10
TIIE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1923
illomiujOiOiTtrtmian
KSTAHI.ISHED UY HENRY L. PITTOCK.
Pubtlrtied by The Oreironiaa Pub. Co.,
1.15 Sixth Street, Portland. Oregon.
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IXFRIEXDJLY.
The province at British Columbia
our interesting neighbor on the
north once had prohibition of the
liquor traffic. The fortitude of the
citizens of that commonwealth was
not sufficient for the strain, and
they abandoned the experiment for
a system of liquor control by the
state. It may be a mere coinci
dence that British Columbia de
cided to go into the liquor business
just about the time the United
States decided to go out of it and
required all its citizens to go with
it. What is happening in British
Columbia under the new regime is
graphically set forth in an article,
printed elsewhere, from a Vancou- j
yer, B. C, paper.
The liquor houses of British Co
lumbia, conducted under govern
ment auspices, have become the
direct source of illicit supply for a
large part of the United States,
through bootleggers, smugglers and
rum-runners. The liquor is sup-'
plied by the government to certain
"export" houses, which may not
legally do business in the province
in competition with the publicly
controlled establishments. Evi
dently the authorities ask no ques
tions, and are told no lies, nor
anything. They take notice only
when they discover that the liquor
withdrawn from their warehouses
is used for unlawful trade at home.
Katurally they are stirred to great
"indignation when they find that
their innocent confidence has been
abused and they are undersold in
their own territory.
Plainly the whole business has
become a shame and a scandal.
The administration of justice, so
far as it pertains to liquor prose
cutions, has broken down. The
dirty hands of the lawless trade
have reached the law officers, o!
some of them. iThe profits are
enormous, and there is enough to
go around. No great secret is made
of the fact that the government
itself, through some of its pro
curable officials, is an accomplice
of liquor smugglers and is thus a
party to the wholesale violation of
the laws of a friendly state on its
borders.
The debauched condition of liquor
control in British Columbia is the
explanation of the partial break
down of prohibition in this part of
the United States. The Bermudas
and eastern Canada furnish a sim
ilar key to the widespread wetness
of the east. There will be no
change until Great Britain and
Canada can be made to see that
the United States will not indefi
nitely tolerate what amounts to
official connivance at the general
violation of the laws of a friendly
and neighboring power. It is none
of our business if Great Britain, or
Canada, or any other country, elects
.to remain wet. But it is clearly
our business if they countenance a
general conspiracy to break the
laws of the United States.
F FROGS OR HUMAN BEINGS?
The decisive vote by which the
people of California have defeated
the anti-animal experimentation
net,' known also as the anti-vivisection
act, submitted under the in
itiative in tqe recent election, is a
clear triumph of reason over emo
tionalism. It will not be contended
that the proponents of the measure
were insincere or that they were
actuated by any but the highest
motives. The opposition, however,
clearly had the better of the argu
ment, it marshalled a formidable
array of facts in its support and it
won because of them. For it was
made plain that not only human
beings but the very animals whose
Interests the bill was presumed to
serve would have suffered if it had
become a law.
The measure, in common with
all those of which it was a type,
would have stopped the manufac
ture of serum for the prevention of
hog cholera, the preparation of
vaccine for anthrax and various
other products required for the
protection of husbandry as well as
the industries and arts. It would
have made it impossible to test
with birds for deadly gases in
mines, as was done only a few days
ago by an underground rescue
party, undoubtedly with the re
sult that great risks were avoided
and perhaps with the effect of
saving human life. It would
measurably have checked advance
in sanitation, mediciim and physi
" logy, the teaching of biology, the
management of surgical operations
and the control of milk and other
food supplies, contaminattoji of
which is being prevented largely as
the consequence of knowledge ob-
, talned through experiments on ani
mals. A vast and productive field
of research, indeed, would have
been closed to scientists
Opponents of the measure apnr
to have scored a particularly idl
ing point by showing that while
heart disease stands at the head of
the list of causes of deaths of
human beings, a bill such as was
proposed, if followed to its logical
conclusion, would have prevented
the standardization of a drug which
is a chief reliance of physicians in
this malady. The frog for many
years has been officially employed
in making the necessary tests. "The
use of from six to a dozen frogs,"
it was urged, "might be the means
of indefinitely prolonging a num
ber of human lives." As between
frogs and humans, the voters of
California seem to have cast a con
clusive ballot in favor of the latter.
A- good deal of the prevailing
anti-vivisectionist agitation had its
origin in conditions which do not
now prevail. Cruelty to animals
is forbidden by other laws which
are fully capable of enforcement.
Both the progress of, science and
the humane spirit are fostered by
the continuation of experiments on
animals, under proper regulation,
such as the laws of California and
of other states now permit.
CAN YOU BEAT IT?
"Each and every person holding
an appointive office in any of the
offices, departments or institutions
of this state shall hereafter hold
the same for an indefinite term, not
exceeding four years, and shall at
all times be subject to removal by
the appointive power which made
the appointment, and such appoint
ive power shall in all cases have the
right and power to appoint a suc
cessor or successors."
