OREOON1AN. PORTLAND. SEP'l L.ULLR 13, 1914.
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TOKTUND, SUNDAY, SEPT. 13', IH.
THE GERMAN RETREAT.
The real effect and importance of
the German retirement from before
Paris is clouded. Even London
warns the British people not to at
tach too much importance to the
forcing back of the German right and
right center, which is but a single in
cident in a great campaign.
The operations of the German
right, under Von Kluck, with from
three to five corps, may be likened in
effect to the conduct of a swordsman
who has advanced, thrust sharply but
unsuccessfully, and recovered quick
ly with a deft retreating movement.
"VVhile Von Kluck was over-extended.
a successfully airectea inrusi nu".
his opponent in strategy might have
served to cut off his army completely
at a time when he could get no sup
port 'from the German right center
under Von Buelow-.
It must not be assumed that Von
Kluck thrust his military foot into a
French-British trap. His purpose in
advancing on a straight line from
Lille to Paris was to cut off the Brit
ish forces or to bottle them up at
Maubeuge. Quick to see the snare,
General French, the British com
mander, retreated 'rapidly, fighting
only rearguard actions. Von Kluck
kept hammering away in the wake of
the retiring allied force. Evidently it
was the German plan of strategy that
Von Buelow. With the German right
center, should form a junction with
Von Kluck immediately before Parrs
and cut the allied army in two, the
smashing of French co-ordination be
ing of greater importance than lay
ing siege to Paris. For with the allied
armies intact investment of Paris
would have been a dangerous and ex
pensive undertaking for the Germans.
But when Von Kluck, with Paris
almost in sight, was ready to assail
the French army which had been con4
centrated north of Paris, Von Buelow
was not yet up, his forces having
been delayed by rugged terrain and
French resistance. Von Kluck, his
lines broadly extended, was thus in
danger of being cut off by an envelop
ing movement and it was only his
quick grasp of the situation and the
magnificent co-ordination, of his army
that enabled him to move his huge
force to the rear, throwing out heavy
rearguard elements to force suffi
cient French and British deployments
to give him the necessary time to pull
off. During a period of five days this
rearward movement has continued
along the German line of communi
cation toward the Meuse.
There are reports that other sec
tions of the German line have been
falling back except on the German
left center at Verdun, where the
fortifications are being heavily be
sieged by an immense German force
which Is also seeking to make its way
around the place. Breaking through
at. Verdun, the Germans, with an army
estimated at 350,000, mjght be able to
relieve the pressure on their right
and again threaten the allies with an
enveloping movement which would
force them, in their turn, to fall back
upon Paris.
Development of the next German
stratagem will be awaited with deep
interest. With a number of the
strongest French forts In their pos
session and with their well-established
lines of communication advanced far
into France it would not appear that
the Germans are in immediate
danger of being driven out of that
country. Even admitting that the
allies are superior in numbers, it must
still be admitted that they suffer from
an inferior co-ordination and that their
problem must continue to be a de
fensive one for some time to come.
The present movement against Von
KUick can be regarded aa little more
thaSva tactical offensive operation.
Whether the Germans will im
mediately renew their cry of "On to
Paris," or will be content to wait,
must be seen. In this connection one
important set of facts must not be
overlooked. The Russians are prov
ing a thorn in the German side. Aus
tria has been severely beaten, except
in a few engagements when rein
forced by Germans. The need of more
German troops on the German and
Austrian frontiers is pressing. Their
need at this particular time is es
pecially strong. Later, when the
snows of Winter set in. Nature will
temporarily- congeal with frost the
Jtusslan flood.
Hence it may be barely possible
that the Germans, having failed in
their first coup de main on Paris and
the allied army, will rest content
with the progress they have made In
gaining French strongholds. and
while making a brave bluster in
France, move heavy armies to East
ern Prussia to prevent the Russians
from getting a foothold before Win
- ter shuts dow n. The great network
of strategic railroads in Germany
would render this an easy task. Then,
in the course of two months, heavy
withdrawals could be made from the
east and the task of crushing France
renewed.
Nature is certain to play a heavy
hand from this time forward and she
will prove a temporary aid to the
Germans. At the point of the Rus
sian advance Winter sets in early.
Heavy snow and aero weather will
check the Russians, even though the
men in the ranks are used to Winter
campaigning. Their lines of com
munication with distant supply bases
will .be Impassable part of the Win
ter, 'the problem of carrying supplies
and moving artillery will be a most
difficult one, and they will be operat
ing against German troops that are
comfortably quartered.
Iff France, on the other hand, the
climate is not such as to halt active
military operations. The troops will
suffer more or less but they will not
be forced into Winter quarters.
Winter intervening, the Germans may
become more1 economical of men and
set about the Frerfth campaign with
greater patience.
