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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1922)
18 THE OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1923 ESTABLISHED BY. HENRY L. PITTOCK Published by The Oregonian Pub. Co., ISi Sixth Street, Portiona, Oregon. C A. MOKDEN, E. B. PIFEB, Manager. Editor. ' The Oreicontan is a. member of the As soclated tress. 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 aiso the local news puolished herein. All rights of puolicatkm of special dis patches herein are also reserved. Subacription Kates-Im ariably in Advance (By Mail, in Oregon. Washington, Idaho and northern California.) raily, Sunday included, one year ....$8.00 Iaiiy, Sunday included, six months .. 4.5 Daily, Sunday included, three months 2.2. 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Postage Kates 1 to 16 pages, 1 cent: 18 to 32 pages. 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages, 3 cents 50 to 64 pages, 4 cents; 66 to 80 pages, 5 cents; 82 to 98 pages. 6 cents. rlaNtern Business Offices Verree & Conklln, 800 Madison avenue. New York, Verree & Conklin, Steger building, Chi cago; Verree & Conklin, Free Press build ing. Detroit. Mich.; Verree & Conklin, Monadnock building, San Francisco, Cai THE KE1T BLOC AND ITS LEADER. The political conference called by Senator La Follette may be a land mark in political history. It is at tended by senators and represent atives from both republican and democratic parties who call them- solves progressives but whom their opponents call radicals. In num ber they suffice to decide the fate of any measure in either senate or house of the next congress in case the rest of the old parties should divide strictly on party lines. If these men should agree on a pro gramme and should remain united in its support, they would be able to shape the legislation of the two years beginning next March. Senator La Follette is the ac cepted leader of this new bloc. That is to be inferred from the fact that the conference is held in response to his call. He made the long and persistent fight that has landed him in a commanding position in the senate and that has been, the chief factor in the election of twelve other senators and twenty five representatives who think with him and are prepared to co-operate with him. As second in rank on the finance committee, as prospec tive chairman in the next senate of the committees on appropriations and interstate commerce the three most important of all committees he will have greater influence over legislation as a whole than any other senator. Allied with him will be Jenator Borah, who is next in line for chairman of the committtee on foreign relations, and Senator Norris, who is chairman of the committee on agriculture. By the automatic working of the seniority rule, La Follette and his lieutenants have gained positions where they can fix the shape in which bills will be introduced and can do more than any others to direct their final form. La Follette's rise to this eminence is the result of a long, determined and, to the minds of some, a fanati cal fight for his principles of gov ernment. He began in Wisconsin, won the support of the people for deposition of the old political ma chine and in three terms as gover nor he effected a complete change in the character and spirit of the state government. He went to the senate determined to bring about a more sweeping change in the gov ernment of the United States. The measure of his success is indicated by the fact stated by Richard Barry in the Outlook that out of thirteen planks in a minority platform which he ffered to and which was rejected by the republican platform of 1908 "twelve have since become law." He has since gone mueh farther. During his earlier years his principles could easily be held consistent with those of the repub lican party. He now wants govern ment ownership of all natural mo nopoly. A plank which he offered to the republican national conven tion of 1920 and which was rejected with derision proposed government ownershipv-of all meatpacking and allied industries, which would in clude all kinds of food. This wo-ld be a longer advance in socialism than the socialists now propose to make, for Mr. Barry says: The eocialist party of Wisconsin re fused to Indorse him on the ground that he was too radical for them. La Follette's present programme includes repeal of the transporta tion act of 1920, revision of freight rates downward and full publicity of every fact concerning the rail roads, their ownership, cost and management. His colleague. Sena tor Norris, proposes that the gov ernment form a great corporation, to be owned by itself, for the pur chase and sale of farm products, and by inviting Norris and the non partisan league senators, Ladd and Frazier, and the farmer-labor sena tor, Shipstcad, into his conference he permits it to be inferred that he would support that socialist meas ure. As Senator-elect Brookhart is pledged to government ownership of railroads and as they are cer tainly natural monopolies, we may expect him to follow his immediate railroad programme with that ex tension of it and to carry most of his radical bloc with him. Equally significant is the fact stated in a dispatch to The Orego nian from Washington that "by far the larger number of those included in the invitation list who were in official life at the beginning of the war either openly opposed all war measures or refused to take any sort of leadership in the govern ment's war preparations." La Fol lette and Norris were among the senators who voted against the declaration of war after