formerly a newspaper
man, but reformed when he got into
the army.
James Bible of Long Creek was
given a room at the Imperial in
which he felt st home, for on the
dresser was a red-edged volume
which was the Bible presented to
the hotel by the Gideon society.
C. W. Barr. one of the prominent
citizens of Astoria, is in the city, ac
companied by A. J. C. Scheneider.
THE HARVEST.
I plucked a brlght-bued branch in
autumn time
('Twas richly tinted, bending low
with seed)
And for its beauty carried it afar
With autumn treasures, though
'twas but a weed.
Then when it was a withered, faded
thing
I threw it csrelessly into a field
And left it there with all Its rip
ened seeds
Where golden grain alone was
wont to yield.
The da ye and weeks passed, length
ening Into years;
Once more I journeyed through the
selfsame land
And to the field where virgin har
vests grew.
But lo, the flaming weed plucked
by my hand
Was growing in profusion 'mong
the wheat.
From one small branch a threat
ening menace grown
Like all results that rise from 111-
timed deeds.
Yielding a harvest that we would
disown.
JANETTE MARTIN.
Mora Black Waloata
EUGENE. Or.. Oct. . (To the Edi
tor.) I indbrse the letter of J. C.
Cooper, which urges planting more
walnuts in weetern Oregon. The
climate and soil of this part of the
state seem admirably adapted for
this tree.
In 1968 I helped plant a black
walnut at the southeast corner of
Eleventh end Pearl streets In
Eugene. This tree is now 11 feet 6
inches in circumference four feet
above the ground, its smallest girth
below the limbs. It was from
nursery stock and not from the
seed. It bears heavily every year
and appears to be entirely free
from all tree pests, freeze damage
and other difficulties.
It would be a fine thing if such
trees could be planted along -all
the main highways of western Ore
gon. It would not be an expensive
undertaking to piant the nuts st
intervals of 100 feet on both sides
of these highways. A black wal
nut properly planted will take care
of itself better than many other
trees, as""its freedom from insect
pests and its vigorous growth have
demonstrated.
GEORGE MELVIN MILLER.
Burroughs Nature Club.
Coryrlaai. Hoagataa-Mlfflla Co.
Caa Yea Ainrar These Qaraitoasf
1. Do gulls dive for their food?
2..DO kangaroos show intelli
gence? 1. Are milkweed butterflies some
times smaller than usual? 1 caught
one that looked like a milkweed,
tut so much smaller.
Answers In tomorrow's nature
notes.
Aaawera to Prevkeoa Oaootloaa.
1, Is woolly aphis a very rla nitr
ous disesse on apple trees?
Yea. troublesome In two ways, be
cause It drains the tree's vitality
by feeding on the roots and baik:
a)d also opens an entrance for ap
ple canker, a fungus that common
ly starts In the wound made by
woolly aphis. This canker plagues
not only the apple, but beech, oak,
hazel, maple, dogwood and some
other trees.
e. e
2. I saw a bird pecking at the
trunk of a tree not boring In but
I could not see that there was any
thing to peck no caterpillars. What
could It find?
You give no description of the
bird, but evidently It was a creeper
of some sort hunting very fine food
tiny lire or even eggs In the bsrk
cracks. Though these might be In
visible to the human eye. the bird's
eye sees them, being able to mag
nify and to adjust Its focus wonder
fully. 1. How do oysters reproduce?
'By eggs, spswned In quantities by
the female and fertilised after es
caping in the wster. A swimming
organ called the "velum" develops
at once and for a few days the em
bryo swims about while rudi
mentary shell and organs start
forming. Unless cauaht In cold
storms and washed out to sea, the
embyro then sinks, attaches Itself
to some object st the bottom anil Is
called "spat." When a trifle further
developed young oysters are called
"seed."
SCHOOL DEBARKMENT POeBr,W
Bill Permits No Dlaerlmtaatloa If
I'adewlrable A Ilea laflax Comes.
PORTLAND, Oct. 10. (To the
Editor.) No doubt the best system
of purely secular education In the
world Is that found Irl the educa
tional prlniiples of this United
States of America. Becense of this
men are Justly proud and Jealous
of its interests and are deceived
into thinking tnat It Is so Impreg
nable as to be safe from contam
ination or harm, even though ele
ments inimical to its best Interests
may enter into It.
Because It is so thoroughly 10'i
per cent Amerlcsn. they seem to
feel that any sort of element
dropped Into It will Immeditely be
fused Into 100 per cent American
Ism. But hustory teaches that na
tions or societies are not elevated
but are degraded by an Influx of
an Inferior people, and will all his
tory reverse Itself simply to ac
commodate the fallacious arguments
of the sponsors of this Oregon bill?
