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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1913)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAHV PORTLAND, DECEMBER 21. 1913. PORTLAND. OBEOOS. -Entered at Portland, Oregon. Poorf ice mm eoond-claas mitut. . . . CubccrlpUoa Rat Invariably In Advance - BT MAIL) Pally. Bond-ay Included, on jeer '5 ... Xaliy. Sunday included. lx month Jjaur, BUOOljr incmawi, om iJaUy. wlthoat Sunday, on year Lially. without Sunday, six months Daily, without Sunday, thro month Ially. without Sunday, oco month . . Weekly, on yar Sunday, on yar Sunday and weekly, on year 6.00 a2s ITS .no 1.0V a. 6o tis as oo t!Iy. Sunday Included, on year Vja Dally, Suadar Included, on month . - ' Hw to UrsaH fiend po"""'! m.? sour r. express order or pu " ar local bank, Stamps, coin or ,dria at ender'a naa. uiv p'"1-"" -In full, lncludlnc county and atata. Porta Kate. 12 to 16 ! ."clati- to S2 page, z cents: to f r- 0 SO to 00 pages, 4 ent; 62 to J. cent: to 2 page, o cent. Forolsa PO aae. dounl ratea. "k taun BulM Ofneee VTC Cona lln. New York. Brunswick buudlng. ea.o. Sieger buudlns. - '. tan Iraaci.ro Office K. J.. Biawell Co, Market lret. , .- ., . PORTLAND. SUNDAY. DEC. . tl. ISO. Cl-KRtXCT KErOES.A FACT. .- Passage of the currency bill by-the, Benate is assurancethat in a few days It will be law and that our financial system will" soon be ,on a reasonably sound foundation. The bill brings our banks' and our currency up to date, and finally extinguishes those features which were only intended to meet -the .m;rran-iM r'.f civil war and.:' which should have been obliterated soon af-r ter the Union was restored. It rentiers panics a remote contingency, thougfr it could have rendered them .still more remote had some of its economically weak provisions been strengthened. The substantial agreement of both parties on the main structure of the new system renders that part secure against disturbance, but those detail which caused a division of opinion in the Senate committee may in time be . changed. ' Though' finally 'forced through by the weight of the Demo cratic caucus, it won the support of so many Republicans in the' end that it cannot be described as a strictly party measure. Democratic party, action having procured its passage, the Democracy is entitled to the credit, but that party must also be responsi ble for the defects. The bill mobilizes the bank reserves by establishing regional reserve banks which are to carry a large proportion of them. - The number of regional banks has been a subject of contention between those who hold that' greater strength Is gained by placing the re serves in the single reservoir of a cen tral bank and those who, through fear of the great power which would be wielded by a central bank, would divide reserves among eight or twelve smaller reservoirs, as the bill provides. The regional bank scheme, however, has the merit of being more respon sive than a central bank to sectional needs and conditions in a country ot such great area and .diverse character as the United States. The provision for transfer of funds between regional banks also serves the purpose of a pipe line by which a depleted reser voir can be replenished by a full one. Regional banks are to- rediscount commercial paper having three months to run, and agricultural paper having six months to run. for the member banks. In certain' ratios to their capital they may dis-. count bank acceptances and accept drafts and bills of exchange cov ering imports and exports and do mestic shipments of goods having six months to run. 1 nese are accommo dations to be given member banks. Regional banks may also conduct open market operations in the same kinds of paper. They must clear checks for their members at a reasonable charge. Government funds are to be deposited In these banks. National banks must, and State banks and trust companies may, be? come members of the regional banks of their district by subscribing six per cent of their own capital and surplus. No regional bank is to start with less than $3,000,000 capital and, if. the stock is not all taken by the banks, the balance is to be offered to the public. If not then subscribed. It Is to be taken and sold by the Govern ment. Regional banks are to receive S per cent cumulative dividends. Of the remaining profits, one-half is to be paid to the Government as a fran chise tax and the other half Is to be accumulated In the United States Treasury as a depositors' insurance fund. The new banks are to be organized and controlled by a Federal Reserve Board, composed of the Secretary of the Treasury and six others, appointed by the President, at salaries of $12, 000 a year. The six appointed mem bers are to hold office for six years, one retiring each year, and at least two must have had experience In banking or finance. The board is to fix discount rates weekly; to examine and report on regional banks, and suspend or remove their officers for misconduct; to suspend and adminis ter any such bank which violates the law; to permit or require one regional bank to discount paper of another at rates to be fixed weekly; to regulate and supervise the issue of Federal re nerve notes and their use as reserves. This board is to be assisted by a Fed eral Advisory Council, composed of one representative elected by each regional bank board. Each regional bank is to be governed by a board of nine directors, of whom six are to be elected by the members and three ap pointed by the Federal Reserve Board. A section of the bill which is