The foregoing is the complete
text, except for an emergency
clause, of chapter S34 of the gen
eral laws of Oregon, 1915. It does
not have a particularly vicious
sound, but, due to the fact that a
number of democrats were in state
appointive office in 1915 and to the
further fact that this law gave the
appointing power the authority to
supplant them with republicans,
the act was dubbed by the demo
cratic Portland Journal the
"spoilsmen's law."
As for ourselves we have always
had the notion that a state officer
ought not to be forced to rely upon
political enemies to help shape the
official polities and office efficiency
for which he is responsible to the
public.
But the democratic Journal de
nounced the idea and the bill until
it became exhausted. Now the
tables are turned. A democratic
governor is about to succeed a re
publican governor. The law still
stands. The Portland Journal,
which only lately denied that it is
the most partisan newspaper in
Oregon, prints in its news columns
as a matter of course that the governor-elect
will take advantage of
the provisions of a law it so often
denounced as iniquitous.
There is not an editorial bleat to
be hpard about this prospective
wickedness. Can you beat it?
WHAT A BEE IS WORTH.
The man who is reported in the
news dispatches as having paid
$150 for a half interest in a bee
puts no higher value on the sweet
ness that reposes in perfect honey
than did the old-timers in Oregon.
An anomaly of nature to which the
first naturalists who visited the re
gion frequently alluded was that
although nectar-producing blos
soms occurred in wide profusion
the bee was absent. This obvious
waste of opportunity attracted the
attention of Lieutenant Wilkes as
early as 1841. Clover and wild pea
in particular are indigenous to the
northwest. They wasted their
sweetness on the non-productive
air, however, for many years.
There is no record of the price
obtained by John Davenport 'for
the first bees brought to the terri
tory, in 1854, but the effort re
quired to get them here must have
been considerable. They were part
of a consignment of supplies trans
ported by ox team in the manner
usual to the time. Other attempts
had previously failed. One of the
incidental tragedies of the famous
Umpqua cut-off, in 1846, was the
loss of a hive of bees, "for which,"
says a historian, "'the owner had
been offered $500 upon their safe
delivery in the Willamette valley."
Five hundred dollars was a large
sum in Oregon in 1846. Relatively
) the transaction would have reDre-
sented a great many times the in
vestment only recently announced.
Davenport, who was a man of
distinction and enterprise, spared
no pains in this and other respects
to build up the industries of Ore
gon. But if he had performed no
other act his part in the introduc
tion of apiculture would have en
titled him to the gratitude of his
fellow citizens.. The bee was the
symbol of the utilization of natural
resources otherwise of no value; it
also marked a significant determi
nation on the part of the settlers
to enjoy in their new homes the
finest fruits of all the earth.
A SURE ESCAPE FROM CAR SHORT
AGE.
Revived interest in use of the
Columbia river for navigation in
conjunction with power and irriga
tion is a natural sequence to the
shortage of cars and to the recent
intermountain rate decision, which
will make that shortage an annual
occurrence. Neither fruitgrowers
nor wheatgrowers who are within
easy reach of the river would need
to depend on railroads if the river
were open to barge navigation and
if barge lines and modern river
docks existed. When railroad serv
ice is not only costly but spasmodic,
there is a double motive for getting
along without it.
The difficulty of navigating
barges against the rapids has
blocked Hood River's hopes of
shipping apples to Portland by that
means this season. It shows the
necessity of dam and locks to barge
transportation. Construction of a
power plant at each dam could
alone make this financially feasible,
but that requires a market for the
power in advance. The commercial
bodies of Oregon and' Washington
could bring these within the range
of practical business if they should
unite their efforts to secure the
location of manufactures as power
consumers along the Columbia. At
Celilo falls and Umatilla reclama
tion of arid land would furnish a
market for both power and water.
Barge lines would give relief
from the high rates on railroads
that are made compulsory by the
! recent rate decision. They would
convert the river into a trunk line
of transportation, ior which the
feeders would be short lines of rail
road extending back into the
country, like the proposed Yakima
Southern. As these lines could be
operated independently of the main
line railroads they would use their
cars in carrying goods to and from
the river ports, hence would not
lose control and would not be
subject to the annual shortage.
Every new crisis in transporta
tion seoda ttut people of the Co-
lumbia basin back to the river, and
nothing but the great proportions
of the undertaking of its improve
ment prevents its use. But po
tential traffic grows every year, and
financiers and engineers take up
projects which formerly staggered
them. Given a sure market for
power, capital would not hesitate,
and navigation and reclamation
would closely follow.
IXD1FFEKEXT TO NATIONAL DUTY.
One statement in the resolutions
adopted at the conference' of the
National Civic federation on inter
national affairs states what should
be the governing principle of
American foreign policy. It is:
America took a leading part in the
great struggle 'and must bear her share
of the responsibility for the settlement
that followed.
But America has cast off that
responsibility, and daily becomes
more absorbed in its own affairs.
It stands aloof while barbarous
Turks lay down the law to civil
ized nations that cannot agree in
the face of this common enemy.
From the discord that reigns in
Europe are gathering materials for
a new war that could not be con
fined to that continent, but our
army is reduced below the limit
which the government considers the
least necessary for our own defense.
Reaction from the spirit that pre
vailed in 1917-18 has gone so far
that we are returning to the fools'
paradise of upreparedness. There
is indeed need of the study of in
ternational relations and of out
national duty and responsibility,
which the federation proposes to
encourage.
