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

8.
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13,
iHominjjCDrrpntnttl
I per cent or the total carried less be the Dodecanese islands,
Ithrnnp-h thp Pflmima rflnal Thfi whirh it had airrpfid tn hand over
established bv HENRY L. PITTOCK. 1 examiner s statement tnat "none or to ureece, but wnicn it now is
Published by The Oregonian Pub. Co.,
13d Sixth Street, Portland. Oregon.
C. A. JIOP.DE.V. ' E. B. PIPER.
Manager. Editor.
The Oreffonicn is a member of the As
sociated Press. The Associated Press is
exclusively entitled to the use for publi
cation of all news dispatches credited to
it or not otherwise credited in this paper
and also the local news published herein.
All rights of publication of special dis
patches herein are also reserved.
the proposed rates meet or even determined to hold.
approximate the coast-to-coast rates ' While the allies are striving to
Subscription Kates Invariably
in Advance.
. (By Mall.)
Taily, Sunday included, one year .. . .$8.00
Bally, Sunday included, six months ... 4.25
Daily, Sunday included, three months 2.2
Daily, Sunday included, one month , . .75
Daily, without Sunday, one year d.00
Dally, without Sunday, six months . . 3.23
Daily, without Sunday, one month.. .60
Sunday, one year 2.00
(By Carrier.)
Taily. Sunday included, one year. . .$0.00
Daily. Sunday Included, three months 2.25
'Daily, Sunday included, one month... .75
Daily, without Sunday, one year 7.80
Daily, witr.,.ut Sunday, three months 1.A5
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THE COMMISSION REVERSES ITSELF.
In refusing to permit transconti
nental railroads to make rates at
"which they could compete with
water lines the interstate commerce
commission has reversed its former
decisions at every point of the same
controversy. On the question
whether the proposed rail rates
would discriminate against the in
termountain country it stands six
to five, the five thus standing by
the former position of the commis
sion. Two of the five adhere com
pletely to the commission's former
position that rail rates competitive
with water rates should be per
mitted. This sharp division of
opinion can be ascribed fairly to
changes in its composition and to
influences which have impaired its
independence of judgment.
To controvert the reasoning by
which the majority has reached its
conclusions we need only quote its
own former decisions. The only
material changes in the law bearing
on the question are those provisions
of the transportation act declaring
the policy of congress to foster
competition between rail and water
lines, authorizing the commission
to fix a rate basis which will yield
a standard return and requiring
that the rates competitive with
water rates that it authorizes shall
be "reasonably compensatory." Do
these changes justify a complete
reversal of its former decisions, in
volving abandonment of all prin
ciples heretofore followed? Does
the decision square with the law as
changed?
The decision hinges principally
on the construction to be placed on
the words "reasonably compensa
tory" as defining the rates to be
made. The commission adopts four
rules of construction, of which the
first is that the rate must:
Cover and more than cover the extra
or additional expense incurred in nan
riling the traffic to which it applies.
The opinion expressed by the
commission itself in its decision of
June 30. 1917, seems to conform
with this principle. It reads:
The railroads are enabled to fill up
their trains with tratfic which, although
not highly profitable, yields a revenue
materially greater than the out-of-pocket
costs of securing and handling the tratfic.
thereby adding to the net returns of the
carriers and to that extent lightening the
transportation burden tsorne by other lo
calities.
If government control is so exercised
as to prevent them from securing any
considerable share of the business to and
from the terminals and the largest pos
sible return therefrom, such return must
be derived from the other communities
along their lines.
The second principle is that the
rate must:
Be no lower than necessary to meet
existing competition.
The water rates which the rail
roads asked authority to meet were
those in force on January 1, 1922.
Between that date and last Sep
tember water rates have fallen to
less than half the January scale.
So far were the proposed rail rates
from being "less than necessary"
that they have already become too
high to "meet existing competi
tion." The most that the roads
could hope was to have the rule
established that they were free to
meet competition; the adequacy of
their proposed rates could not come
Into question until much further
reduced.
In the third place the commis
sion holds that rates must:
Not be so low as to threaten the ex
tinction of legitimate competition by
water carriers.
That reaffirms in different lan
gunge what the commission said
In 1 917, namely:
Neither is it our purpose to permit
the maintenance of rates to or from Pa
cific coast points at a level that will Ten
tier the service unattractive to the boat
lines.
Fourth, the rail rates must:
Not impose an undue burden on other
traffic or Jeopardize the appropriate
return on the value or carrier property
generally.
To show the conformity of rail
competition with this rule we need
only refer again to what the com
mission said in 1917 about "light
ening the transportation burdens
borne by other localities," while the
following from the same decision
is to the same effect and flatly con
tradicts the finding of the bare
majority that competitive rates to
the coast discriminate against in
terior points:
We are of the opinion that the hest In
terests of the public, of the transconti
nental carriers and or these lntermoun
tain cities in particular will be served
by a policy that permits the transconti
nental carriers to share with the water
lines in the traffic to and from the Pa
cific coast ports.
Existing facts furnish convincing
proof that the commission's con
clusions in 1917 were sound and
are in close harmony with the con
struction that it now puts on the
words "reasonably compensatory"
and that its present conclusions are
contrary to both the spirit and
purpose of the law as amended in
1920. When the examiner for the
commission reported his findings
aarly mis year p said:
The record shows that for some time
past traffic destined to the Pacific coast
has been moving by water In tremendous
volume, and recently It has assumed un
precedented proportions. Competition is
keener and the service more efficient
than at any time before the war.