most essential and which has caused much controversy Is that providing for Fed eral reserve notes, or asset currency, and for the retirement of National bank notes, which are one of the most objectionable features of the present system. Federal reserve notes are to be issued by the Federal Reserve Board at its discretion, upon application of regional banks, and are to be secured by deposit of discounted bills to their par value, also by a reserve of 40 per cent in "gold or lawful money." A graduated scale- of tax is imposed on notes when the reserve falls below, 40 per cent. These notes are to bo re deemed in gold at the Treasury or In gold or lawful money" at any re gional bank. . National banks may re tire their . notes by soiling, through the Federal Reserve Board, to the regional banks the bonds which secure them. The regional banks may then be required to take out new notes to an equal amount on the same security. The criticism made on these provis ions is that they furnish an opening for Inflation and for draining gold from the Treasury. Being redeemable at regional banke with gold, or lawful motley, the new notes may be paid In greenbacks, gold certificates or silver, which is worth only 50 cents on the dollar. These are not money, as Mr. Bryan and others of his way of thinking- imagine, but are only promises- to pay money. Thus the bank-would be paying one promise with another, but when Federal reserve notes are pre sented at the Treasury, they are to be paid In nothing; but. gold. ' An oppor tunity Is thereby created to renew the endless chain by which the Treasury was drained of gold during the second Cleveland administration. An attempt has been made to remove the bad ef- i feet of these provisions by a section re-affirming the gold standard and empowering the Government to issue bonds in order to secure gold. Powers of National, banks are large ly extended. Country' banks are per mitted to make farm loans for five years, limited to 25 per cent of their capital and surplus. National banks of 11.000,000 capital or more are per mitted to establish -foreign branches. The bill - removes - the worst evils growing ott" of our present banking (system and furnishes the chief essen tials of a-new system, tsy creating a discount market for commercial paper and by forbidding loans on 'collateral security, it stops the flow of reserves to New York, where they, are used in stock speculation, and spreads them oyer the country. By creating asset currency, it ensures that the supply of the circulating medium. Shall ebb and flow with" the ebb .and flow of bnsiness. By concentrating and, at the same time mobilizing -reserves and by requiring regional banks to go to each other's aid, it bulwarks business against trouble. It opens the way for our banks to follow our expanding "commerce into foreign countries. . The new system contains loopholes for abuses, for the closing of which we must depend on the Federal Re serve Board. Thus the composition of that board becomes of supremo im portance. It should be composed en tirely of men. of experience in finance, and we must trust to President Wil son's wisdom - to appoint such men. The overlapping of Presidential terms by the terms of the members will be a safeguard against that political con trol which bankers fear, and we must hope that it will become an unwritten law to shut out all political consider ations in filling these offices. If we can thus divorce finance from politics, our. financial system may attain that stability which has enabled the great banks of Europe to stand unshaken through -wars and revolutions. MAKING OFFICE A GOOD THING. Thomas R. Marshall, as lawyer and plain citizen of Indiana, would not be a' 'drawing card worth J 300 per night to any. lecture bureau. Thomas R. Marshall, as ex-Governor of Indiana, would not prove remu nerative to a lecture bureau at $300 per lecture. Thomas R. Marshall, if an ex-Vlce- Presldent of the United States, might be worth something, but not $300 to a lyceum management. Mr. Marshall is not an orator of National reputation. He is not a sage under the spell of whose wisdom the multitude sits enthralled. The public will pay to hear Mr. Marshall lecture because he is now Vice-President of the United States. The people will pay to hear the official, not the man. Mr. Marshall, .in accepting a lyceum offer, is capitalizing his job. But there, are distinctions between the case of Mr. Marshall and that of Mr, Bryan. Candidacy for President attracted the. attention of the public to Mr. Bryan-'s eloquence. Demand for his appearance on the Chautauqua circuit does not depend on his holding an office, though it Is perhaps en hanced thereby. Mr. Bryan, however, left the capital for the lecture plat form when a great many felt that duty required his constant presence in Washington. Mr. Marshall, whose sole, duty is to preside . over the Ben ate, waits until Congress is not in session. - ' . . A published statement, excuse or apology precedes Mr. Marshall's tour. Its adequacy may be doubted. Lecturing- for pay . by men high in the Nation's service is just a little more dignified and honorable way than that pursued by some minor public ser vants of making public office a pri vate snap. ' -WHERE? " The currency bill has passed the United States Senate with the united support' of all the Democratic Sena tors. It was a party measure, and, therefore, the Democratic Senatorial votes were favorable, for reasons of party duty and party policy. Six Re publican Senators and one Progres sive Senator voted for the