TRUST ETltlCS.
A clinical thermometer register
ing the political sagacity of doctors of
medicine would probably stand at
zero. Probably no action could have
been taken by the State Medical As
sociation that would do more to push
along the "anti-dental trust bill" than
the association's adoption in one day
nf a resolution nnnosinor tile measure
and of another resolution proposing
a boycott. One paragraph or tne re
port of the Friday's proceedings tells
of formal opposition to the measure
which proposes to change present re
quirements and qualifications for the
practice of dentistry and it records
another formal declaration that the
members of the association will not
patronize advertisers not represented
in the official organ of the associa
tion. In other words the association
is opposed to a more liberal admis
sion of dentists to practice in Oregon
and will bovcott any medicine, no
matter how meritorious, if it Is- ad
vertised in publications other than a
doctor s magazine at Seattle.
Tho clilpf nrenment presented
against the existing Jaw defining the
qualifications of dentists is mat tne
act fosters a dental trust which is
part and parcel of an ethical medical
trust. To meet this argument the
Oregon State Medical Association op
poses alteration of existing law in one
breath and in the next adopts trust
methods to show its disapproval of
medicine-advertising in non-medical
mihlications. The physicians have
given plausibility to the argument
that a medical trust exists.
A little more tolerance by physi
cians of things outside an ultra-con-.rvativ
code of ethics would help
Lto preserve the really valuable bul-
warKS mat navtr uecu cievicu p
ron ac-ainst eeneral admittance of
quackery to the state. Their present
attitude provokes assaults that will
sooner or later destroy.
CUT ELECTION COST.
Among the few measures on the bal
lot that would reduce the cost of gov
ernment, if adopted, is the amend
ment to lengthen the term of certain
county officers to four years. The
Clerk, Treasurer, Coroner, Sheriff and
Surveyor are now elected for two
years. The biennial recurrence of the
names of candidates for these offices
on the ballot is a needless expense.
As a rule re-election to a second term
is conceded. The public simply bears
the expense of printing names of can
didates and counting ballots twice as
often as necessary because' the consti
tution so provides.
The terms of these were fixed before
the days of the recall and a short
term was then better justified. Addi
tional, county offices created by act of
the legislature, such as those of Audi
tor and School Superintendent, arfe
held for four years by the incumbent-
There is now no good reason why the
constitutional county offices should
not be placed on the same basis.
Aside from the unnecessary expense
involved In the short term it is pro
vocative of .inefficiency. The incum
bent is hardly seated before his atten
tion is distracted from the duties of
office by the campaign fdr re-election.
County officers would perform better
service if their positions were assured
for four years. (
The amendment contains no jokers.
It will not perpetuate in office for
two more years those now in positions,
but, if adopted, will extend to four
years the term of county officers elect
ed next November. It is a meritorious
amendment. - '
ADVENTURES OF A PLAY.
"Japhet in Search of a Father"
nassed throutrh many vicissitudes in
the old novel which delighted our
grandmothers, but his adventures
were tame compared to those of Mr.
Shlnman's Dlav in search of an actor.
The author has written a book to
recount the wonderful straits and
perils dire which the work of his
brain had to traverse before it saw
the lisrht on the stage. Its name Is
"D'Arcy of the Guards," a taking ap
pellation which it seems ought to
have'won the favor of producers at a
glance, but it did not.
The play went to Sothern and to
Mansfield, both of whom found griev
ous faults in it. Then the harassed
author, in order to advertise it more
widely, turned it into a novel. This
went to Macmillan, whose reader
found it "clever and able," but too
illy put together to satisfy her criti
cal requirements. A little later the
maflo-tn-nrrler hook was accepted and
.published by Herbert Stone, of Chi
cago. This fact proves to tne dis
cerning that it is well for authors to
have more than one publishing cen
ter in the country. If all books had
to be brought out in New York the
Monday sick headaches of the pub
lishers' readers might play havoc with
literature.
With its prestige enhanced by Mr.
Stone's acceptance, the play now be
gan another tour of the stars, pursu
ing a sort of milky way through the
theatrical heavens. Hardly a milky
way, though. Via dolorosa would be
a more accurate expression to record
its sorrows. In the course of its wan
derings through two hemispheres
Mr. Shipman's play attained to the
honor of being read by Sir Henri
Irving, which ought to have been suf
ficient consolation to the playwright
even If it never had appeared at all.
But it did appdar. Robert Taber
bought the acting rights after a while,
Kt .'allied and lingered over it-
Years passed away, . five, ten, twelve
endless cycles of tjie dancing months
before Mr. Taber availed himself of
his purchase and produced the play
in London. Long -before that happy
dav Henry Miller brought it out in
San Francisco with pleasing results,
though only after it had been cut and
slashed in a way to make the author's
heart bleed. We recount these tear
ful facts not only because they are
Interesting in themselves, but also for
the much better reason that they
convey a lesson, albeit a sad one, to
the aspiring young playwright.