Each month since those words
were written they have become
more applicable. In September,
1922, the intercoastal traffic car
ried by water was 355,255 tons,
against 177,262 in the same month
of 1921, or more than double, and
In that month such traffic was 30
of the water lines" referred to the
rates in force at the opening of
this year. The rate on iron and
steel by wnjer was then 75 cents in
carloads or $1.90 in less than car
loads. In August it had fallen to
30 cents and is now only 40 cents
for any quantity. The railroads
only sought acceptance of the prin
ciple that they should compete, for
the rates they then proposed would
not have brought back lost busi
ness; the question whether the
rates that would enable them to
compete would be reasonably com
pensatory should have awaited ad
justment to that principle.
The effect on the railroads of
the loss of traffic is apparent in
their reports of earnings. Not
withstanding the enormous in
crease in volume of traffic and the
very substantial decrease in cost
of operation, the Union Pacific
shows a serious decrease of earn
ings in the first seven months of
1922, and other transcontinental
roads show only slight increases.
There is small prospect of a general
scaling down of rates, for which
all are anxious when that is the
case.
Any burden that would have
been cast on traffic in general by
the carriage of -competitive traffic
at somewhat more than out-of-pocket
cost of hauling would have
been light by comparison with that
which is now borne through the
hauling of entire trains of empty
cars west in order to relieve the
disastrous shortage. By order of
the commission itself these trains
are hauled at a dead loss, when
the railroads asked permission to
load them at rates that would have
paid more than the cost of hauling.
The west must have those cars
in order that its lumber, fruit and
other industries may live. The
great bulk of the traffic that would
have filled them would have been
obtained in competition with water
lines. The commission in effect
decrees that, rather than take that
traffic, the roads must haul those
cars empty. The cost of so doing
will be added to the total cost of
operation, therefore will be borne
by all the traffic of the roads con
cerned, including that of the inter
mountain points which fondly
imagine that they have won a great
victory. Had the railroads been
permitted to haul loaded in place
of empty trains, that burden would
have been much less.
Intermountain people have made
a fetish of proportional as against
competitive rates to the coast. It
seems hopeless to attempt to show
them that they share the cost of
moving empty trains or that, if
those trains are not hauled at all,
they will lack cars to haul their
products either east or west. Ap
parently nothing but experience can
convince them of the folly of
resisting economic law.
form a united front against the
Turk that wily oriental will do his
utmost to divide them. To France
he may offer economic concessions,
while threatening to invade Syria.
Italy, too, may be offered land for
colonization from which the Greeks
have been driven, with the alter
native of war in Tripoli. Threats
to invade Mesopotamia and to pro
voke Moslem rebellion In India may
be used to impose moderation on
Britain. The Turk has squirmed
out of many a tight corner by
playing on the jealousy and cupid
ity of the nations; he will play the
game at which he is an expert.
While all this goes on the United
States will be represented by "ob
servers." We have an interest sec
ond only to that of Britain in free
dom of the straits. We have de
voted men and women who have
sacrificed themselves to missions in
Turkey. Other Americans have
business interests there, and more
will wish to go if that country ever
settles down. The only security
for the lives, honor and fortune of
these Americans is the capitulations
by which they are exempt from
Turkish jurisdiction. Millions of
Americans have given freely for
salvation of the subject peoples
from extermination, and they boil
with futile indignation at the
barbarities committed by the Turk.
If a Roosevelt had been president
he would not have allowed these
interests to be represented by mere
observers.
DEATH OF THE TEAR.
The aeatn or the year is not a
time of sadness, else the maple leaf
would not be quite so happy in its
passing. The crows are joyous,
jovial rogues that they are, and
flock to banquet on the late corn.
Rain has contented the thirsty roots
of the meadow, until the new
grass is as green as any coverlid of
spring. There are hopeful catkins
on the willows, and if you were to
delve for the bulb of some nar
cissus, dried and unlovely but a
few short weeks ago, you would
discover that this day it is thrust
ing spears of ivory toward the sur
face and the sun:
Years do not die, they pause, and
in the respite from their labors
drink deep of life and promise and
prepare another season of miracle
And more than spring, or summer,
or the ripeness of harvest, is the
presage of the fall. Indeed, it is
then that nature holds her account
ing, like the thrifty housewife she
is, and jots down in her book of
futurity the many items of glad
ness that are held for release in
another year. The sea fogs that
swing inland, opal and gray, the
mists of the river, the swift show
ers and the tedious drizzle are her
servants. The gloom is in the
heart of the beholder; it has no
place in nature. For nature is
calmly and happily assured.
Four sandhill crane, high against
the cloud mass, now lost in vapor,
now glinting in a rift of sunshine,
their insistent sibilant call, ven
triioquiai ir ever there was one,
sounds almost at the side of the
listener. Yonder are brant, gos
siping of fen and field far to the
south and known to the elders,
and there drive by those regal
voyagers, the geese, shouting at
intervals the metallic bugle note of
their clan. Swift ducks winnow
the river, mallard and widgeon,
prig and blue-wing, the very gal
lant woodduck and the absurd
ruddy. Life stirs beneath the
water, a new and buoyant life
the salmon fingerlinga of spring,
ventured upon their first adven
ture. And up from the sea, straight
to a chosen goal of chill mountain
torrent, swim the silver tr.out and
the vigorous steelhead. Death of
the year? It is the very season of
virility and change and birth.