bill. - Senator Cham-berlaln and Senator La no, ' both, of Oregon, are recorded among the solid forty-seven Demo crats. Their reasons for being there are that they are Democrats, and they Joined with. all the others in putting through ah administration bill. It may not be the only reason, but it is reason enough. Senator Poindexter, Progresslveand Senator Jones',' Republican, both of Washington, are among the. several who joined the Democrats to put the bill through. The action: of. the Washington? Sen ators will naturally excite a great deal of Interest In Oregon. The measure calls for eight to twelve regional banks, to be established by the reserve board. Now let us see whether the regional bank for the Northwest If there is one -Is to be located at Seattle or at Portland. WILL THEY WEARY OF WAITING ? Levying of contributions by the Mexican rebels on foreign, bankers and other foreign residents and con fiscation of foreigners' property may cause other powers to weary of Presi dent Wilson's policy of watchful wait ing. They may demand that some more active steps than watchful wait ing be taken to protect the interests of their subjects. What will be Mr. Wilson's answer? In his demands that Huerta abdi cate and that a successor be chosen by methods dictated by himself, Mr. Wil son has already Intervened in Mexi can affairs. Ills announcement that he will oppose the grant of conces sions in Latin-American countries to foreigners is n threat to intervene not only in. Mexico but la other republics. In bota"' he .obstructs development and investment In those countries. He also announces that he will not rec ognize governments established by means that he disapproves. He thus incurs the enmity of the governments to -..which . would-be concessionaries look for support. The nations with which he is deal ing, both. American and European, yield to only one form of intervention force. As Huerta has defied'him, so might and probably would Car ranza or any other Mexican who sup planted Huerta, and so . would the rulers of, other so-called republics, if he limited - his intervention to paper invitations to comply with his wishes. We have been told repeatedly that the Monroe Doctrine can stand only when backed by a strong navy. This state ment applies with more emphasis to the doctrine he has promulgated, for it is infinitely broader and will, pro voke far deeper antagonism. Tet he says he will not back it by force. We cannot intervene effectively without using the only ' weapon to which others will yield: yet we refuse to use that weapon. We ought never to have meddled in the quarrels of the Mexican factions by calling on Huerta to step out. In the first place, it is not our, business to choose a ruler for Mexico nor to decide how Mexico shall choose one. We should not undertake thus to dictate, unless we intend to enforce our decree by the only ef fective means force of arms. Mr. Wilson should not have dictated to Huerta. because he is not prepared, to use these means and because the American people are opposed to their use. .What applies to Mexico applies with equal force to the pacific propa ganda against dictators and conces sions in general. By beginning this propaganda and then not following it up, .he is only laying up a store of humiliation for this country. GIVE THEM TILE IK FILL. The- Navy League pronounces the naval holiday idea absolutely futile because Germany ridicules it, because a naval holiday would leave Great Britain supreme on the sea as long as it lasted; because- other nations are striving to overtake her, and because the holiday would hold back their gains on her. The Navy League says: It la practically Impossible to suggest any uch movement toward peace tha't would not result In advantage to some European power with reference to som rival. The watch ful Jealousy of these nations makes it im possible to get them to consent to such measures as would be possible to a nation situated like the United states. Disarmament may be made possible by means which will appear paradox ical. Great Britain, the first naval power, and the United States, a close third to Germany, might compel it by acting together, both having taken up the naval holiday idea.- England has more accumulated wealth and has more reserve resources in undeveloped colonies than any other European na tion. . The United States has more un developed wealth -than any other na tion. The. two together could prob ably outlast any other nation or. com bination of nations in a race of warship-building. They could now over match the triple alliance at sea. They could race any rival to exhaustion. If these two nations engage in such a race and at the same time continually hold out the offer to stop when the others have had enough, the time will come when the war-mad nations will gladly quit. Having gained this point, the two Anglo-Saxon nations would have won a costly . but bloodless - victory and would be-in the position to dictate terms of actual, gradual disarmament By themselevs disarming at the same rate as other nations they could prove their good faith and make the process continuous. Begun at sea, this process might be extended to land and, as it continued, might be speeded up. Recent struggles between nations have not all been fought out on the battlefield. Some are fought out in the banks and, as the growth of com merce extends and causes the finan cial interests of nations to interlace without regard to political antagonism, more will tie thus settled. The Mo roccan controversy is an example. Germany was disposed