FRUITS OF PROVEVCIAIJSM.
One reason for the political re
volt of the western farmer against
eastern control of the republican
party is to be found in a speech
which was made recently in New
York by Julius H. Barnes, president
of the United States chamber of
commerce. He told of the conges
tion of grain at both upper and
lower lake ports in consequence'of
inadequacy of facilities on railT
roads from Buffalo to New York,
on the Erie canal and on the water
route from Buffalo to Montreal.
The result was an advance in rates
on lake vessels and on the Erie
canal, so that, while the foreign
price of wheat advanced 25 cents
the American price rose only 10
cents. The difference was ab
sorbed by increased freight cost
due to lack of proper transporta
tion. He estimated the loss to the
farmers on all grain at $400,000,000.
The lakes-St. Lawrence water
way would relieve this congestion
by enabling lake vessels to go
through from Duluth to Montreal
and ultimately by allowing ocean
vessels to go up the great lakes. It
would save to the farmers the
amount mentiofied and would save
more by reducing the normal
freight cost. Yet New York and
other Atlantic states are up in
arms against the waterway schema
because it would divert some traffic
from their ships and docks. They
cannot see that the higher price of
grain on the farm which would re
sult would immensely increase the
farmers' ability to buy eastern
goods and would thus more than
compensate for the transit business
lost.
It is just such narrow, provincial
views of great national improve
ments that arouse the west against
the east. The latter section seems
to assume that the government
must be run for its benefit and that
the west exists for its enrichment.
The west retorts by electing such
men as Frazier, Brookhart and La
Follette to the senate. The east
reaps "what it has sown.
KEEPING EARTH'S BALANCE.
The earthquakes in Chile are but
another and incidental manifesta
tion of the efforts' of a mighty
earth force to achieve the equilib
rium of rest. In a prehistoric age
they must have been common to
all localities and all climes. There
is probably no fraction of the
earth's surface, as Professor Law
son, the California geologist, has
reminded us, that has not suffered
from the agitation that is called
earthquake. Certainly the phe
nomenon has caused enormous
change in configuration of the
globe. Without doubt the very
existence of important continents
is due to them. The philosopher,
disregarding the human aspect
the tragedy of the particular cata
clysm will be able to extract from
the principle underlying these sub
terranean concussions the reflection
that but for those which have oc
curred in the past there would be
very little habitable earth.
The Chilean quakes seem to re
semble those which nearly a cen
tury and a half ago disturbed
southern Italy for nearly four
years, rather than the shocks which
destroyed Caracas and Lisbon in a
few minutes. Data are lacking to
determine the extent of the change
wrought in the topography of Chile
by the present disturbances, but
there is precedent for supposing
that it may have been very large.
The western coast of South Amer
ica, probably because of the prox
imity of a seabottom of irreguluar
depth to a parallel mountain range
known to contain a number of
active volcanoes, has been pecu
liarly subject to earthquakes ever
since history began to be written.
The theory by which Captain See,
government astronomer at Mare
Island, accounts for the most re
cent occurrence that water pene
trating the ocean bed to the heated
lava beneath produced steam, the
pressure of which caused upheaval
of the adjacent land is plausible
in the light of present knowledge
of seismology. In all probability
this is precisely what did come to
pass. It requires, however, some
further explanation of preliminary
phenomena, since the ocean floor
cannot have been fractured without
cause, and the modern view of
earthquakes is that they are the
result of slow accumulation of force
and not erratic outbursts, as it
was "formerly supposed.
The San Francisco quake of 1906,
which greatly stimulated seismo
logical research and gave it con
structive direction, served among
other things to arouse interest in a
new theory which may furnish the
desired explanation. Thi was that
quakes are essentially due to a pro
cess of elastic rebound. Dr. Lawson
at that time produced data based
on calculations of extremely nice
precision which showed that Mount
Tamalpais, for example, had been
moved 3.04 meters in one direction
between 1854 and 1906 by "strain
creep," and that it had changed
position by 1.97 meters in a nearly
opposite direction in 1906, the year
of the historic quake. Other sta
tions exhibited similar phenomena,
upon comparison of which observ
ers concluded that the quake in
itself was but the final and sudden
yielding of the crust of the earth
to a long-continued strain.
Even this does not bring us to
the fundamental cause. Half a
century ago Lord Kelvin concluded
that dissymmetry of 'mass on the
earth's surface was responsible for
constant stiifting of the earth's
axis in rotation. Unequal distribu
tion of burden conceivably ac
counts for much terrestrial unrest.
Dr. Lawson suggests that the notion
that all portions of the earth are
in balance is a mistake. "If," he
says, "there "be an area a hundred
miles ins diameter that is unequal
to the neighboring area one hun
dred miles in diameter, then we
will have set up a disturbance that
has to be compensated and will
have a tendency to bring about a
balance by an undertow or flow of
the deeper portion of the earth's
crust toward the portion that ia
lighter than its neighbor."
The process of surface erosion,
the wearing down of mountains,
constantly proceeding without, calls
for internal compensatory changes
to restore the balance of weight.