THE NATIONAL DEFICIT WIPED
OUT.
One of the drawbacks of democ
racy is that good management of
the nation's finances does not ap
peal to the popular imagination,
consequently that an administra
tion does not get full credit for
what it achieves in this direction.
But for this, the voters would have
expressed their appreciation of the
arduous but successful work of the
government in cutting expenses un
til the expected deficit for this fis
cal year has already disappeared.
Revenue was expected to fall
$698,000,000 short of expenditures
for the year ending June 30, 1923,
but Budget Director Lord, backed
by President Harding, has cut esti
mates until they are within the
total expected revenue of $3,198,-
000,000. This is $175,000,000 less
than expenses for the year 1921-2
and is much less than half the total
of $6,403,000,000 for 1920-1.
It is thankless work ,to effect
such economy. It is done in the
face of determined opposition from
the spending departments, and the
benefits reach the people so grad
ually and indirectly that they do
not show due appreciation. Yet
the first results are financial sta
bility, which is the foundation of
prosperity, which yields increased
revenue without increase in rates
of taxation. Next will come reduc
tion of debt which will lop off a
slice of annual interest. This proc
ess, continued, should lead to re
duction of taxes unless the people
demand expenditure on extension
of the national plant, such as river
and harbor improvements, high
ways and reclamation, which
should add further to general pros
perity, to productiveness of taxes
andlherefore should lead ultimate
ly to lower rates. But this proc
ess extends over a term of years,
during which two or more admin
istrations may come and go, and
the men who carry it through re
ceive little credit beyond the satis
faction of having done a good job.
atoned for by its intensity. You
can never convince a true sour
dough, or an Alaskan tenderfoot
for that matter, that the Garden of
Eden was not originally situated
somewhere within the boundaries
of the land that Secretary Seward
bought from Russia for a song.
Nearly invariably the western
frontier of the United States has
been thrust back by interests that
were predominantly agricultural.
This was particularly true of Ore
gon and the commonwealths that
have been carved out of it, though
Idaho owed its beginning, as Al
aska has done, to l discovery of
mineral wealth. The tremendous
mining excitement in California, im
portant though it may have been,
was, but the forerunner of those
other and more substantial basic
developments through which states
are built to endure. It is the spirit
of the husbandman, interpreted as
the spirit of the pioneer, which in
our northwesternmost territory
now insists on education and plenty
of it, including all the opportun
ities that a university can give.
The romance of pioneering is
alive even in this age; it is as per
vasive as of old. It inoculates all
classes. The great open spaces
are no mere refuge for ne'er-do-wells.
Of this we are persuaded
bythe statement which appears in
an account of the recent dedicatory
ceremonies at Fairbanks, ttiat the
Alaska school authorities are able
to choose their teacher material
from among "hundreds of appli
cants" well equipped for the jobs.
It is Alaska's proud boast that "the
territory can point to a teaching
force that is more trained and ex
perienced than that of any other
state in the Union." The average
teaching experience of all the
schoolma'aliis and schoolmasters
in the territory is eight years; 70
per cent of its elementary teachers
are either normal school or college
graduates and in many instances
they have had several years of ad
vanced study beyond graduation
from college. The call to duty,
tinctured no doubt by individual
ism and by pure love of adventure,
is heard and responded to by
young college men and women
from everywhere; and the result
is a leaven that must profoundly
affect the future of education in
thye entire territory. Western his
tory repeats itself, on an ascending
scale.
TAXES NOT NECESSARY TO FAIR
Sale to People of "Guaranteed
Bonds" Is Advocated.
PORTLAND, Nov. 11. (To the
Editor.) That Portland people want
the fair is of little doubt. However,
we know there are a few who, like
calamity howlers of all ages, do not
and predict dire disaster for the
city should a fair be held in Port
land. Many ways and means have been
suggested, but none has really been
decided upon and the people of the
country are waiting for some real
decision to be made, so they can
make preparation for the coming
event.
We know that the very minute
the decision is made and the fair is
a sure thing people all over the
country will begin to prepare for
migration to Portland and the city
would immediately benefit from
this migration.
Population is wealth to any com
munity, and if Portland is to be a
better and larger city things must
be done to give to the people some
reason for coming beside the
climate, location and other advan
tages that this end of the world
has.
If a public institution would be
formed among the business people
of the city and $6,000,000 of guar
anteed bonds issued drawing about
3 per cent interest, in denominations
from $25 to $1000, 'and this done in
the very near future, business in
Portland would go forward in
leaps and bounds.
These bonds could be disposed of
in a very short time, for there would
be an element of pride as well as
well-doing in the matter and the
people of Portland would - respond
immediately.
In handling the matter in this
way we would not have to vote on
the issue, or place taxes upon peo
ple who are not in favor of the fair
and it would give the people who
believe in a progressive city the
privilege of showing their hand in
the matter.
Those who would benefit the
most should naturally buy the
greatest number of bonds and it is
almost a safe bet that the thing
could be put over with a bang if
started at the right time by the
right people.
The fair would thus become a
community affair, in which nearly
all citizens would be interested,
making it a success from its begin
ning. DR. INNES V. BRENT.