having bev denounced by President Wil son for obstructing a resolution that merchant ships be armed. For condemning the victims of the Lusi tania crime for traveling on that ship La Follette was ostracized by his fellow-senators and a move to expel him was made. He now comes back at the head of a bloo of men in congress who were of like mind with him about the war. It is to be expected that they will do their utmost against any move of the administration to co-operate with the allies in dealing with Ger many and in economic reconstruc tion of Europe, and that they will be joined by the group of senators from both parties who opposed the j league of nations to the end. I This bloc, which has assumed the alluring name "progressive," is in I fact a socialist party under able I leadership of a man who fights un- ceasingly and who has the un flinching support of his own state. The main body of his support is drawn from the middle west and south. It is a revolt not merely against the old guard republicans whose main strength Is in the east, but against the conservatively pro gressive mass of both old parties throughout the country. It con tains within it discordant elements of sach opposing fnterest and of such conflicting ideas that there will be great difficulty in preserv ing for positive action that unity which has been displayed in attack. Eut the country Is about to face an effort at profound change by a band of socialists that is firmly en trenched in places of legislative power. , THE NEWEST OPTIMISM. A going definition of an optimist is a chairman of a state republican committee who thinks' he can get party legislation through the com ing legislature and past a probable executive veto. Mr. Tooze's highest present aspiration is organization of the state senate along "republican party lines' so that "needed party legislation may be accomplished" and so that we shall have a "return to party responsibility in the affairs of state." We would not discourage the hopeful chairman. Being chairman is his job and he is right to work at it. But the rest of us are obliged to look through different eyes at the practical aspects of an all but hopeless political problem. It is obvious that the alarm is al ready being sounded throughout the democratic camps. Onedemo cratic newspaper goes so far as to say that the republican official pro poses a return to the old convention system, and cites for proof the al leged fact that at the September convention of republicans in Port land a platform was adopted wherein a good deal of space was given to "discussion of the faults of the primary law (and) the virtues of convention nominations." If any convention of politicians of any party can be assembled in Ore gon which will denounce the pri mary and laud the old convention, a miracle will have been performed. What the September convention did was to endorse the direct pri mary without qualification- "as 'a method for political parties to select i their nominees for public office." It was then proposed that (a) "in terparty interference in the primary election be eliminated"; (b) that platform (not nominating) conven tions be held; and (c) that the ab sent voters' law be strengthened. If we have not here a formal ac ceptance of the primary as an in strumentality 6f political action, language fails to convey any mean ing. Nor will anyone able to give forth words worth heeding say that the evil of interparty meddling should not be corrected. As to the right of the members of any party to get together and adopt resolu tions, or a platform if they choose so to call it they have it now. We shall have no real primary reform at the next legislature. It may not occur until the primary is further so demoralized by inside politics and secret manipulations that the leaders of all parties will agree that a remedy should in good faith be sought. ANTI-CLIMAX OF A CAREER. Horace Greeley's death, occurring just half a century ago, closed a career the last few years of which contained many of the elements of a Greek tragedy. It was almost lit erally true, as was said at his fu neral, that he died of a broken heart. No man was ever more en wrapped in the ambition to become president than was Greeley after he entered the race, though few, in all probability, who have seriously as pired to that office have been less fitted by temperament or by train ing to discharge its duties. We can only surmise now how unfortunate for the nation his success in the campaign of 1871 might have been. Greeley's nomination was the re sult of a curious association of po litical events not yet altogether ex plicable to the historian. Charles Francis Adams would have been a more plausible candidate and B Gratz Brown the more logical one for the factions which built their hopes almost wholly on the possi bility of capitalizing hostility to Grant. The platform on which Greeley ran was inconsistent with his attitude toward important is sues. His judgment warped by po litical ambition, he accepted a tariff pronouncement wholly at variance with his lifelong views and de clared, in answer to a categorical question, that if congress should pass a measure embodying the party declaration he would "deem it his duty to sign the bill." The campaign of 1871 was a pe culiarly interesting manifestation of political obtuseness on the part of a candidate and his managers who could see nothing but that which seemed to favor their cause. No man was ever so confident, with so little reason for his faith. When Maine, in September, gave a repub lican majority of 17,000, Greeley calculated, since this was a reduc tion of 