Indubitably the process is tediously
slow, but its results cannot be
escaped. We obtain a graphic im
pression of the titanic forces in
volved in an earthquake from the
calculation that surface erosion in
due course of time is capable of
producing inner disturbance of
balance sufficient to cause a return
"flow" of subterranean material, re
sulting in strains which ultimately
can be relieved only by rupture,
manifested by quakes.
We are accustomed to think of
"flow" in application to liquids
alone. "If you apply force
enough," says the scientist, "no
matter how rigid the material is,
that material will flow. You can
make steel flow through a hole."
On a vast scale, this is in all likeli
hood just what is happening when
earthquakes occur. The "creep"
of the earth's solid surface, the
constant changing of latitudes, the
"flow" of materials that we regard
as solidity itself these entail enor
mous, and incalculable expenditures
of energy, and they must impress
the beholder with the relative
futility of the works of man.
THE RELATIVITY OF BEAUTY.
Five Eskimo tribes who had
never seen a white man were re
cently discovered by a Danish ex
plorer 1 in Baffinland, whereupon
the men of the tribes proceeded to
hide their wives and children and
prepared to do battle. The fact of
significance is not that they stood
in fear of strangers, but it is the
reason they gave. The indescrib
able ugliness of the newcomers,
said one of the chieftains when
communication had been estab
lished, caused them the gravest ap
prehension. They could not be
lieve that men so forbidding as the
whites could have friendly intent.
We plume ourselves on the
comeliness of the race, forgetting
that beauty even skin-deep beauty
is a relative thing. David Liv
ingstone on a visit to England con
fessed that it was with difficulty
that he accustomed himself once
more to the pale, washed-out com
plexions of his compatriots after
years of living among the rich,
cnocoiate browns and the deep
shining blacks of the dark conti
nent. "What a beauty you would
be," said an outspoken old African
nabob to Lily Langtry, then re
garded as England's most beautiful
woman, "if you were but black and
fat. The races have standards,
each of its own. As between them,
who shall decide?
There is a story that Andre, the
Arctic explorer w-ho tried to reach
the North Pole in a balloon and
never was heard from again, was
killed by a party of natives who
thought that a devil had descended
among them. This is the story of
nis iate that has recently reached
the outside world. Personally
Andre was the mildest of men and
handsome, too, by the standard of
the Caucasian race. We are ant
to forget, as Indians occasionally
usea to remind our progenitors
that we look as ugly in alien eves
as the members of strange races
seem in our own.
The Clark county, prune crop
tnis year is worth nearly a million.
That's the way "Uncle Stearns'
talked a generation ago, but few
listened.
If parents would use the shingle
a little more freely at home, fewer
teachers would have to be arrested
for using the leather strap at
school.
Uneasy lies the head that makes
the "Gobble!" It may be said the
turkey cannot reason, but the man
or boy who has chased one knows
better.
There is said to be much water in
the mouth of the Columbia and
prohibitionists ought to be satisfied
with that one token of interest,
Lodge is gaining in the recount.
They'll never defeat him while they
pronounce Uabot" correctly.
Mr. Wilson is a hard man to
drown he keeps on coming up
alter the third time under.
North America has just suffered
a tidal wave, too, but the chief
sufferers are the politicians.
Great Britain is having a little
election of her own today. Here's
hoping she gets off better.
However, the earthquakes
politics are rarely fatal to anyone
but the politicians.
Just five months to wait for
baseball here and, oh, brothers, it
will be great!
Houses with briquets in the base
ment are the healthiest homes if
aroma counts.
What? Consolidate commissions
and offices in sight of nil the hungry
democrats!
- Andy Gump's
elect Mr. Ford
possibly.
manager
on like
could
terms
Eggs are getting into their winter
stride and so are the hens that lay
taem, -
PRESS COMMENT ON ELECTION
Party Solidarity Gone, Radicalism
on Increase.
Eugene Register.
Out of this year's general elec
tion, coupled with that of two years
ago, two things stand forth rather
prominently. One of them is the
fact that party solidarity and con
sistent party allegiance are gone.
Two years ago there was a repub
lican landslide, and this year wit
nessed what approached a demo
cratic landslide. That can mean
only that a very large number of
voters, constituting in fact a ma
jority of the whole, has cast def
initely loose from party anchors
and drifts back and forth with each
ebb and flow of the political tide.
That is just another way of saying
that the old party issues are dead
and that no new ones have appeared
formally to take their place.
The other thing that stands out
is the increasing strength of that
which at least a few years ago we
called radicalism.
Forget and Forgive.
Portland Times.
Regardless of results, the laws
of the state should be obeyed by
all, and the governor should be
the governor of all the peo
ple instead cf any clique. We hope
no drastic impediments will be
placed upon the state by legislation
that will retard progress. We owe
it to ourselves and posterity to
make our lives worth while by do
ing something worthy of the op
portunities given us, and the com
munity in which we live should
be made better by our having lived
in it. Let us forget and forgive.
Change! That's the Thine!
Albany Herald.
The verdict of the people in Tues
day's nation-wide election was a
protest. It was an expression of
dissatisfaction with our present
political and economic organization.