321 Abington Bldg.
Those Who Come and Go.
Tnlea ot Folks at the Hotel.
Burroughs Nature Club.
Copyright. Houghton-Mifflin Co.
The avidity with which books
about buried treasure are still read
testifies to the universal interest of
this topic in the minds of men, the
product of that common desire to
get something for nothing which oil
stock promoters and gold brick op
erators capitalize, yet not to be con
founded with acquisitiveness in its
lowest forms. It is, more plausibly
a longing of the sort that filled the
hills with prospectors when the
west was young, that results in
the discovery of Klondikes and El
Dorados. There is a difference,
however, when it comes to count
ing the returns. Every once in a
while tlje prospector finds a bo
nanza. The seeker for buried treas
ure who is rewarded for his pains
is the exception that does not prove
the rule.
Fh-ty years ago this month, as
The Oregonian related at the time,
Mark Twain made a speech in Lon
don on "Success in Literature" and
the London reporters "assiduously
left out the jokes." Precisely the
same thing seems to have happened
to our Ambassador Harvey's ob
servatioris on the Ten Command
ments and the probability that
women have souls.
SETTLING WITH THE TURK.
This is the week when the Turk
hopes to complete his triumph.
With the sword of Islam he has cut
in pieces the treaty of Sevres, which
would have made Turkey a subject
state with only the shadow of in
dependence, and his diplomats will
attempt to dictate peace to the
powers while his soldiers try to
shoulder them out of Constant!-'
nople and the straits. He can be
foiled only if the powers pull to
gether, not only ostensibly but in
earnest.
An effort will be made to patch
up a preliminary agreement be
tween Britain and France, but that
will not suffice, for Mussolini re
fuses again to indorse such prior
arrangements; he insists that Italy
participate in full equality. Through
force of circumstances the new
British cabinet must continue the
policy for which it overthrew that
of Lloyd George. France is an
gered at the insolence 'of the
savage Turkish animal that it has
coddled, and is getting into the
mood to discipline him, especially
as the deposition of Constantino
has removed the cause of its enmity
to Greece. But France is disposed
to make Britain pay by exacting
effective British help in making
Germany pay. Italy also will insist
on being paid. Its price will doubt.
ALASKA DEDICATES A COLLEGE.
"In all history," said Governor
Bone of Alaska at the dedication
recently of the new Alaska Agri
cultural College and School of
Mines, "there is nothing more sub
lime than the Alaskan spirit." The
governor alluded, of course, to the
pioneer spirit which has tamed the
wilderness and abolished the so-
called frontier; amended to make it
somewhat more broadly inclusive
the statement may well stand. The)
peculiarly American aspect of it is
its insistence on education and the
sacrifices it is willing to make to
accomplish the ends of education.
Through a land of magnificent
distances, hampered by natural ob
stacles to intercommunication, with
a population relatively small in
relation to its vast area, Alaska
has long fostered primary and in
termediate schooling. It was a
foregone conclusion that a univer
sity would follow, as it has done.
It usually takes rather less than
a quarter of a century from the
beginning of educational endeavor
to put an institution of higher
learning on its feet in a western
community. Oregon, which was
admitted as a territory of the
United States in 1849, started its
agricultural college in 1868 and its
university in 1872. In 1868 Cali
fornia, which entered the- Union
in 1850, opened its state uni
versity. Washington acted rather
more promptly, the foundation for
its present state university having
been laid within about eight years
of its creation as a territorial com
monwealth. But no western state
and few other American states
has long been content with less
than it could possibly afford and
Alaska, the last frontier of the
west and the last to receive the
benefits of "the educational . land
grants made by the nation, is no
exception to the rule.
A fact of peculiar ' interest to
those who rely for their informa
tion on reference works a decade
or two old is that the Alaska in
stitution places emphasis on agri
culture as well as on mining. "Al
aska," says a relatively modern en
cyclopedia, "is too far north to bo
of any importance as an agricul
tural community." But the state
ment is already belied by accom
plished facts. The census of 1900
recorded but 159 acres of farming
land; the latest census, soon to be
published, will- make a far more
impressive showing. But many
things of importance to the indus
trial life of the territory have
meanwhile come to pass. In no
particular has the region profited
more abundantly than it has done
as the result of recent researches
in agronomy. "The season," said
the encyelopedist in question, "is
too short for oats." But that was
more than ten years ago. Alaskrfns
now produce oats and various other
grains. They are more than self
supporting as to meats. There are
promising dairying districts in the
valleys. The relative brevity of
the growing season is measurably
It's the easiest possible thing to
give to a cause and the chest lead
ers purpose to make it so. Any
man can flip" a dollar a week and
be credited with a goodly sum at
the end.
Windows of grocery and other
stores make large display of Oregon
apples. There is an apple a day
for every person in the city. The
fruit looks good and bites better.
NEWSPAPER HISTORIAN ERRS
Editors who failed of election
will not need the aid of colored
tickets to get into the heavenly
kingdom. Blocks of seats are re
served for political martyrs.
Mr. Geer Corrects Contemporary on
Early Election Data.
PORTLAND. Or., Nov. 11. (To the
Editor.) In one of its reports on
the results of The recent election a
local evening paper says that "on
March 4, 1879, John Whitaker was
elected representative at large to
congress," and that he '"defeated
Richard Williams for representative
at large at the general election
of 1878."