5 per cent from a previous majority, that it "constituted a per centage of change which with proper organization and work will give us Pennsylvania and Indiana in October." "After these," he added, "the battle wins itself." In October Pennsylvania returned a republican majority of more than 40,000, Ohio went republican by 14,150; Indiana favored the Democratic-Liberal ticket with a meager 1148. The Tribune now forecast 178 electoral votes for Greeley to 119 for Grant, requiring that the former should obtain only half a dozen of the sixty-nine electoral votes conceded to be in doubt. Greeley was badly beaten. He carried only Georgia, Kentucky. Maryland, Missouri (the home of his running mate, Brown), Tennes see and Texas. The majority for Grant in the whole country was 762,991 an enormous margin then. A picturesque aftermath of this re markable canvass was the publica tion in the Tribune of an article under the heading "Crumbs of Comfort," which Greeley privately repudiated, declaring that "every red-nosed politician who had cheated at the caucus and fought a the polls looked to the editors of the Tribune to secure him an ap - pointment as gager, or- as army chaplain, or as minister to France," implying that Greeley had found compensation for defeat In being rid of these. But the candidate did not in truth accept the result philo- sophically. The later months of his life were tragically clouded by the obsession that he had been singled out for persecution and malignantly hounded by forces seeking his de struction, and he harbored that be lief until he died, a little more than a year after the date of his defeat. It is doubtful whether any nomi nee of the elements which rallied around Greeley could have beaten Grant. The latter's inexperience in choosing civil officers, his too-firm support of those whom he regarded as his friends, the scandals for which his subordinates alone were to blame, were more than offset by the sincerity and simplicity of Grant's character, by his honesty and loyalty and by the circum stance that the people were not yet willing to forsake their idol. Grant's extraordinary hold upon the imag inations of the people, a noteworthy phenomenon in our political history, was a fact which Greeley, regarding his own defeat as a personal repu diation, was never able to see. NO HOPE FOR ANTI-LYNCHING BILL. There is no hope of passing at the short session of congress a bill that provokes such intense contro versy as the anti-lynching bill. The bill is aimed at an evil that exists in the north as well as the south, though less frequent in the former section, and that has become a re proach to the" nation even the Turks taunt us with it but south erners take the bill to be aimed especially at their treatment of the negroes, and they will fight it to the finish, as they fought the force bills of former days. The time limit to the duration of the session gives them every advantage, and they can gain their purpose as well by wast ing time on other bills, for that ren ders it easier to prevent a vote on the particularly obnoxious measure that they wish to kill. An attempt to pass at a short ses sion any legislation that is strongly opposed is worse than useless. A senate filibuster can always win when well organized and it delays appropriation and other bills to which there is no great objection until the closing days. Their they are passed in such haste that a hold-up often succeeds and jokers slip through. Then the president must choose between knowingly giving his sanction to these' jobs and vetoing an entire appropriation bill, which would necessitate an extra session. When control of congress is about to change hands, as is now the case (that is the effect of the passing of the balance of power to the radicals) the prospect of pass- r a bill that arouses strong oppo sition is hopeless. The party that is about to gain control is deter mined to deprive the other party of its last chance to gain its end, the many lame ducks are indifferent and mutinous, and everything is to be gained by holding over appro priations in order that the incoming majority may work its will. Under such circumstances the expiring congress might as well consider its power of general legislation lost, pass the appropriation bills and go home. EUROPE'S NEW CONSTITUTIONS. The new crop of constitutions that has grown out of the war is an instructive study in development and application of new ideas in government, therefore renders wel come the book on "The New Con stitutions of Europe," by Professors Howard Lee McBain and Lindsay Rogers of Columbia University. Notwithstanding the French revo lution, republican institutions had grown slowly in Europe during the century preceding the world war; in fact that convulsion was followed by a reaction to absolutism, and before the war Europe had only five republics. The revolutions caused by the war overthrew three emperors, five kings, five grand dukes, six dukes, seven princes and trebled the number of republics. It also, bygiving them large accessions of territory, led the kingdoms of Serbia and Roumania taadopt new constitutions, and recent events raise doubt whether Greece will not join the ranks of republics. It has caused Great Britain to revise the unwritten constitution of its em. pire by giving the dominions a voice in decisions on foreign policy and war, and to erect Ireland into a dominion. One general characteristic of these new fundamental laws is the care taken to safeguard the rights of minorities and individuals, while older ones were concerned with es tablishing the power of the ma jority. Adoption of the referendum and proportional representation has been general. Almost invariably church and state are divorced, and complete religious liberty is grant ed. Power of the executive is usu ally much restricted, but that re maining with the German president is extensive. Poland gives its presi dent no veto on laws, and reserves to the legislature power to dissolve prior to expiration of its term, as do other new states. One sign of the times is the cre ation of functional representation in Germany. 