It was an indication of resentment
of the ills and the misfortunes in
cidental to the nation's period of
readjustment from the transitory
conditions of war to the permanent
relationships of normal times. It
was evidence of a deep-seated spirit
of unrest, an outward and Visible
sign of an inward distrust of present
authority. It showed a 'predilec
tion for any person or for any sys
tem that promised to effect or
offered any hope at all of effecting
change. The existing order, in
both its political and economic
phases, had not given the people
what they wished. Therefore it
was judged unworthy and was cast
aside for a vague undefined some
thing, for anything which denoted
a change, a something whose suffi
cient commendation was that it was
that it was different. In this up
heaval, parties were nothing, in
dividuals were nothing. Change!
That was the thing!
Big Opportunity to Make Good.
Hillsboro Argus.
There Is not a taxpayer in the
state who does not appreciate the
fact that Governor-elect Pierce has
plenty of opportunity to reduce the
tax burden to a large extent, and
there isn't a taxpayer who at heart
isn't in favor of him doing it. Pierce
has a golden opportunity to tackle
big things in the way of tax reduc
tion, and as he will naturally want
to succeed himself and to do so
must stand well in public estima
tion, he may prove a worthy public
servant. If he shall make good as
chief executive for four years noth
ing but the size of his majority
will enter into the contest.
Good Morning, Governor Pierce.
La Grande Observer.
It's a fine day, Walter, it's a fine
day and all Oregon hails you, Wal
ter M. Pierce of Union county, as
governor of Oregon. The fight is
over, the hatchet is buried, and
buried deeply. You have made a
good fight, you have won it fairly
almost single handed, and you have
won it squarely. You have demon
strated that one eastern Oregon
man can get past Troutdale in state
politics, and the people, even those
who were opposed to you, are now
with you. They are with you in all
earnestness to save Oregon from
bankruptcy; they are with you on
every idea you have advanced to
get the state back to a normal con
dition and put a brake on the ruth
less extravagance which has marked
the past few years; they are with
you, Walter, for good citizenship.
constructive legislation, and will aid
you in putting an end to any sec
tional or religious feeling.
Left Many n Sore Spot.
Hood River Glacier.
Oregon voters have adopted a
measure which leading attorneys
have declared unconscitutional. We
refer to the so-called compulsory
school bill. This measure will in
11 likelihood be in litigation for
three or four years. The campaign
just past has left a sore spot with
many Oregonians. The litigation
over it will keep raw these sore
spots, and we will behold the state
torn by religious suspicions. In
deed, ,we are right now in an un
enviable position in Oregon. Many
very sincere votes were cast for
the school bill. But it is our belief
thkt proponents of the measure have
set in motion elements that will de
feat their very ends of a unified na
tion; that will leave schisms and
strife instead of co-ordinated work
ing of all citizens.
Now It's the Taxpayers Tarn.
Cottage Grove Sentinel.
With a governor who has indi
cated that he will cut the state tax
in two and with a majority of the
board of county commissioners
pledged to a slash in county ex
penses, the dear taxpayers should
be in for a most enjoyable four
years. They certainly will have the
support of all taxpayers in any
move which can be accomplished
without injury to the conduct of the
business of state and county.
Action for Slander.
PORTLAND, Nov. 14 (To the Ed
itor.) There is a woman in this
neighborhood who slanders all the
young girls in the vicinity. I have
heard that you can have such people
put under bonds to keep the peace.
Is this correct? If so, please quote
the law. SUBSCRIBER.
Slander is not a. crime at common
law or in Oregon 25 Cyc. B69). Sec
tion 1819 of the code makes provi
sion for putting under a bond one
who is about to commit a crime.
Section 2087 of the code makes it a
misdemeanor to commit any act
which grossly Injures the person of
another or outrages public decency
or which is injurious to public mor
als. We do not consider that slan
der can be so classed as a nuisance
or breach of the peace as to permj
the application of the unusual rem
edy of putting the offender under
bond. The only relief is a civil action
for damages brought in the name of
the person slandered. Answer by
Northwestern College of Law.
Wantedi Political Advice.
AMITY, Or., Nov. 13. (To the Editor.)-
Would a law prohibiting the
eating of fish on Friday be consti
tutional in the state of Oregon?
Would it be a good measure for one
with political aspirations to advo
cate?. JAMES P. WOODMAN.
Those Who Come and Go.
Tales of Folka at the Hotels.
"Long before the ruins of Italy
became ruins, or were even built,
America had a civilization, so when
Americans want to see ancient ruins,
instead of going to Europe they
should visit the ruins of Arizona,"
says E. W. Gould of Medford, who is
at the Multnomah. "No pne knows
how old the Arizona ruins are, but
some day they will be uncovered and
explored and their story will be
written. It is known that this an
cient people had large towns and
were acquainted with the art of
building before the days of the In
dians. Where these people came
from or what caused their extinc
tion is still shrouded in mystery.