In the interest of accuracy it
should be said that no man has ever
been elected to congress on March
4 in any state and that the man de
feated by Mr. Whitaker in 1878 was
not Richard Williams but was the
Rev. H. K. Hines, a pioneer Metho
dist minister.
Richardt Williams was the repub
Mean candidate for congress in 1874.
The democratic candidate was
George A. LaDow, of Umatilla
county. Mr. Williams and' T. W.
Davenport, an independent candi
date, waged a spirited joint de
bating campaign which covered the
entire state and both were defeated,
Mr. Leuow. who did not leave Uma
tilla county, being elected. Mr.
LaDow died before taking his seat
ana t af ayette Lane, a democrat,
was elected to fill his term at
special election. Mr. Williams was
elected at the general election of
1876 and was not a candidate to suc
ceed himself in 1878.
The same local evening paper an
nounces that W. H. Downing, of
Marion county, will be an applicant
tor the position of warden of the
penitentiary under the Pierce ad
ministration, adding that he held
tnat .position under a former admin
istration.
The fact is that he has never held
that position, but his father, George
Downing- was at the head of the
state prison during the last three
years of Governor Pennoyer's first
term and during the four years of
nis last term.
These being important matters in
the political . history of the state
they should be kept straight in the
public mind. T. T. GEER.
"These orators who are always
referring to the poppies that bloom
in Flanders field give me a pain,"
declared Adrian B. Overholt, of
Philadelphia who was voicing his
views in the lobby of the Mult
nomah yesterday. "One would think
from hearing the windjammers
speak that all of our men who lost
their fyves tn Europe are in Fland
ers. The facts of the matter are
that very few of the Yankees were
killed in Flanders. It was because
Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, a
Canadian veteran wrote the beauti
ful 'Flanders Field' that press
agents took up the poppy business.
The majority of our men lost their
lives in the Argonne and are buried
in the cemetery at Romagne. Others
fell at Cantigny, St. Michiel, Sois
sons and along the Lys-Shelt river
in Belgium. Half of the orators
who love to. talk of the fields of
Flanders cannot give the date
which opened the Argonne drive yet
that drive proved to be the greatest
ever undertaken by American troops
in any war. They are of the opinion
that the fields of Flanders are cov
ered with a mass of blooming pop
pies. This opinion brings a laugh to
any nkan who has ever been over
that country. About the nearest J
thing to poppies that I saw in
Flanders when serving with the 37th
division was Brussels sprouts. There
was millions of them and our mess
sergeant served them every meal
until we were sick of them. I wish
these orators would read a little
war history and quit talking about
our dead in Flanders field when
only about 500 out of 50,000 or more
are buried there."
Vernonia is growing and will soon
be one of the best known payroll
towns in the state according to the
opinion of H. L. Visart, of that town
who was in Portland yesterday and
registered at the Portland hotel.
New buildings are going up in the
city and real estate is booming. The
railroad line of the Portland-Astoria
and Pacific has placed the town tn
closer contact with Portland and
scores of cars loaded with logs are
being taken out to the market each
week. Vernonia is to be the home
of the big Central Coal & Coke Com
pany sawmill which will be erected
in the spring.
Dupont, Wash., lacks much of be
ing what it was in the hectic days
of 1917-18-19, when Camp Lewis,
nearby, was the training place of
thousands of soldiers, according to
F. E. Smith, of that town who was
at the Oregon yesterday. During
the war many soldiers who were
married had their families at Du
pont and it was almost impossible
to una a room in the little city.
New houses were constructed and
today these are empty for there are
few soldiers in the cantonment and
there is not the demand for dwel
lings that there once was.
Can Yon Answer These Questions t
1. Why do birds have such high
temperature?
2. Do dragonflies fold their wings
when resting?
3. Why do sick or wounded fishes
swim near the surface?
Answer in tomorrow's Nature
Notes.
Answers to Previous Questions.
1. Is it true the wood duck takes
her young in her bill and carries
them down from the nest?
In some instances, yes, as when
the nest happens to be any distance
from the water. More often the
tree, in whose hole the wood duck
raises her brood, is close to, or even
overhanging water. In such situa
tions the baby ducks drop out. or
are perhaps shoved out, and land
lightly on the water, being them
selves hardly more than a handful
of down.
More Truth Than Poetry.
By James J. Montague.
2. What is our commonest snake?
The garter snake, Eutoenia sir
talis, is generally believed most
widely distributed, as it is common
frpm up into Canada, throughout
the States, and down into Mexico
nd parts of Central America. As
is viviparous and has at times
as high, as 50 young to a litter (us
ually in August), it can hardly be
scarce, and is even found occasion
ally in city parks that have wooded
growth.
3. Do ants do any good?
Good to man, we suppose you
mean. Some species are benericiai,
serving as check to certain othet
nsects, also rats and mice, on whtca
they prey. Also, they mine the
earth constantly, bringing up parti
cles to the surface, and letting air
which improves the soil. They
also act as scavengers for decaying
rganic matter. Some species of ant
very destructive, however, it
is impossible to give an unqualified
answer as to whether they are
harmful or helpful as a genus.
Senator-elect Dill will be to the
democrats what Senator La Fol
lette is to the republicans, and their
war records will give them a fellow
feeling for one another.
As newer generations see the
statue of "the rider that passed
this way," the name of Dr. Coe,
who made it possible, will also be
remembered.