'After the revolution workmen formed soldiers' and workers' councils in imitation of Russia. Though these failed to gain the supremacy over industry that they sought, they compelled inser tion in the, constitution of an article creating workers' councils for fac tories, districts and of the entire country, and economic councils for districts and the reich. The gov ernment is required to submit to the economic council of the reich all bills of politico-social and politico-economic character, and the council may itself present bills and defend them before the reichstag. A provisional economic council has been established, for representation on which the occupations are clas sified under the heads of agricul ture and forestry, general industry, commerce, banking and insurance, small business and small industries, transport services, market indus tries and fisheries, consumers, civil servants and the professions, the government also being directly rep resented. Delegates from each oc cupation are apportioned between employers and employes. The efficiency of the young states in practice of republican institu tions will be demonstrated by their practice in making them work. One type of people will make an ideally I perfect constitution work badly, J while another wui get better re suits from one that is theoretically' full of flaws. In popular govern ment as in other things experience is the best teacher, and self-restraint is requisite to success. j NEW ITSES OF THE AIRPLANE. ! Indignation is expressed In Bend News that a Canadian lumbering i over the action of the state highway company is using airplanes for the commission in approving as a sec cruising of timber and that a larg ! ondary highway on the federal aid mining concern is outfitting an ex- map the proposed road from Prine pedition of geologists and prospec- ; ville south to Lakeview. Deschutes w ...x.,,,, i.Vw&'ti,u j some instances cioseiy inspect a i arge area hitherto practically un- jon tne map approved La Plne la left known vies in interest with the an- and ro rms north Irom nouncement that a group of mil-, lionaire sportsmen have outfitted a , , , 6 . . . . flying boat in which they intend to Pr n.eville- Tfhe PPw oute is make summer cruises to the far I not in Deschutes county. It was se north in ouest of came. All these 1 lected because there was a belief ventures illustrate the increasing : confidence of the people in the util ity and the safety of flying ma chines. They tax the imaginations only of those who persist in think ing in nineteenth-century terms. The projected timber - cruising and mineral prospecting voyages differ from our already established forest patrols in the particulars that they involve trips into hitherto unexplored regions and that they are undertaken on private instead of public account. However, the Canadian controller of surveys has issued a bulletin describing a sea plane flight over a thousand islands. Therein he asserts that no recent invention has done as much as the airplane will do to advance the settlement of distant terri tories, by ascertaining the broad features of their topography and the general character of their re sources, and by facilitating the transportation of pioneers and their supplies It is realized by few that more than a fifth of the whole area of the North American continent is still a terra Incognita to all but a few hunters and trappers whose knowledge dies with them and is not at the disposal of those who may come afterward. The aerial yacht now nearing completion challenges attention and invites imitation because it brings the thrill of exploration and adven ture down to the current minute of our highly scientific age. The trav elers expect to be shooting walruses from a comfortable seat on board the craft within three days after leaving the balmy climate and the tall buildings of the temperate zone. "Do you remember," asks the de signer of the new vessel, half ship, half bird, "that when the navy bal loonists came down at Moose Fac tory two years ago it took them three weeks of hard travel to reach the railroad at Cochrane? One of our aircraft flying over lakes and rivers could jump that distance in two hours." But it is of even greater impor tance that while he is about it the aerial sportsman might as easily, and as reasonably, make a journey to the pole. Greenland, Baffinland, the vast stretches around and to the northwest of the outlet of Hud son bay, the delta of the Mackenzie a "country that Stefansson bids us believe is not a region' of perpetual snow and ice are brought within distance computable in hours of the very heart of civilization. Million aires may make it their summer playground for a time, but not for long. The necessity of industry, and particularly the lure of a new outlet for the spirit of the pioneer count against the probability of continued exclusiveness of any cor ner on the globe. He was a motorman, one of those steadfast fellows who work day in and day out and are not heroic the least bit; but when he died he left all his property to the wife from whom he had parted thirty-two years ago and