There was a man who built a cabin
on the desert and, wanting a cellar,
he dug down a few feet and uncov
ered a jar which ontained parched
corn. It was thousands of years
old, and as soon as the corn was
exposed to the air it turned to pow
der." Mr. Gould is sceretary of the
Jackson County Game association,
which has 360 members, whose mis
sion is to have sportsmen co-operate
in the observation of the game
laws. Recently Mr. Gould bought a
site on Pelican bay, in Klamath
county where he can see the peli
cans Swimming and flying around
and taking life easy. j
Talk about having honors thrust
on you and the office seeking the
man, S, C. Morton was elected water
commissioner of St. Helens and did
not know that he was even a candi
date until 2 o'clock of the afternoon
of election day. Mr. Morton, aside
from being editor of the St. Helens
Mist, has been a county judge,
mayor and member of the council.
"We are tired of getting the short
end of the senatorial matter, "de
clared Editor Morton, who was' in
Portland yesterday. "All we get is
an interest in a joint senator with
Multnomah and Clackamas counties.
The man elected is always a resi
dent of Multnomah, so Columbia
county cannot expect much consid
eration. Sherman Miles, the demo
crat who has been re-elected to the
legislature from Columbia county,
which is strongly republican, has
announced that he will introduce a
bill creating Columbia county as a
senatorial district in itself. If the
bill carries, and we will make a
fight to put it through, Columbia
will have its own senator. The pop
ulation is increasing and Nehalem
valley is becoming thickly settled.
It is only right that we have a
state senator, and we want one."
Not many people coming to Port
land register from Empire, for they
usually sign "Coos Bay." R. F.
Cole, at the Hotel Oregon, is differ
ent, and he boldly enscribed Empire
after his name. Empire is a suburb
of North Bend, although it is a dis
tinct community of itself. On a
wind-swept expanse of sand, there
are some stores and some attractive
houses with several husky palm
trees. The sight of the palm trees
in Empire always causes comment
among visitors, for these tropical
trees are exposed to ocean storms
and the climate does not appear
warm enough to encourage their
errowth. From North Bend to Em
pire the roads consisit of tracks of
Dlanks. spaced wide enougn to ac
commodate automobile wheels. High
sneed can be made on the planks,
but if a machine runs off into the
sand good night!
Like a gift horse, you are not ex
pected to look a borrowed automo
bile in. tho mouth or radiator, or
whatever it is. Roy W. Ritner, who
has a pretty taste in automobiles,
wanted to go to Salem, and as his
own car is in the garage at Pen
dleton, he borrowed the car of
friend. On the level the automobile
ran well, but it had no power. Near
Aurora a piece of construction
under way and machines have to
make a short detour, which neces
sitates a short, steep climb. The
borrowed car refused to make the
grade, despite the coaxing of Sen
ator Ritner, and he had to get ;
tow. The same experience was au
plicated when he returned to 'Port
land. The contrariness of the ma
chine prevented the senator from
visiting several colleagues in the
valley on a mission of politics1.
It is only a week since Portland I
voters went to the polls and ap
proved the election of new bridges
at Burnside street and at Ross is
land, yet already bridge engineers
have their eye on this job. E. E.
Howard has arrived at the Hotel
Portland and says that John Lyle
Harrington will be on the scene
within a few days to see it his firm
cannot grab off the job of building
the bridges. Harrington and How
ard landed the interstate bridge
contract from Multnomah county.
The two new projects will be of
sufficient magnitude to attract to
Portland leading bridge builders
from all parts of the United States.
The fame of W. B. Dennis ol
Carlton, Or., as a good road enthu
siast, is spreading. The work of
Mr. Dennis in the Oregon legisla
ture caused him to be invited to
Montana to outline a road financing
programme and now ne nas Deen
requested to go to North Dakota to
give his suggestions on road build
ing, license fees and financing. Mr.
Dennis, who was in Portland yes
terday, has been nsked to write a
highway bill, outlining the whole
programme and financing, for Mon
tana.
When H. C. Gerber was in Port
land seven years ago the Columbia
river highway was in the making.
Since then the fame of the highway
has encircled the globe and has even
reached Buffalo, N. Y., where Mr.
Gerber Is in the millinery business.
Now Mr. Gerber is back in Portland
with his wife, and one of the first
things he inquired about when
signing the register at the Mult
nomah was when and how he could
go out to the celebrated Columbia
river highway.
F. A. Tingley, superintendent of
sleeping and dining cars of the
Canadian Pacific railroad, is at the
Multnomah, visiting friends in Port
land. Mr. Tingley says the road
has 100 diners in operation and that
the tourist travel has been heavy
this year. The Canadian line is
becoming popular with American
travelers since the enforcement of
the Volstead act in the United
States.
Phil Brooks, who owns the Pilot
Butte inn of Bend, Or., arrived at
the Multnomah yesterday from his
home in British Columbia.
Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Chilberg of
Seattle, vVash., are at the Multno
mah. Mr. Chilberg i3 in the ship
ping business.
A. H. Brown, receiver of the box
factory at Laurel, Wash., is among
the arrivals at the Hotel Oregon
Harry L. Kuck, editor of the Tri
bune at Pendleton, Or., is registered
at the Hotel Oregon.
H. W. Preston, in the lumber busi
ness at Coos Bay, is registered at
the Benson.
V. J. Konners. president of the
Union Trust company of Spokane, is
at the Multnomah.
D. Y. Poppa, a mlllman of Tacolt,
Wash., is registered at the Perkins.
W. S. Mahoney, banker of Hepp-
ner, Or, ia registered at the Benson.