California needed an official vote
ordering enforcement of the pro
hibition law. All she needs now is
another to enforce the Ten Commandments.
Bryan campaigned Nebraska and
his brother was chosen governor,
while his erstwhile enemy, Hitch
cock, was defeated. Foxy William
Jennings.
There is to be a wet bloc in the
new congress to vie with the farm
bloc. We await the next as a
chicken-fancier awaits the hatching
of eggs..
The safest place for the jewels of
the Vatican is an American vault.
as near the Rocky mountains as
convenient.
Those who launch presidential
booms should remember how easily
they die of premature exposure to
the air.
Any ocean port in the earthquake
belt is liable to the disaster that
overtook Antofagasta in Chile.
In Oregon it will be remembered
by both republicans and democrats
as the year of the big blow.
Some of the men defeated should
thank the voters for keeping them
in what may be paths of rectitude.
A suspect in the New Brunswick
murder case has been identified.
They are making real progress.
Merchant Sailors Overlooked.
PORTLAND. Nov. 12. (To the Ed
itor.) Sardonic ghosts of merchant
sailors must have hovered Armistice
day over the parade that forgot
mem ana tne port that did not con
cern itself to see they were com
memorated. This is the second Ar
mistice day I have happened to be
in Portland. As in its former pa
rade, nowhere any sign that civilian
sailors had any part in the war. Yet
men of our civilian ships had suf
fered and had died long before the
United States entered the war.
The first men to die by attack
upon the United States flag after
we were in the war were merchant
sailors. Throughout the war they
lost more men in proportion to the
numbers engaged than any other
branch of the service. They were
the first Americans in German
prison camps. They carried more
supplies to Europe than any other
service. Theyt the un-uniformed
service of the United States, were
the occasion of our getting into the
war.
Portland is trying to develop its
consciousness as a great American
seaport. A nation is strong at sea
only as its merchant ships, not first
of all its n'avy, are numerous and
manned by its own citizenry. Yet
a city setting itself to be a great
port could celebrate an historic oc
casion in which merchant sailors
played an heroic- part and forget
their existence.
W1LKIE NELSON COLLINS. '
WAIT FOR ME.
Today we laugh and play together.
covers, pais and friends;
How well we love youth's spring
time weather
'tnat. lures us up the way that
bends
Among the sunlit hills and streams.
Tomorrow you or I may go
Along that bending way
To fairer hills the afterglow
Of mortal life, that lures us up
tne way
Among the sunlit hills and streams.
If you go before me, I'll tell you
what you do,
Just wait somewhere along the
way.
And if I go first I'll wait for you,
And we will stop and play
Among the sunlit hills and streams.
WILLIAM CHELCIE STRIKER.
For the purpose of renewing old
acquaintances in Oregon Mr. and
Mrs. H. F. Kelley of Helmville,
Montana, are in Portland and are
living for several days at the Im
perial hotel. Until a few years ago
the Kelleys lived in this state and
were in the stock business in East
ern Oregon. Montana seemed to af
ford a better opportunity to Mr.
Kelley's way of thinking so the
Oregon holdings were sold and a
new home was found in Helmville
There Mr. Kelley is now extensively
interested.
Earl C. Simmons, who deals in
automobiles at Eugene was at the
Benson yesterday. He is one of the
best known of the young business
men of Lane county. Having ar
rived at the point where automobile
riding no longer produces a thrill
for him Mr. Simmons has purchased
an airplane wnicn tie has been ex
perimenting with. The machine was
delivered to him ten days ago.
The man who did not have to run
for office in the last election was
extremely fortunate in more ways
than one in the opinion of J. C
Clinton, county clerk of Clatsop
county, who was at the Imperial for
the week-end. Mr. Clinton has held
office in Astoria for. a long time. It
was not necessary for him to run
during the recent campaign and as
a result he has been congratulating
himself.
B. L. Eddy, state senator from
Douglas county and candidate fo
the seat of president of the senate
for the coming session, was in Port
land yesterday and put up at th
Imperial hotel. Senator Eddy has
been a member of Oregon s uppe
house for a number of years and
regarded as one of the most influ
ential republican members of tha
body.
Perhaps there is no man in th
United States who ships more tur
key-s each season than does George
Kohlhagen of Roseburg, who was
at the Oregon yesterday. Mr. Kohl
hagen lives in a section of the stat
where thousands or turkeys are
raised. He purchases great num
bers of the fowls for the Portland
holiday market and ships them here
Among the recently elected politl
cal officeholders who put in an ap
pearance here Saturday in order to
get the "low down" on what plan
are being made for the 1923 legis
lative session, was Jack S. Mag
ladry of Eugene. He was recently
elected to the legislature by a sub
stantial majority over his opponent.
He is getting ready to represent his
district in tne coming session. While
here he stayed at the Imperial hotel.
Think of Oregon democrats eat
ing turkey and not crow this
Thanksgiving day!
Notice the very loud silence ema
nating from Mr. Bryan?
Another "epidemic of crime"
follows lower temperatures.
JUSTIFIABLE REBELLION.
(Two New England girls left col
lege because they were not permit
ted to smoke in their dormitories.)
Shall education lag behind ,
The progress of the age?
Shall the advancing female mind
Be crowded off the stage?
When vulgar man vainly vies
With neo-suffraeettes.
Can women be accounted wli
And not smoke cigarettes?