in his papers were found records of $75 sent monthly to her across the continent. Nothr ing finer is read in fiction nor shown on the screen. It may be wisdom that moves the electric train people to take the col legians home to Corvallis and Eu gene on separate trains. What a joyful mix there might be! Rack ety! Slapety! Whackety! Whang! U. of O., U. of O., O. A. C! Bang! The cowhand from near Bend, who fainted from hunger and ex posure the other night, is not used to city ways. He could not expect to hear the customary "Come and get it!" but nobody would turn down his marks of the range. Fewer football casualties than usual have marked the season just brought to a close, the young men who indulge in the sport perhaps having given up trying to outrival war and the automobile as a maimer of human beings. A reform-school boy who en deavored to hide under a dock in water up to his chin has stuff in him to make a good citizen if han dled right, or a great criminal if not. Everybody knows many who drive and never get hurt or hurt anybody. Not being superendowed, it must be that they are careful drivers. It pays. Three in a free-for-all in which a fourth was killed are held by a coroner's jury. To get off, they should have done him with a fliv ver. Mahoney lied steadily up to the time of his execution. It's the way of the criminal. Why coddle him so much with the law's favors? The New Brunswick probe is halted so everybody can enjoy Thanksgiving day. Many in that case yet may die of old age. The peers must be running their breweries nearer full time. Canada consumes less spirits and more beer, according to the record. Ambassador Houghton at Berlin must have been in trade. He used display advertising for his Thanks giving day function. Boston bars Isadora Duncan, but other places might use Frederic O'Brien for censor. They catch them early in Idaho. Sixty-one inmates of the peniten tiary are under 21. It is a habit to count the days until Christmas as well as to count the money. A new comet is said to be going southward, whatever way that is in space. Those Who Come and Go. Tales of Folks at the Hotel. county wanted me roaa to orancn , from La Pjne toward Lakeview, but that it was a no-snow route, but . Deschutes people contend that there , is as much snow on the route picked out as via La Pine. Also the con tention is made that on the route approved the road runs through a section where for 75 miles there is not a human habitation, whereas the La Pine route serves a settled community and is now used for carrying mail. Dissatisfaction over the action of the commission is- keen in Bend, especially since a belief was entertained that the Prinevllle location would not be adopted. Be- cause of the feeling in Bend and Deschutes county Robert B. Gould, city engineer of Bend, is' in town to see the members of the highway commission in person and interview them. Mr. Gould is registered at the Hotel Portland. "It cost me more to buy dynamite to blow up trees and stumps than I received for the clearing and grad ing on the Camas Mountain section of the Roseburg-Coos Bay highway," stated W. C. Stone, contractor, yes day. "The road is located through a dense forest and I guess I burned up enough wood to have kept Port land supplied in fuel for two months. We had to remove trees which were six and eight feet in diameter; tall, magnificent trees. There was no way of salvaging the logs and they had to be burned on the right of way. Sometimes we had fires of logs containing thousands of feet of lum "ber. A man could walk for miles stepping from log to log without ever touching his foot on the ground. It was a heavy job of clearing. Dynamite had to be used freely and two or three boxes would lift out a giant of the forest and leave a hole about 16 feet deep." Mr. Stone, who has had highway contracts in east ern and southern Oregon and in Idaho, says that the grading will be finished this winter. The road will be closed during the winter to pre vent the grade from being cut to pieces by traffic. This proposition of dieting doesn't make a hit with J. W. Donnelly of The Dalles. When Mr. Donnelly arrived at the Benson yesterday and sought the dining room he first had to fish out of his vest pocket a little folded piece of paper. Then he took the menu and holding the slip of paper in one -hand and the menu in the other he studied, the deadly parallel. There wasn't much on the dinner list that the visitor could order, for potatoes were ver boten and so were meat and oysters and fish and ice cream and pastry. The man from The Dalles flung the menu on the table and gazing sadly at his diet directions ordered three ounces of eggs, three ounces of bread and butter and a glass of water. "Darned if I'll drink weak coffee," growled Mr. Donnelly, "and I won't take tea. "Yes, sir, anything else, sir?" inquired the waiter. "Yep," said Mr. Donnelly, "bo slaughter the doctor who put me on this diet. Leaving his broad-brimmed Stet son back in the sabegrush, Lynn Coovert has come to Portland and intends remaining here. Mr. Coov ert, who arrived In the city yester day, has been ranching in central Oregon for several years, with Al falfa as his postoffice and Powell Butte as a neighbor. He is tired of ranging his cattle back to Sisters the Cascades and the open spaces,' the great outdoors and the other things that the title writers for the movies love to rave over, have lost their charm for him. Mr. Coovert has leased the ranch and he prefers being a pave ment hound in the city to a cattle man "out yander." There is plenty of hay in the range country and everyone is praying for