Our American schools may Be
compared to pure gold. Evidently.
In the minds of the proponents of
this misnamed "compulsory edu
cation bill." other schools sre of a
baser metal, else why make a law
that will close them? But even
if this were so (w hich It Is not I.
what even then would be the prod
uct if this baser!?) metal were
fused with the pure gold of our
present schools? Would It not Be
a whole product as much baser is
the fusion of the two would mske?
Fuse again with this whole Infe
rior product a baser metal, repeat
ing the process, and the baser metal
would predominate in the final pro
duction till your pure gold would
be swallowed up by the baser metal.
This is, however, the very proc
ess that will result to our public
school system If sliens of every
description and grade of moral
character are forced by the provl
sions of this bill Into the public
schools of our land without any.
provision of protection to our own
American children. This bill, .f
made into law. will not protect our
school system and ssfeguard our
country; but, on the contrary. It Is
a menace to our children, will de
stroy our schoools. and will Isy our
American Institutions open lo the
desecrstion of aliens who come to
our shores. Parents who guarl
their children's morals at home an I
who wish to protect them from the
old world influences of anarchy and
bolshevlsm, which sre antl-Ameri-can,
will not welcome a lew that
will force this Influence Into thi
public schools by compelling tho
whole conglomerate mass of Immi
grants' children without any dis
crimination whatever to attend.
Our public schools were not estab
lished as reform schools, and should
not degenerate to such.
Our present school law which In
sures to every child a proper edu
cation In the English language
under proper supervision and In
spection, If enforced, will accomplish
all the good that ran possibly be
aimed at In the proposed bill, ani
It contains none of its obiectlonal
features. O. A. ROBEKTa.
WAY TO CITIZEXHIP DIFFICt'LT
Cost aad Dlffldeaca as Pahlle
Test Are Deterreats. gays Writer.
WOODBURN, Or., Oct. I. (To the
Editor.) In a recent article The
Oregonian suggests that men whs
do not nsturalize may be stubborn.
Some may be, but after hearing
the court proceedings I believe
there are a large number of men
and women who have not the nerve
to sit as prisoners st the bar to
be questioned before an sudlence.
It takes a very well-Informed per
son to answer the questions If al
lowed to answer them calmly, but
if he shows by his snswer that he
does not fully know history and
e vil government, he Is then ques
tioned a.ong the lines he seems
weak on, and ronfused.
So I say It not only takes a well
informed person to become nstursl
ized. but one with fight, w-ho wilt
not let the questioner or Judge rat
tle him. .There are a very larse
number who cannot stand this rigid
examination. and they can be
dubbed stubborn, or what one likes.
But suppose a man Is stubborn,
what women of moderate means
can have from iza to to natural.
Ize with snd keep pesre in the fam
ily? However, there Is no emanci
pation without responalbillty and
each woman must decide for her
self, but we women know by ex
perience that mothers who would
like to help make laws to govern
their homes and families will find
It difficult to raise from 125 to l.e
to pay necessary witness fees, etc.
And when one considers the subject
of witnesses, Is It not strsnge that
any citizen who lives near you and
meets you often In your home must
be your witness whether he be a
pro-erman. a hooch maker; one
who wrongs his neighbor's dauih
ter or steals his wife? The wnuld-
be citizen Is at his mercy and Judg
ment as to whether be would be a
good citizen or not. If consistency
be a Jewel, where Is the Jewel?
Please help me locale It- il. I'.
More Truth Than Poetry.
Jly James J. Mealasrae.
IMMlftE
They have raked up Dumas from hi
ashes
To give him little more fame.
On "The Three Muskettera"
As It's filmed, there appears
(In very small letters) his name.
Great living scenario writers
Have added their artistic touch
To the swashbuckling play
As presented ton's?.
But It hatni helped Mm
Very much!
They have also made lienor Cec.
vantes
Co-author ef one of their piers.
And his not wry bright
But clellchtfii) old kmsht
Has basked In the cinema's raya
Cervantes was dead hen It hap
pentd
(Were he here he'd have died
the spot )
They turned Into gold
The brave tale the. he teld.
But It didn't help Mm
A whols lot!
Thus far they've get meddled with
bhakespeare.
Not even the balcony scene
Has appeared, up to date. .
We believe we can state
With full measure of truth, on the
screen.
They haven't filmed "Ham lei"
Richard"
Or "I.ear" or "Mecheth or the
Moor;
8o Phskespeare Is blessed
With a well-deserved rest.
For Ms fame, for Ihe nonce.
Is secure,
see
Only Fair.