How serves a school, 'except to tftain
A girl for after life;
Except to make the pathway jjlain
She travels as a wife?
Should not instructresses instill.
The while iier tea she sips.
The proper way to hold her pill
Between her finger tips?
Her father smokes, her mother
smokes,
Her aunts and cousins, to.
And all the other modish folks
In her own circlt do.
Must she, an awkward hoyden, ait.
With blushes on her brow.
When at a party, and admit
That she has not learned how?
Abolish schools, if they refuse
lo sei-ve the nation's need
And teach young ladies how to U3
The fragrant, bracing weed!
A college that is up to date
A way should always find
To teach a fair young graduate
To mingle with her kind!
CULTURE SHOULD BE PAID FOR
State Owes Its Youth Ordinary Edu
cation Only.
PORTLAND, Nov. 12. (To the
Editor.) The public school bill
(against which I voted on Tuesday
last) may produce a g-ood result, if
it draws attention to the lmpertec-
ion of the whole system. As long
ago as March, 1804, I addressed The
Oregonian on this topic. When
Johns Hopkins university was
opened at Baltimore in 187t, Proles
sor Huxley delivered the inaugural
address. In doing so, he said:
University education should not be
something distinct from elementary edu-
cation, but should be the natural out
growth and development of the latter.
The primary school and the
university are the alpha and omega of
education. Whether institutions inter
mediate between them should exist, ap
pears to me to be a matter of conven
ience. If such schools are established,
the important thing is that they should
be true intermediaries between the pri
mary school and the university, keeping
on the wide track of general culture, and
not sacrificing one branch of knowledge
for another.
Applying these principles, one
sees that the best products of the
common school ought to be passed
on to the high school, and the best
product ot the higli schools to the
university, or (I may add) to the
agricultural college. The common
school should not attempt work
proper to the high school, nor the
high school work proper to the uni
versity. The aim of the system
should be to develope ability; and' a
class should in no instance be kept
back for the benefit of backward
pupils. At this point I believe I
am hitting a frequent blot.
The state at large may be said to
owe to its young people an ordinary
education, but no more than. that.
If a boy or girl is to be taught such
things as drawing, painting, music,
classical or modern languages, such
instruction should be paid for, at a
moderate charge. Where a pupil
displays some special aptitude, and
parents or guardians cannot afford
to pay, let the county or township
or precinct bear the charge; and it
will be amply repaid by the distinc
tion so acquired. One John Quincy
Adams, one Thomas Jefferson, to
cite no others, is, worth more to the
community than a thousand average
persons; and you may produce, and
should produce, citizens of the high
est rank.
In my opinion manual training,
using that term very largely, should
form a part of all common school
education. I cannot do it myself,
but every boy should know how to
use a hammer and a saw and a
plane; and every girl a needle at
least, and many of the latter should
'be taught basketry.
RICHARD H. THORNTON.
Euphonism for Hootch.
Heavy Handicap.
The former kaiser cornea into the
matrimonial game a little late to
take any prizes from Kid McCoy.
.
Where There's Something Doing.
What Uncle Sam needs is a few
unofficial observers in Cuba and
Canada and Bimini bay.
No monopoly.
The railroads report unusually
heavy loading for October. So do
the bootleggers.
(Coryritrht. 1922, by Bell Syndicate. Inc.)
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years Ago.
Prom The Oreeonian of Nov. 13, 1-MT.
London. In connection with
Spain's hunt for warships. American
diplomats have learned that Spain
recently endeavored to make a
treaty with Japan whereby, in event
of war with the United States. Tne
30 or more warships now building
in Japanese shipyards would be
transferred to Spain.
The water committee is putting
the tinishmg touches on the re
cently acquired Willamette Heights
water - works. In will be filled by
high pressure service, the supply
being regulated by a float valve.
Washington. Annexation of Ha
waii will follow quickly upon the
assembling of congress. Next thing
will probably be recognition of tha
Cuban insurrection as actual war,
which would carry with it acknowl
ment o beligerent rights.
Seattle. The Snohomish river is
steadily rising, and there is great
anxiety lor cattle and crops. All
conditions are favorable for another
flood as disastrous as the one fol
lowing the Thanksgiving cold snap
of last year.
Fifty Years Ago.
From The Oregonian of Nov. 13. 1S72.
Boston. The fire broke out afresh
from gas explosions. Ag seen from
the Providence depot this morning,
the flames are higher and apparently
spreading.
New York. News of the great
Boston lire has caused greater ex
citement here than even the Chi
cago fire. By noon, when the loss
was reckoned already greater than
that of Chicago, the sabbath streets
were thronged. It is believed that
tomorrow will witness a panic on
Wall street. Fire engines are being
transported to Boston by train from
this city.
Work is soon to commence on
the mammoth warehouse which is
to be erected on the east side of.
the river. A portion of timbers will
be conveyed to the other side in a
week.
Another new locomotive, called
the "Santiam." for the Oregon &
California railroad will arrive on
the next sailing vessel.
No State Tax Involved.
ESTACADA, Or., Nov. 11. (To the
Editor.) Please tell me if the state
of Oregon as a whole was to be
taxed if the fair bill was passed.
S. BRYANT.
No tax was levied by the amend
ment to the state constitution de
feated in the recent election. ' It
was purely a permission to Portland
to tax itself.