an open winter, says Mr. Coovert. There has been no measurable snow thus far. but only a few flurries. This talk about retrenchment and tax reduction is well enough and all that, but "salary grab bills," as they are technically known in the legislature, will be introduced usual at Salem next month. L. M. Hesse, brand-new representative from Washington county, was in Portland yesterday and discussed politics a little. Mr. Hesse says that the county commissioners of Wash ington county receive only $3 a day and the county judge is paid only $100 a month and he wants the pay of these officers raised, contending that they are underpaid. Aside from this piece of legislation Mr. Hesse has not considered the creation of any other measures at this time, Mr. and Mrs. William Foster of Brighton, Or., are at the Imperial. Just south of Brighton there is a high bluff which is all that stands in the way of the Roosevelt coast highway being open in Tillamook county between the Clatsop and the Lincoln county lines. This bluff re quires about a half mile f grad ing and is so expensive that there has been a hesitancy about having the road constructed along its side The county has no funds to co operate in making the grade at this point. The mill near by attempted to reduce the bluff by hldraulic pressure, but succeeded only making a small hole in the bank. "Six inches of snow at Douty, Wash., when I left there," reported E. - F. Inglehart, as he rubbed his hands together to warm them be fore signing the register at the Hotel Oregon. "The snow is thick and getting deeper at Douty and I'm glad to be in a place like Port land, where the weather is com fortable." Douty is-a. lumber center. An outside man for the National Bank of Commerce is C. R. Nesbitt, who arrived at the Benson from New York yesterday. Mr. Nesbltt is getting in touch with the bank's local customers. George T. Myers of Seattle, Wash., who has long been interested in the salmon packing industry in Alaskan waters, is among the arrivals at the Hotel Portland. Dan Mahoney of the Coos Bay Times passed through Portland yes terday on his way to Marshfield. Robert Simpson, who has an auto mobile agency at Pendleton, is at the Benson while in Portland for a few days. - Carl Cooley, manager of the Alex ander department store at Pendle ton, is registered at the Benson. A. J. Derby, long one of the demo cratic leaders, is at the Hotel Port land from Hood River. Burroughs Nature Club. Copyright. Hooshton-Mifflln Co. Can Ton Answer These Questions? 1. Is there any reliable wash that will keep rabbits from gnawing trees? 2. Can insects move their eyes?. 3. Is there any special reason, be- olao ,1aoda n,.,;na- nasi. jnff boxes for birds? Answers Notes. in tomorrow's Nature Answers to Previous Questions. 1. Why do fumes from smelting works hurt the trees so? The damage is commonly due to sulphur dioxide given off into the air when the ore is smelted. It is estimated that each ton of ore thjs noxlous The alr i3 thoB kept constantly poisoned, and the leaves are obliged to absorb ele ments which they cannot assimi late. 2. Can prairie dogs be eaten? Yes; they are not "dogs" at all. but totally unlike canines in their eating habits, which are cleanly and vegetarian. They are really ground squirrels and ought to be as dainty eating as gray squirrels. Their unfortunate name probably is at fault in discouraging people from experimenting with ways of cooking their plump, clean flesh. . 3. Do all birds have the same color of eyes? No, though a great many have brown irides. The pinkish eyes of pigeons are a common exception to this shade. Owls have brilliant yel low eyes in some species. Some birds change color of eyes as they become adult, and on - some the color varies at the breeding season. A visit to a zoo will show you quite a list oi shades and tones to birds' eyes. PEOPLE THEMSELVES AT FAULT What of Those Influenced by Lies Immaterial if True? SALEM, Or, Nov. 30. (To the Editor.) I read with much interest the communication of Henry Lee explaining the cause of the defeat of Congressman McArthur and I know his statement is true, which J causes me to moralize on the two phases of the subject which seem J to challenge consideration. While it is decidedly wrong and calling for. condemnation for any man or set of. men (of course, women would not be guilty of it) to circulate falsehoods about a cand' date for office falsehoods known to be such by the circulators yet I do not think that is the thing to be most seriously deplored as an ex perience of the late political cam paign. The worst is the condition of the public mind which permits such stories, whether true or false, to in fluence the result at the ballot box. In a country boasting of a national constitution, copied also in the sev eral states, guaranteeing absolute freedom of religious beliefs and practice, how can any citizen settle with his. conscience while opposing an otherwise fit and worthy candi date for office solely because he happens to be a Methodist or a Pres byterian or a Baptist, or a Uni tarian or a Hebrew or a Catholic or follows any other or no other form of worship. I am in hopes the time will come when every good citizen who is ap proached by the verbal or pamph leteering propagandist with the as sertion that a candidate belongs to this or that church will firmly In form him or her that there are two facts that must be at once recog. nized: First, that a story circu. lated for the purpose of injury is always questionable as to its truth nd is not to be immediately be lieved; second, that if the story ii this case is true it is not a valid