to fight, but drew back when one of her great bankers Informed the Kaiser that Germany could not finance a war and when French banks put on the screws by withdrawing .loans from German enterprises. By such means the bank ers could aid the Anglo-Saxon nations in their efforts to promote disarma ment. PORTLAND'S FIELD TO EXPAND. In estimating the traffic which could be carried to foreign ports through the Columbia River gateway we have been accustomed hitherto to consider only the products of the Co lumbia River basin, for the long voy age around the Horn to Liverpool forbade us to hope that the products of the country east ' of the Rocky Mountains could be carried more cheaply to the Pacific than to the Atlantic coast for shipment to Eu rope. By cutting in two the distance by sea to Liverpool and other Euro pean, points the Panama Canal will extend. far to the eastward Portland's tributary country. ': It will attract to this port the products of Utah, Wyo ming and Montana on .this side of the boundary . and of Alberta, Saskatche wan, and even Manitoba on the Cana dian side. By rail the distance frem Portland to Dumore Junction, in the heart of Alberta, is only 932 miles, while from Dumore to Montreal, the Canadian wheat port for the Atlantic, it is 2064 miles. From . Portland to Regina, capital of Saskatchewan, is 1224 miles; from Regina to Montreal, 1772 miles. From Portland to Winnipeg is 16S2 miles; from Winnipeg to Mont real, 1414 miles. Thus the longer rail haul from Regina to Montreal would go far to offset the longer sea voyage from Portland to Liverpool, and from points in Canada west of Regina Port land's position would improve with each mile until this port would have a decided advantage, for .each mile added to the distance to Montreal would be taken from the distance to Portland. The strongest competitor of Port land for the traffic of the Canadian prairies would be Vancouver, B. C. That port would have the advantage of 98 miles less distance, but It would have the handicap of a climb over the Rocky Mountains on the main line of the Canadian Pacific 911 feet higher than on the Crows Nest line to Port land; also of a sea voyage longer by several hundred miles. The grain traffic eastward is lim ited by the capacity of the railroads and by the freezing up of the great lakes and of the St. Lawrence River, which compel storage for months to await the opening of navigation. Can ada is building a railroad to Hudson's Bay to relieve the annual blockade on the other roads, but the bay is closed by ice for two-thirds of the year, and storage at the bay ports for several months will be necessary. The 'cost of storage and interest on the value of grain must be added to the cost of shipment by the Atlantic route. When the Canadian Atlantic ports are closed by Ice the natural tendency will be to ship grain to the Pacific ports, which are always open, in- order to save the cost of storage and interest. From a purely pastoral district Eastern Montana is rapidly being transformed into a grain country, which will add wheat, oats and barley to the wool and cattle it has hitherto produced. Wyoming and Utah will also ship wool to the Pacific Coast for transportation to Atlantic ports, and Irrigation will add fruit and other products to the commodities which those states will export by way of Portland. The commerce of the Columbia Lpiver is thus in its infancy. It is bound to swell by accretions or trai flo which seek this gateway in fol lowing the lines of least resistance. Portland needs but to make ready for it by throwing the gates wide by cut ting the channel deep and by provid ing ample, modern docks to handle It. PREACHING AND PRACTICING ETHICS. The public or rather that diminish ing portion of the public which peruses the columns of The Evening. Journal has recently received much beneficial Instruction upon the perti nent topic of Journalistic ethics.1 It has taken the form of vehement criticism of The Oregonian for ventur ing to print the news in advance of any contemporary and of further caustic admonition of The Oregonian for its attitude toward certain public officials, particularly Governor West Senator Chamberlain and ex-Senator Bourne. , The Oregonian has viewed these recent manifestations of Its neigh bor's conservative and tolerant spirit toward ail mankind without any other feeling than languid curiosity. The value of its virtuous remarks on the correct way to conduct a newspaper may be quite definitely estimated by Its recent deplorable attempt to coerce the Federal Court into finding guilty two wretched defendants, then on trial, and its subsequent Tiasty and humiliating retreat from an indefensi ble breach of decorum through the pitiful plea that no member of the Jury which was trying these unfortu nate men had read the offending article. In other words, there was no contempt because the back of the court was turned, its eyes directed elsewhere, and its ears . closed when the attempted assault upon its dignity and independence occurred. ' In prder to cover up the gross im propriety of the original offense, the Journal during the week has con tained a series of attacks on one of the attorneys for the defense ex-Senator Fulton with an exhibition of malignity not often seen in any local newspaper. Its ostensible purpose is to show that the first statements to which exceptions were properly taken by Mr. Fulton were Justified by the jury's action in finding the men guilty and its further purpose is to pursue the warfare against him that was begun while he was a public