Burroughs Nature Club.
Cppyrlght, Houghton-Mifflin Co.
Cnn You Answer These Questions?
1. Do any squirrels except chip
munks have cheek pouches?
2. What makes aspen leaves
tremble so?
3. Early in September at twilight
I happened to look up at an airplane
and was astonished to see' literally
quantities of nighthawks flying and
swooping in its wake. Does the
passage of an airplane disturb high
flying insects so that the night
hawks got a special feast by fol
lowing it?
Answers in tomorrow's Nature
Notes.
Answers to Previous Questions.
1. What can Arctic birds find to
feed on?
On other forms of life of that
zone. The white grouse, or ptar
migan, for instance, finds crow
berry, cowberry and the tips of its
young plants, catkins buds and tips
from young pine, -heath, rosehips
and some lichens. It is said to feed
more activity in the early and late
parts of the day, basking in the sun
in such hours as it shines warmest.
2. Why do frogs croak, and do
they croak more or less according
to weather?
We don not know "why" any more
than why birds sing and insects
make their calls. The spring calls
of frogs are made by the males at
the mating season, to call their
mates. , It is true that at the, ap
proach of rain frogs are often no
ticeably .noisier probably stimu
lated by dampness, which is com
fortable for them, just as insects
are stimulated to their music by
heat
3. Why do weasels keep so plen
tiful, no matter what you do to keep
them down?
They persist partly because they
are so good at hiding from enemies
and Dartlv because they have such
an abundance of food, allowing them
to rear large families. Being slender
and fexlble in body, they can live
In very small quarters, as crevices
between rocks of old stone walls,
where enemies cannot penetrate.
The abundant mice, squirrels, birds
and poultry that neighbor with man
have increased with civilization anu
make good "pickings."
WHERE RCJI-RrXNEHS GATHER
What "Booie" Traffic Is Doing to
British Columbia. "
Vancouver (B. C.) World.
Has hot the time arrived to put
an end to the unenviable position
British Columbia has achieved as
the headquarters of the bootlegging
business? ,
Rum-runnerS, gunmen, thugs, and
all the parasites which thrive in
the miasma of the underworld of
the Pacific coast are fostered by
the policy now in force whereby the
provincial authorities become par
ties to the defiance of the prohibi
tion laws of Alberta, Alaska, Wash
ington, Oregon and California.
Pious expressions of good inten
tion, lectures on citizenship, an
nouncements of intended 'Clean
ups" mean nothing while the boot
legging evil is being fostered at the
fountainhead. The epidemic of
murders and assaults which British
Columbia is suffering from is part
of the penalty we are paying for
the present system.
Liquor export houses in this prov
ince are allowed to ship consign
ments of liquor to Alberta and the
United States in defiance of the
prohibition laws of these countries.
Our own law enforcement officials
permit this invasion of the laws of
others. Pious expressions about
law enforcement are a mockery
while this wickedness is allowed.
What becomes of the liquor thus
shipped? Some is shipped to Al
berta. Some is shipped by rum
runners in high-powered cars and
gas boats to Alaska and the
states to the south of us. Graft
and corruption and daring get it
across the line. But does it all go
there? AVho is so simple as to
think so?
Calculations show that boot
leggers in this province handle as
much liquor as the government
stores. Where do they get it from?
The answer is obvious. While our
own law enforcement officials are
helping bootleggers defy the pro
hlbition laws of Alberta and the
United States they open the way to
supply our own whisky peddlers
and rum hounds. Order and good
government are set at naught and
the profits which ought to go to
the government to be expended
for public purposes go to enrich
the bank accounts of the boot
leggers and their friends.
Instead of confiscating liquor
stocks when bootleggers are con
victed, wo see the spectacle of boot
leggers being let off with a fine and
their stocks handed back to them.
The injunction, "Go and sin no
more," is improved upon. Is polit
ical pressure being used upon the
attorney-general to secure clem
ency? Why is it that bootleggers are
allowed to purchase liquor openly
in this province from export houses
to ship to other provinces and states
in defiance of their laws?
Why is it that law enforcement
officers of these provinces and
states are not advised of these ship
ments by the officials of the liquor
control board as each order is de
livered from the export warehouses?
Why is it that liquor shipments
are not followed to see whether
liquor purchased for smuggling into
Alberta or the United States leaves
the province? Is it because no export
house could stay in business for 30
days if such a policy was adopted?
Why is it that this business is
merely made the subject of des
ultory prosecutions and not of
drastic law enforcement? Is it be
cause it provides lucrative clients
for certain lawyers?
The attorney-general's own part
ner is among the successful counsel
who appear for the defense of boot
leggers and firms charged with sup
plying bootleggers. One firm on
his plea the other day got off with
a fine. Their stock was not con
fiscated. It is time to stop fooling the
public with a show of law enforce
ment while the authorities turn a
blind eye to the operations of the
"export" houses. It is time to en
force the law in the interests of law
and order and good government. It
i3 time to stop helping lawbreakers
break the law of adjacent provinces
and states. It is time to stop mak
ing pious speeches and to throttle
the bootlegging business. It can
J be done very easily.
More Truth Than Poetry.
By James J. Montague.
ARABY ITNVISITED.