reason for opposing the candidate. Shall we ever have genuine Ameri canism which we can defend before the intellectual world and recom mend to the immigrant whom we desire to assimilate until We thus recognize constitutional guaran tees; until we recognize men and women by their personal worth and attainments rather than by the altar before which they kneel or the charm hanging from their watch fob? PLAIN CITIZEN. OPPOSITE OF FAITH IS STATED Spiritualists Believe Spirits Not "Beyond Mortal Ken." SOUTH BEND, Wash., Nov. 30. (To the Editor.) I would like to reply to J. T. Ford, whose letter ap pears in The Oregonian Novem ber 29. No one is trying to convince "A generation bred in the way of science that discarnate spirits' exist a supernal world beyond mortal ken." Just the opposite is the case. Spiritualists are endeavoring to prove that they are not beyond mortal ken, and can be communi cated with when the proper condi tions are observed.' It seems strange 'that some peo ple consider themselves so superior that they can dictate to the be ngs of another world and fix the condi tions under which they shall mani fest in the material world. Might as well command the electric light to burn without a vacuum. "The appearance in the true light is darkness to man. The real inner truth is directly contrary to that which is apparent; that which is light to the natural man is darkness to the supernatural, and vice versa. "Matter- is darkness, yet hovv plainly we see it. Spirit and soul are light, yet how few perceive them." J. HOFLER. Inheritance From Indians. PORTLAND, Dec. 1. (To the Edi tor.) 1. In- which states is it that a white woman or man does not in herit the estate of an Indian spouse? 2. Where can one take timber claims and how large are they? Are there any to be gotten in Washing ton, Oregon or California, and are there any other claims to be had? SUBSCRIBER. 1. If the man or woman has less than half Indian blood, the marriage would be legal and there would be an inheritance. It the blood is more than half, the marriage would be void and there would be no legal in heritance. (This law applies to Ore gon only). 2. Write to the United States land office, new postoffice building. In writing state whether you wish to homestead or buy.- Clemenceau And Dreyfus Case. PORTLAND, Dec. 1. (To the Edi tor.) What was Clemenceau's con nection with the Dreyfus case? I SUBSCRIBER. In 1897 Clemenceau, who had just founded "L'Aurore" (The Dawn) proclaimed in its columns the inno cence of Dreyfus. Hff denounced the irregularities and illegalities of the trial, showed complicity and urged the people to demand the granting of a new trial. Due largely in hi nhnmninnRhin. aided hv Zola justice was-won for Captain Dreyfus, More Truth Than Poetry. By James J. Montague. CONFLICTING AUTHORITY. Last week, when we were just about. A motor car to buy, j Which all our life we've done with-1 out, i This headline met our eye: j "Too Many Cars," says young John j D., . - "Make Business Insecure; I The Flivver Craze Is Bound to Be I The Ruin of the Poor." We promptly murmured: "Saved in time! ( We freely will admit It was an economic crime - We purposed to commit." And though our heart within us sank As fond dreams fled afar. We put the money in the bank We'd saved to buy the car. Next day, however,- our content Was ruffled once again. As we perused this sentiment From Mr. Brisbane 3 pen: "He never climbs success's hill Who has to use a crutch! No man without an auto will Amount to very much!" So now we don't know what to do; No proper course we see That we can safely take when two Such great minds disagree. And though we. always have been loath To ride one down the pike. We'll have to satisfy them both To.buy a motor bike! Too Many of 'Em. How can President Harding hope to interpret the handwriting on the wall when every state has a differ ent wall? Too Late Now. The big mistake the big parties made was in thinking that all the radicals were in the scialist and farmer-labor parties. Inconvenient. . . The trouble with that proposed third party is that none of the statesmen suggested for member ship are speaking to each other. (Copyright, 1922. by Bell Syndicate. Inc.! In Other Days. Twenty-five Years Ago. From The Oregonian, December 2. 1S97. Figures show that Oregon farmers have paid off $5,000,000 of mortgage obligations in the past 12 months. This is the logical result of the re markable crops and prosperity of 1897, during which it is estimated farmers of the state totalled over $35,000,000 profits. Every transcontinental line cen tering in Portland is making stren uous efforts to meet the rush of goldseekers, who are expected to start Alaska-ward as early as Jan uary. Through tourist service is expected to be put on between Chi cago and Portland on lines not yet covered. The mayor yesterday vetoed an ordinance providing for a free ferry at Sellwood, on the grounds that the city would be exceeding its author ity in attempting to establish and operate a ferry at the point men tioned in the ordinance. Considerable interest is mani fested by the public in the report that a number of Portland capital ists intend building an OrDheufn in this city to be controlled by Gustav Walter, director-manager of the Or. pheum circuit. Fifty Years Ago. From The Oregonian, December 2, 18' Efforts are being made to com plete the unfinished portion of Mor rison street between Eleventh and Thirteenth streets. Portland's theater is now open every night in the week six for the legitimate drama and the seventh for lecturing. Bogus half-dollars and Quarters are in circulation in this