of ficer and that has been resumed at intervals ever since. It Is a mean and unworthy performance. Mr. Fulton ought to be permitted to practice law without -vindictive newspaper inter ference. The Oregonian has heretofore sug gested that the evening paper call to the witness stand certain eminent citi zens for testimony as to the fairness of its attitude toward public men. Among them, besides Mr. Fulton, might be named Representative Haw ley, ex-Representative Ellis, ex-Mayor Simon, sundry members of the State Legislature, and a great many others. It ventures to repeat the suggestion. CAPTAIN SANTA CLAUS. As Christmas draws near every true man puts on the full armor of good fellowship and marches forth to war upon the demons of gloom and want. Nor does he forget the little imps that lurk in the dark corners of his own home. He drags out the nagging spirits and the scowling fiend of Bitter Words' and the ghoul of Love Grown Cold and thus makes room in his household for Good Cheer and Kindliness. In the great world the true man in his shining armor of goodfellowship puts misery to flight wherever he finds it and never rests until he sees everybody happy. There are so many hungry mouths to feed, so many tears to dry. that he finds all the work his hands can do, but the true man is not afraid of work when it makes the world better. Christmas brings us face to face with the ideal of what the world will be in the good time coming, when all men shall be true and all seasons filled with the spirit of goodfellowship. The gray-bearded leader of the Christmas army. Old Captain Santa Claus, en lists his recruits for a longer campaign every Winter. By and by he will keep up the fight the whole year round and give the black array of hunger, dis ease and pain no rest from Christmas to Christmas. Old as Captain Santa Claus" is he is not too old to learn from experience. He Is a bright scholar who stores up lessons from year to year and uses them all in his campaigns. The gray leader with his ruddy cheeks and merry bells is a great deal wiser than he was fifty years ago. He has become more practical than he was then. His sleigh with the reindeer team rattled down the chimney in the old days with Just as big' a load as it brings this year, but the treasures were not so well chosen. Captain Santa Claus showered his favorites with Jolly trifles, never dreaming of the chance he had to be useful as well as gay. Nowadays he is more sensible. There is as much happiness in practical things as in the frivolous, more per haps, and so he heaps his sleigh with blankets instead of tissue paper orna ments and fills stockings with toys that work like the machines of grown men. Toys he still brings. They are the biggest part of his load and al ways will be, for Christmas without play would lose Its spell, but the toys are of nearer kin to life, and Santa Claus finds to his astonished Joy that the more playthings act like real work the better the children love them. Heaven forbid that Santa Claus should ever grow so sensible as to forget about the joys of fairyland where his palace stands and his rein deer graze when they are out of the harness. His purpose now in his green old age is to make a fairyland out of the whole earth. He loves his home so well that be wants everybody to share its blessings. And since men must work he plans to lighten their tasks with music and merriment Very sagely he begins with the chil dren and teaches them that there is poetry, romance and goodfellowship hidden in engines and wheels. Men have always shuddered at their own creations. Steam has become their hard-working slave, but they write no songs about him as they do about oxen and horses. They are still a little awed by his strength, kindly as it Is and rich in helpfulness. When Santa Claus has led the children to make friends with steam and elec tricity by his alluring gifts then we shall have a new poetry which will sing the works of modern man as the old minstrels sang of swords and lances. We shall discover that the furnace door opens into fairyland. The flying machine will end Its trips on the tops of the Delectable Moun tains. Like Caesar and Napoleon, Captain Santa Claus Is showing himself to be a mighty constructive genius. He has become greater and better than a mili tary leader. In the old days he thought of nothing but salving woe with gifts. -The gifts wore out and the woe remained. Now he turns his thoughts to creating a new world where there shall be no more misery than in his own fairyland. He still salves the wounds of sorrowful men, but he is laying plans to destroy the causes of wounds. This Is why his campaign continues all the year. Mis ery does not wait for Christmas to fix its teeth in the hearts of men. It is ever on the watch for prey, ever breeding new offspring. Captain Santa Claus has . organized companies . of troops to pursue the fiend into his lair and slay him before he can begin his cruel work. The Jolly old sleigh driver finds time to think deeply on the problems that perplex the world. He has become a student and organ izer.' But with all his growing experi ence and wisdom he is as cheery as ever. It would take more woe than there is. on earth to. chill the fires in his brave-old heart. He knows that love can conquer woe if It persists, and his "resolution Is taken never to give up. One-of the best of his mod ern plans of campaign is to keep some of his gifts for other seasons instead of heaping them all upon us at Christ mas time. In the Summer weeks when the sun scorches and the winds blow