There comes a breath from Araby
Of frankincense and myrrh.
Across the sands the Bedouin bands
Their milky chargers spur,
The hoary wonders of the East
The stranger may behold
The crumbling stones and bleaching
bones
Of centuries untold.
To journey Into Araby
A wondrous thing would be.
With camel-freights and figs and
dates
And silken rugs to see.
The silken rugs that come from
looms
That bearded men have plied
With toil and tears through all the
years,
Since Cyrus lived and died.
Time brings no change to Araby;
The tribes still come and go
Like mounted hosts of sheeted
ghosts
Mid dust as white as snow.
As in the days of Eden still
The burning sun looks down
On camel train and endless plain
And little ruined town.
I've never been to Araby
Nor seen the wonders there.
Nor pitched my tent amid the scent
Of spice dil'ffusing air.
Nor do I ever mean to go
Upon some future day,
I'm scared to go, because I know
The Turk is in the way!
A Runner-l'p.
Methuselah's record has not yet
been eclipsed, but Nick Lenine must
be beginning to hope.
Inadmissible.
It probably Is not because they
are . liquor jokes that they are
barred from vaudeville, but merely
because theo are jokes.
The Only Chance.
We believe Mr. Hohenzollern got
married again because he would
have somebody around who would
have to listen to him read from his
book.
(Coi,yrisht. 1022. hy Bell Syndicate. Inc.)
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years Ago.
From The Oregonian November 1i. 1SIT.
Salem. A new line of railroad is
being built toward Sab-m from the
logging camps we,st of here. Tho
object is to construct a .standard
gauge railway from Kalis City, via
Dalia?, Rickreal and Eola, to Salem.
Constantinople. The final treaty
between Greece and Turkey has not
yet been signed and the relations
between Bulgaria and the port are
strained. One hundred thousand
Turkish troops are on the Bulgarian
frontier.
Seattle. Landlords in Seattle are
a-gain raising the general rent rates.
Rents on small stores have gone
from $'30 to $150 a month and house
rents are in proportion. The opin
ion seems to be that if the landlords
continue this policy they will soon
kill the goose that lays the golden
egg.
Repair on the East Washington
street bridge will be completed this
week. The work was delayed last
week on account of the storm.
Fifty Years Ago.
From The Oregonian Noy;nrbcr 15, 1872.
Buffalo. A superstition has arisen
among certain brakemen on the New
York Central railroad that a phan
tom train goes over the New York
Central railroad once every year
bearing the body of President Lin
coln. The streets were in a condition to
receive sleighs yesterday, lint it has
since then thawed considerably.
Snow still lingers on tli e streets.
Owing to the present inclement
weather and promise of an early
winter it is probable that work on
the new courthouse will bo suspend
ed until next spring.
A large fnrci of workmen wore
engaged yesterday in closing up the
steamship dock along the side front
ing on the river. Several largo
openings will be. left at intervals,
which will be. opened or closed hy
means of sliding doors. Through
these openings freight can be trans
ferred to the vessel or vice versa.
TERM l-SED IX RELATIVE SEXSE
Absolute Truth of Creation Cannot
Be Learned, Snys Writer.
HILLSBORO, Or., Xov. 13. (To tho.
Editor.) In The Oregonian I note a
letter from L. J. Smith of Salem, in
which he takes exception to a recent
communication of mine and seeks in
a commendable way to rescue me
from error.
In the ttrst place I wish to make
a slight correction in tho way ho
has quoted mo. He says that C
would have "the state pass a law
making it compulsory to inculcate
the principles of evolution in tho
minds of the pupils of the public,
schools." What I actually said is
this: "I would favor a law com
pelling every public school to in
clude in its curriculum a thoiouglli
primary course in elementary sci
ence." Now, as the burden of Brot.u-r
Smith's communication is to the ef
fect that the findings of science do
not support the principles of evolu
tion it strikes me as rather incon
gruous that he should object to a
primary course in elementary sci
ence qn the ground that it wouul
inculcate the principles of evolution
in the minds of the pupils.
What actually gets on Mr. Smith s
nerves however, and causes him to
drag forth dusty volumes and con
sult eminent authorities is my state
ment that "it is a recognized and
scientifically demonstrated truth
that the world we live in was
formed hundreds of millions of
years ago by great natural forces
and that man has evolved from tho
lowest forms of life and has inhab
ited the earth, as man, probably one
hundred million years."
In criticism Brother Smith says:
"These great 'fundamental truths'
of which Mr. Hughes speaks are not
truths at all. They are mere theo
ries which have now been entirely
discarded." Mr. Smith is evidently
afflicted with the rather too preva
lent misconception of the meaning
of the word "truth." for this word
is very much misused and abused.
The term "truth" can never be used
in any but the relative sense, tot
absolute truth can never be arrived
at. Truth is merely a conclusion
arrived at by a legitimate deduction
from all of the material facts avrr::
able. 1 have possessed myself of "all
the material facts available" and to
my mind as well as to the minds of
other hundreds of thousands the ex
treme age of the earth and the evo
lution of life are "recognized and
scientifically demonstrated truths-.."
Mr. Smith and the authorities (7)
he quotes to the contrary notwith
standing. FRED F. HUGHES.