We wlah that capital and labor
would arrange anma system toy
which the public- could make pa Ml a.
payments on the strikes.
On Thtag After Aaathrr.
As If living roats were not high
mous-h. here rotnrs a new colored
ptiRlltst to this country to give
hltutlons for which Americans must
pay ti a head to witness.
e .
All the Symptoms.
We begin to suspect that Ihe mil
ady the sick man of Europe Is at
fllcted with Is rabies.
(CnpTrlKht. lt52 ttr Hell Sv-Ilrsl. e
October.
Br Crset K. Hall.
October waars her scarf of gray.
Her red snd yellow gown.
The woodlsnd paths are cluttered UP
With leaves of russet brown.
Anl from the pins trees overhead
The petaled-cones come down.
The stubble fields sre yl ow stilt.
And from a rosdslde tree
Red-shafted flickers pipe (heir notes
In audden ecatssy;
A pheasant cock lifts brilliant wings
And darts by, temptingly.
The rain will soon be on the roof, '
With slow snd rhythmic heat.
The maple pods before the wind
(Jo tumbling down the street;
But Oregon breathes not of deslh
Jn sulumn. fresh snd sweet:
In Other Days.
Tweaty-ftvo Yeara Ago.
from The Or.sonlsn. Oct. II. 1T.
Constantinople The sultan has
appointed the minister of foreign
affairs, Traflk I'asha. si the pleni
potentiary of Turkey to negotiate
the peace treaty with Greece
Owing to Ihe Immense Oregon
crop of fruit and the fact that prices
for many kinds are not what might
be desired, s numher of persona In
various parts of the state will en
gage In the business of distilling
peach and prune brandy, applejsr.
etc. Llrensrs for stt-ls may ha ob
tained st the Internal revenue of
f ice.
The first story rr Ihe T. M. C. A.
building on Yamhil street la up II
Is built of white pressed brles.
which Indicates that the building la
going to be rather a handsome on.
Washington. The pistol with
which taulteau killed President Oar
field has been discovered snd
turned over lo the Washlngtou
police department.
Flffy Years ago.
rrnm The f tr-eonts... rw-t , tT3
Portland la eminently a literary
place If the number of books re
ceived at the library la a correct
index. The last ileamar brnusht 41
volumes, which ran now be found on
the library shelves resdy snd wslt
Ing perusal.
On the 1'h Insl. Mr. Hallett grove
his last spike and completed Ma i 1 -mi;e
aectlor. of Ihe railroad. Olyrn.
pla Is now within 1 j mi-Ba of the
iron horse and the fearful hard
ships Incident to a trip serosa the
country to the Columbia river are
now numbered among things of the
past.
I,ondon Journals foresee tha re
election of Oram. The Tlmea eats
"Greeley's cause Is a forlorn hope
now snd will certainly fall."
London Mr. Stanley, the discov
erer of Livingstone, ha bsen r4r4
borne.
ADMOXITIO OF BIBI.C lf.Ollt.3
V
Rellgloaa fterta Mla la Mar
Brtsr, gays C'orreoaoadeot.
I'ORTI.AXO. Oct. 10 (To the F.d
Itor The different r-lsi"us 'ii
should be seeking a common road
upon which sll muld trsvel In hsr
mony. rather thsn to he doing those
thlrgs which only serve lo etlr up
hatred ef Christian for Christian,
and, worst of all. setting esamplo
wh'ch in eactl opposite of wiiat
Is looked for from these penpu.
Ir. their tex t-book t he Uilile
there sre soma very slirple, very
plain admonitions, which If fol
lowed by all would bring utiivete-.l
peace. To teach relist. .n in the
schools would he to make the scheoia
aecta'rlan. and widen the suif be
tween the aerta. Chll" ' s"d
schools of theolgv sre the place
for Irachlng religion. Inough Ins
writer cons.ders tt-s lea' hlng m'-st
worthwhile, most I kely to set re
su'.ts. to be tha rts.ly tearhir bv
example In business snd aax-iai III
A treed that la worth tssroittg at
all shuuid l worm teat Mr s t el
arrple every day of the w-k
lie who weuld liaa hie broiher
follow a certain road, needs lead Ibe
wnv. not poirt It
Habits r-f living wht. h mas has
been centuries In forming rag '
be laid sslde s( ons would lay off
s worn roat and d"n s :(
fore, it Is not wis policy to ens' I
laws which call for sudden and rad
ical t'hansea. Many of the blue laws
ahrw reisious seal earned In a
point where c-tmmn eense and wis
dom sre compit'y l"t siht cf
Such laws sre very llaMe t back
fire Korea will not wake a good
Christian or a woilhwhne iti-m.
gnct mas- 1 tl.