drearily through the city streets he finds a way to take little children out among the trees and fresh flowers of the country. He sends excursions down the cool river. He sets the bands playing in the' parks after nightfall for the children of rich and poor alike. For Old Captain Santa Claus Is a great democrat who be lieves that God means all his little ones to share in the blessings of the world. Best of all the strategy which Santa Claus is devising against his ancient enemies, pain and want Is the ; new education he has brought our chil dren. It is an education as strange and novel as the modern Christmas spirit It defends the little human being against future misery by teach ing him how to help himself. It unites hands, head and heart in a close-knit alliance against want. When Santa Claus has carried out his plans to the end it will be Christmas the year round, because every man "and every woman, will be trained to face life freely and boldly and meet its diffi culties with knightly courage. NEWSPAPER ENGLISH. With schools of Journalism spring ing up all around us it is natural to see the learned making a special study of what they call "newspaper Eng lish." Of course there is r.o such thing. It is a mere phantasm of their erudite brains, but it gives them some, thing to exercise their fancy upon and provides a professor here and there with agreeable occupation. So we suppose the fiction has its uses. When newspaper writing differs , markedly from other writing which seeks to state facts tersely and attractively it Is not English. It is slang or argot or fustian. Some of the baseball articles which vivify the pages of the sporting papers exemplify this truth fairly well. They reek with expressions which require translation to be un derstood. Their grammar Is esoteric' Their vocabulary is strange. To call such writing - English and try to dis cover special rules governing it is a waste of time. Almost any page from "The Vicar of Wakefield," "Gulliver's Travels" or "Robinson Crusoe" is good newspaper English, and it is so because it gives the facts and reflec tions which the author has in mind clearly, crisply and rapidly. Newspaper readers have no time to spend over long sentences. Mere rhetoric is an offense to them, as It ought to be to everybody. The daily press eschews ornamentation for the best of reasons. It costs money and it does no good. Similarly the Greeks managed to get along without much ornamentation on their public build ings. Where a figure could be intro duced as part of the general plan they made the most of" the opportu nity, but they never plastered a statue upon a temple simply to look pretty. In the same way it is wise indeed for a newspaper writer to slip in a poetic allusion when it glides naturally along with the subject in hand. He may descant upon philosophy if he knows enough and if the philosophy happens to be of current interest. He may even quote Latin when Rome is the topic of the day. The newspaper reader's appetite Is omnivorous, but it has to be catered to at the right time and always with the proper spices. AH the pertinent rules for newspa per writing might be derived from "Robinson Crusoe" which will forever remain the ideal example of good re porting. Not a word too many, not a slipshod sentence, not an oDscure ex pression, not a solitary lapse irom literary agility can be found in the whole book. ... The rising schools of Journalism do marvelous wisely to make their students read the great writers, but it would be a bad mis take to imitate them. To be sure, most good styles have been formed by imitation. All the great poets began by copying some master whom they loved, as did the great painters. Ben jamin Franklin formed his inimitable Journalistic style by committing the substance of long passages to memory and then writing them out in his own words. Thus he modeled his own style on that of the literary magnates. Thomas Jefferson advises young law yers to pursue the same course, -and it would be a blessed relief to those who have to read their articles and listen to their speeches if they did so. But there comes a time in the ca reer of every person who is born to be a Writer when he ceases to imitate and forms his own style. Just as no two human beings are exactly alike, so no two good styles are identical in everything. If a person can really write he will express his own individ uality in his English. Let the shears and the blue pencil do their worst it will still, be there" and in course of time it will win room for Itself in some newspaper. Personality makes style In the daily papers the same as in "Paradise Lost." The foundation of good newspaper English Is a full mind. One who knows nothing more than the bare facts he wants to nar rate is not likely to narrate them well. To make a model paragraph one must know a thousand things he does not intend to put into it, just as a good teacher enriches his lectures with the drainings from a whole world of truth which he does not telf. The more there Is in the head of a born news paper writer the more lively and in teresting his style will be. Lest we be misunderstood we hasten to say that learned and , profound styles, as they are called, have no place ki a r?wspaper. We doubt if they are much wanted anywhere. I Erudite dullness obscures knowledge but seldom helps impart it. Like Camilla, the newspaper writer must skim over the grain without bending a stalk or - shaking off a dewdrop. "Swift light and easy" should be his motto. The moment he becomes sol emn he is lost though he may swim