E. P. (Pat) Mahaffey, banker
Bend, arrived in Portland yesterday
and registered at the Benson. Fo
the past year Mr. Mahaffey has
been in ill health. He became
almost a year ago when visitin
here and has not fully recovered
It was for the purpose of receivin;
treatment that the trip was mad
here. He was accompanied by Mrs.
Mahaffey.
B. F. Jones, parent of the Roose
velt highway idea, was numbered
among the politicians registered at
the Imperial hotel. Mr. Jones makes
his home in Newport. He is a mem
ber of the state legislature and
an active worker for good roads.
, A. B. (Alphabet) Cordley, who is
connected with Oregon Agriculture
College at Corvallis, was m Port
land for the week-end and put up
at the Oregon hotel. He attended
the closing programme of the Pa
cific International Livestock Expo
sition Saturday.
T. T. Bennett, of Marshfield, who
is a member of the state legislature
from Coos county was in Portland
for the week-end and his name ap
peared among those of the Imper
ial's guests.
M. L. Jones, one of the leading
citizens of Marion county, who lives
at Brooks, was at the Imperial yes
terday. He was at one time a mem
ber of the State Fair board.
Boyd Mendenhall, manager of one
of the general merchandise stores,
was in Portland for the week-end
and put up at the Oregon hotel.
D. M. Nayberger, merchant of JIc
Minnville, was in the city for the
week-end and . registered at the
Portland.
Collection of League Subscription.
UNDERWOOD, Wash., Nov. 11.
(To the Editor.) I was a paid up
member of the National Non-partisan
league up to January 1, 1921.
Early in November, 1920, a local
committee came to me and talked
me into signing up for another two
years. I gave them a bank check
payable April 1, 1921. On February
9 I wrote to the non-partisan league
to discontinue my membership as I
was unable to meet my check. I
have had nothing to do with the
non-partisan league since. Now
they are trying to force me to pay
this check. Can they do it?
READER.
Unless you can prove that this
money was to be used for an illegal
purpose, you will be liable for the
amount of your subscription as evi
denced by your check. (Answer by
NorthwesternCollege of Law, Portland.)
Producer Needs Aid.
PORTLAND, Or., Nov. 11. (To the
Editor.) On the front page of The
Oregonian is an article: "Govern
ment Urges Eating of Meats," which
states that the government has- de
cided to come to the aid of the live
stock industry.
It is to be hoped that this does not
mean the packers, but the farmer
who raises the stock, and whose
back is absolutely against the wall
through robbery and exploitation;
and who, among other things, com
plains that he must sell a load of
hides to enable him to buy back a
pair of shoes for one of his children.
The way to cause more meat to
be eaten is not only to lower the
price of it, but to adjust, more
equitably, the price paid the farmer,
and that charged the ultimate con
sumer. C. B. PYEj
Cleaning of "Uelphine."
HOQUTAM, Wash., Nov. ll.-rrn
the Editor.) What is the meanincr
of the name "Delphine?" Also deri
vation. .SUBSCRIBER.
Delphine means of or pertaining
to a dolphin. When employed as a
given name its significance includes
love, diligence and swiftness. The
image of tho dolphin when worn
as an ornament by early Christians
was an emblem of those attributes.
The dolphin was also held sacred by
the ancient Greeks and was invested
with fabulous attributes. The figure
of the dolphin appears on many
coins and medals, was the symbol
for the worship of Apollo at Delphi,
is said to have been borne on the
shield of Ulysses and appeared on
the shields of the early princes of
France.
Tile dolphin gave its name to ona
of tne fairest provinces of Franca
whence the heir apparent to the
French throne came to be styled
"dauphin" (dolphin).
When Bie- Tai Cut Comes.
G RES-HAM, Or., Nov. 11. (To the
Editor.) A friend and I have a
small wager and ask your decision.
He says Mr. Pierce will cut our
taxes 50 per cent ne-xt year.
1 claim that taxes to be paid next
year have already been levied and
that the 50 per cent reduction Mr.
Pierce will make when he is gov
ernor will start In 1924.
Which one is right?
FARMER.
Taxes for 1923 will be determiner)
by the various tax levying boards
in December of this year. Mr. Pierce
i docs not take office till January.
Use of "nut" and "Me."
PORTLAND, Nov. 11. (To tha
Editor.) Which of the two follow
ing sentences is correct?
"You are doubtless right in de
ciding that you cannot spare the
time from your studies to accom
pany Mother and I next Sunday, on
our trim, to see Henry at Salem, but
nevertheless we are disappointed not
to have you with us.
"You are doubtless right in decid
ing that you cannot spare the time
from your studies to accompany
Mother and me next Sunday, on our
triD to see Henry at Salem, but
nevertheless we are disappointed not
to have you with us.
FLORENCE E. PARKER.
The second sentence is correct it
you omit "but," or "nevertheless."
"But nevertheless" should not be
used when either "but" or "never
theless" is sufficient by itself.
Votinsr hy Mail.
WHITE SALMON, Wash., Nov. 11.
(To the Editor.) (1). Is it pos
sible for a legal voter who has
moved from a voting precinct in the
state of Washington to another
state to mail his vote back to the
precinct where he moved from?
J. What are the duties of a bush
elman? D. L. M.
1. Not if he lias transferred -his
legal residence to another state. If
temporarily absent, he can vote by
mail.
2. A busliclman is a tailor's as
sistant who alters or repairs garments.