city, and are so well executed as to deceive most people. They are lighter than genuine coins, and the milling is im- periect. xne tavonte dates of the counterfeiters are 186S and 1871. The intention of the street railway company has been to have every thing in readiness to put the cars in operation on the first of the present month. Work on the new stable has not yet been completed. LICENSE LAW NEEDS REIISIOX Smaller Fee on Antos and Larger Tax on Gasoline Advocated. ROSE BURG, Or., Nov. 30. (To the Editor.) The time has come for the people to adopt a fairer and more satisfactory automobile license law. Everywhere I go I hear dissatis faction expressed with the present auto license law. It Is unfair to the man of modest means who buys a second-hand car of medium or heavy weignt tor light lamily use, prob ably running it from 1000 to 3000 miles in a year, yet at present he pays as much license on his car that cost him $500 as another man with new car that cost him five times that much and probably uses the highways five times as much and at a much greater speed. This is only one of many cases of injustice that might be cited. Any license law to be lust should be arranged to tax a man according to the amount he uses the highways. Our present law does not do this. My plan is to charge a nominal license, say an average of' around $10, and then increase the gasoline tax enough so that the gasoline con sumed by the citizens of Oregon' would at least make up the deficit, then the tax on the gas used by tourists would greatly increase the funds available for road construc tion. Probably an increase of four cents per gallon on the present gas tax would be sufficient. j I believe that a gas tax up to ten cents per gallon, wisely spent in permanent road construction would be an investment and not a luxury. To illustrate what I mean: On a recent trip I toured through North Dakota ' and Montana over the Roosevelt trail or highway. The muddy condition of part of the roads made going so hard that I would gladly have paid one dollar for gasoline if by so doing I could have had paved roads to travel. Our mileage of paved roads is now suffi cient so that no fair minded tourist will object to a reasonable gas tax. I realize that certain difficulties attend the proper functioning of such a law, foremost of which is the competition along, the state borders from dealers outside of our state who can undersell the Oregon dealer and divert the business to other, states where the tai is not so high. The difficulty could be overcome to a very large extent if the Washing ton legislature could be induced to pass a similar law. The other bor ders probably would not give ser ious trouble. Failing to secure co operation from Washington some other plan might be devised to over come this difficulty. If we get much more money for road construction in the near fu ture we must show the taxpayers that the people who use the roads must pay for them. FLOYD C. GURNEE. j Volcano to Be Put to Work How engineers are cutting win dows into the side of Kilauea, "the most spectacular and con tinuously active crater on earth," as the first step toward tapping its tremendous heat and energy, told in The Sunday Oregonian. Title Contest , Proves Popular Thousands are participating in this chance to win pnzes. Elsie Janis One of Most Beautiful Another of series of illustrat ed articles on 12 most beauti ful women tells how this favorite of the overseas men keeps her buoyant shape by plenty of exercise. IN THE MAGAZINE The Strange Twin Doll Case How psychologists view In diana's most remarkable twin murder trial and the new woman fad for playing with dolls. Lincoln Called Greatest Man Newcomer in Australia re sembles America's great na tional hero. Incidents in Pros ecutor's Career Another installment of that series of interesting adven- 'tures, "The Public Prosecu tor." People That You Know "The Gay Debutante" is title of another of those pages of sketches by W. E. Hill. American Monument Unveiled in France In presence of Marshal Joff re and other French and Ameri can dignitaries, Missouri state memorial dedicated at Cheppy. What Happened in Honolulu "Introducing Miss Clancy" is fiction feature telling of girl's adventures on trip around the world. Australian "Bad" Word Explained Worst thing you can call a man in the island continent is a "Wowser," says Randolph Bedford, dramatist from an tipodes. OTHER FEATURES Husband Eats, . Wifey Gets Mad How Holland bill of fare pre ferred to scenery by hubby told in another installment of "The Married Life of Helen and Warren." Radio Appeals to Inventive Genius Unlimited opportunity af forded to exercise creative faculties, says article in the radio department. Plan in Winter for Spring Flowers Hints on growing beautiful gardens and gossip of the world of flowers in the gar den department New Draperies Are Beautiful Long line of latest fabrics for window draperies delight the interior decorator. World News in Cartoon Current happenings pictori- ally presented by Darling in full page of cartoons. Franklin Schedules "County Fair" High school pupils have busy : week, despite Thanksgiving. . Many activities reported " school department. Episcopal Campaign to Be Completed Every-member canvass to be brought to close in Oregon diocese this week. Artist Names English Beauty Lady Lisburne declared to be one of the most beautiful women in the 'world. Ford Opposed to Pensions Millionaire lifts many to level of self-support, says an other of series of articles on automobile manufacturer. All the News of All the World Found,in The Sunday Oregonian Just 5 Cents i