in sentiment as much as he likes. Readers enjoy a good weep better even than a laugh. The old-fashioned theory that true learning can only be imparted in polysyllables and long sentences has not the hold it once had on our faith. Such a doctrine did very well as long as knowledge was deemed the exclusive appanage of the leisured classes. Now that everybody feels privileged to know everything learning is simplifying its style. The truth ''of the-matter is that the pres sure of democracy is simplifying all departments of literature. , The best recent poetry reads as if an exception ally bright -reporter had written it The new books on science are aimed evidently at newspaper readers, for they use much the same language as the daily papers, and their learning loses nothing by It. Journalism has set a pace which all the rest of the world seems likely to follow. The newspaper man will therefore do well to keep his responsibilities in mind lest he defile the heritage of English that has come down from the past. Writing in Health Culture, Dr. El mer Lee says: "Bathing is an ac quired habit unnecessary and even harmful. A bathtub is an enemy In the house." Now we know why the Bulgarians, whose girls never bathe from their birth to the eve of' their wedding, are leaders in manly vigor and in civilization, as they recently showed in their encounter with the Greeks and Servians, and why the English and Americans are weak, puny mortals who can scarcely drag themselves around on their conquer ing career. The Ideally healthy, vig orous Americans are the tramps, to whom dirt serves as an extra shirt, while the athletes, who take a shower after exercise and who win honors at Olympic games, are living evidence of our physical deterioration. We have often wondered why our cham pion athletes were such decrepit spe cimens of humanity. We thank Dr. Lee for the explanation they bathe. The best security of health is to be come encrusted with dirt In a speech at the New York Lotus Club Interstate Commerce Commis sioner Prouty intimated that the Gov ernment could not grant an increase of railroad rates "until it knows that the money so raised shall be prudently and properly expended;" and that this would be when railroads cannot spend money except for railroad purposes, cannot buy securities of other roads, cannot issue securities without Gov ernment consent and "cannot put the securities to any use except those specified." To this the New York Times says, investors will respond "Amen," adding that Mr. Prouty's words "should be a reassurance; they cannot be construed as a menace." Government control may thus be a help to the railroads in raising money and a. -protection to investors against its misuse. A bill providing tor extension of Agricultural College work has been introduced by Senator Hoke Smith and a bill for vocational training, par ticularly in farming, has been intro duced by Senator Page. The two will probably be consolidated and made a Democratic party measure. The Smith bill appropriates $480,000 the first year and an increased amount each subsequent year, until a maximum of $3,500,000 is reached, for the purpose of taking the college to the farmer. This bill aims to educate the adult, while the Page bill provides education for the boy. So Tom MarshalMs to get $300 each for his lectures. And to. think that the lid was put on to prevent his speaking gratuitously not long ago. Slang Is really a fine thing, says a Wisconsin professor, who urges that it be used in the schools. Better have yer think-tank tinkered, prof. A San Francisco woman refuses ali mony from her divorced millionaire husband. Verily, there are signs that the millennium approacheth. Portland provides actual work at remunerative wages for idle men, which is far better than merely talk ing about doing something. It appears as if the Carabaos will escape with a slap on the wrist for incurring the Presidential displeasure. We hardly know whether or not It would be appropriate to wish the parcel post man a merry Christmas. It takes Mt. Hood and the moon to reproduce a truly spectacular repro duction of a high-grade eruption. Barbed wire fences along the Mexi can border are urged. What we need is a barbed wire Mexican policy. Professor Taft fears the conse quences of Filipino independence. He got his views on the ground. San Francisco will have the largest water 'supply outside of New York. What will they do with it? Chinese provinces agree with Yuan to abolish Parliament. They will next be trying to abolish Yuan. Teaching eugenics is a menace to the race, according to Bird S. Coler. Anything to be contrary. There are those, of course, who will do their Christmas shopping late Wed nesday night. Vice-President Marshall will make a lecture tour. Will he carry his own audience? Shopping by the eleventh-hour bri gade will proceed furiously from now on. Santa will leave the currency bill in the White House stocking after all. Are you going to help the poor or merely dream about it? Father will branch out shortly with gaudy neckwear. Looks like a sunny Christmas for sunny Oregon. Poultry prices drop slightly. Must be a mistake! The rphone trust has rung off. Gleams Through the Mist By Dean Collins. A Letter to Santa. Dear Santa Claus: On Christmas day. Many the things that 1 require; Many the gifts for which I pray, As I write the list of my heart's desire; But It you feel that the list is long. Cut it shorter, as It should be. But leave one item I've written It strong Santa Claus. bring mora friend to me. Hundreds now, do I count my friends. Wise and simple and grave and (lad; Lone and longer the list extends Scribbled on Memory's writing pad; Longer stlU would 1 have It grow. Stretching out to Infinity; Let my other requirements go Santa Claus, bring more friends to me. There be some false and there b some true. Come to my life in friendship name. And all are one; for I always knew My life the richer, because they cams; So fickle or false or true or sweet. Broader still let the contact be: Light and the darkness make day -complete-Santa Claus, bring more friends to me. Tears and laughter, and love and bat. And living visions that upward roll; These are. the treasures that lie in stat Within the vaults of the human soul; Locked In a myriad hearts thev lie. j That open only to friendship's key; lucw hi a iiib ucurea lor wnicn X sir" Santa Claus, bring more friends to me. Lock of my Inner heart I break: And wide Its doors to my friends I throw. And the gifts I give and the gifts I take Rlchor still in the exchange grow. So toss the rest of my list away - lit that one item all others be And for my present on Christmas day, Santa Claus, bring more friends to ma. , ... "Sir," said the courteous office boy, "there Is a boob fruit vender down the street advertising "-naval' oranges." "No doubt my son," I replied, "He Is having a sail." ... Solemn Thought. The Christmas punch bowl's flowing o'er But still my inner spirits mumble; "Though gay this uight. In one week more You'll hear the water wagon's rumble." .... Friend Charles suggests that the term "tango" must be derived from "tanglefoot" ... Passing- It On. "Her face is like a poem" Ah! How much her lines mistreat her! Her face is faulty as her feet. That's why I hate to meter. New York Evening Sun. But if no poem is her faca. There is no cause to ban tier; For though you meter any place. You do not have to scan her. "Why do you limp 7" queried the kind hearted reformer. "I had a big felon on my toe," said the " prisoner. "Did they do anything for you?" "Yes, they locked him up in another cell." . . - In very ancient Babylon, They had some clever tricks. And one was writing letters on Just ordinary bricks. Thus ancient lovers may have killed Two birdies with one blow. By saving billets doux to build Themselves a bungalow. . In accordance with the demand of the Spug for only inexpensive, useful and much-needed gifts, I hereby recom mend for all Spugs on Christmas day, a present of a brace of kicks, to be delivered by the thickest-booted mail man in the service. ... Break, break, break In the frying pan, oh eggs. And would that my tongue could utter The things that my spirit begs. Oh would that we might go back To the beautiful days of old. When the morning omelette was not worth Far more than its weight in gold. ... Approximate History. 28,141 B. C. Sandow V. Boartusk ap propriates basket -of fish caught by Jethro Thinshanks. and by sending the. heads and scales to Jethro's widow on the following- day, becomes famed as a philanthropist. ' 950 B. C. Jason heads first big stampede to the new gold diggings at Colchis. 350 B. C. Demosthenes opens cor respondence school in oratory in Athens; special attention to correc tion of stuttering and stammering. 70 B. C. Julius Caesar declares that he would rather be director of the Podunculum brass band than play seo, ond trombone In the Imperial Homan Symphony Orchestra.. ' 1913 A. D. Woodrow Wilson threa tens to make the Carabao Club walk the plank of the good ship "Piffle." . . . Orviile Wright says he has developed on aBrnnlane that is safer in the air than the aviator. Which seems natural. For unlike the structure of wheels and. wings and things, the aviator has little bones to break And little arms and legs to ache-." Or words to that effect JOT IN PROSPECT. Why talk of the "war of the sexes" As though men and women were Such chatter the spirit but vexes And might lead to quarrels and blows. We're all of us sisters and brothers. With no cause for quarrels or strife. And what blesses one blesses others Louisa will soon De my wnei Louisa says: "Let's make concessions; T7A. Aa.t la anm A aarriflr.a lift. You give me your worldly possessions And 1 11 give my Kinigms ii juu; Ah, love will hostility banish! So nothing but Joy wui do Known, And all forms of sorrow will vanish When I make Louisa my own! An era of bliss is now due man, 'Twill come when we follow this plan: Let the bank book be kept by the woman The cook book be read by the man! Then the lamb shall lie down with- the lion And all shall be happy and free. And a great peace shall come upon Zion When Louisa is married to me! New York Sun. THEIR COMPROMISE. "Polly, put the kettle on, We'll all take tea!" Bill of fare we'll settle on If we can agree. Father wants his ham and eggs, ' Mother wants plain toast. For a steak my brother begs. But I want cold roast Coffee Is the beverage My pursuit demands Gives a man a leverage For his brain and hands. Chocolate is father's drink, Milk will do for brother. These put mother on the blink Tea's the thing for mother. Then what of the cereal? Then what of the fruit? What? There's no material For food or dispute? Mother is her mettle on With ber all agree; "Polly, put the kettle on. We'll all take tea!" Chicago News. ' HER FIGURE. "He fell in love with her figure." No wonder, for she was a peach. He shook at the thought of proposing She seemed so far out of reach. "He fell in love with her figure." She was constantly in his thoughts. No wonder he loved her so madly Her figure was one and six naughts! Joe Cone. , " ' " . ' - - ' 1