He, or she, often thinks that once
the play has been accepted by a man-ap.-
on trmihle is rjast and there is
nothing more to do but draw royal
ties nd buy automobiles. coining
nniii ha more mistaken. The accept
ance of a modern play merely begins
its real construction. Every part of
It must be examined in the light of
"practical" stage work and modified
if it does not come up to certain cut
aad dried standards. "
'This is one reason, among many,
why America produces no nrsttciass
rila'vs The srenlus of the author must
always yield to the stodgy notions of
the "practical producer. remaps
we shall some day have authors who
are their own producers as Shake-
I speare was and then we may see great
I -.1 1 -i . ctqtrA TVl(-
piay 5 OH tile AlliClK.au .r.t..
modern tendency toward simplicity in
production will probably hasten this
millennial time. The leading Euro
pean theaters, when war cut short
their work, were beginning to discard
elaborate scenery and make the play
depend on the acting, as it shiuld.
V
CAPITAL CITIES AND MEN'l
The Atchinson Globe, quoted by
Collier's, sagely defines a small town
as "one in which a silk hat attracts
as much attention as the Are depart
ment." Collier's goes -on to remark
that there are no more such places.
The United States, therefore, has
nothing but cities. With this opinion
we are disposed to agree as far as
conscience will permit. A strict re
gard for accuracy compels us to con
fess, much as we dislike to, that a
few "small towns" in the Globe's
sense still remain. But happily they
are disappearing.-
It is said of Paris that an Arab
Sheik in full panoply can parade the
streets without causing a single
gamin to look at him twice. This
spirit of cosmopolitanism much more
than its art galleries and boulevards
makes Paris the world's capital. In
the same way any little village can,
if it will, be cosmopolitan and a capi
tal. A capital city is one that stands
on its own feet. It serenely chooses
its own way and goes it and permits
every other town and every individual
to do the same.
There are capital men as well as
cities," though they are comparatively
rare. Emerson was such an one. So
was Walt Whitman. Perhaps Whit
man was the most truly capital per
son the United States ever produced,
unless Lincoln was more so. They
faced the world calmly, sufficient'unto
themselves, immensely tolerant' Tol
erance is the supreme virtue of capi
tals. Small towns never have it.
Formerly, when it was difficult to,
go from place to place and people
were shut up forever in their little
dens away from the tides of the world
small towns abounded. You were apt
to light upon one,, to your sorrow,
wherever you put up over night.
Communication has done much to
abolish them. The railroad, the tele
phone, the newspaper, transform the
small town into the cosmopolitan cap
ital. When we have good roads the
transformation will be more rapid
still. Good roads tap the stale eddies
of life and draw their contents into
the great tidal currents, while they
carry refreshing billows of thought
and deed into the stagnant pools. A
city is a place that Is truly alive.
THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG.
Since the year 1867 what was for
merly the Austrian Empire has been
properly styled the Dual Monarchy of
Austria and Hungary. In that year
the Hungarians obliged the imperial
government to grant them national
independence, but they remained un
der the rule of Francis Joseph and
naturally the two parts of the mon
arcnv have many common threads of
administration. The population! of
Hungary, which is fairly homogeneous,
c.ii o ntfio v,nrf nf 30 nno.OuO. That
p A,,ct-ia lc hptprne-pnpous afinost
.beyond belief. The largest element is
German, numbering some nine millions.
They inhabit the ancient dominions of
upper and lower Austria, the borders
nf DnKprnig anrl thp Adriatic Drovlnces.
The Czechs and Slovaks, who are a
little less than 6,000,000, possess al
most the whole of Bohemia, part of
vniifaiiia and half of Austrian SileSla.
There are more than 4,0u0.000 Poles
dwelling in the seat of their ancient
power, with three and a quarter my
linna of R nt henlans. The Italians, Ser
vians, Croats, Rumanians and Mag
ipse nnmprniis hut thev form
an appreciable fraction of the inhab-
taits.
Thips stranee aeelomeration of peo
ples has been gradually formed in the
course of a thousand years Dy tne m
rlnstrv the patience and the good for
tune "of the house of Hapsburg, an
extraordinary line of rujfrs which has
produced only two great statesmen In
he course of its long nistory, unanes
anrt Maria Theresa. It has made
blunders Innumerable and suffered dis
asters which time and again have
threatened to obliterate it from fhe
earth. But it has profited almost as
mnph hi- dullness as by craft. The
inert conservatism of the Hapsburgs
has held tenaciously to everything
they have ever acquired, uneir Diun
ders have done them wonderfully lit
tle harm and their disasters have usu-alii-
Kcwf n followed bv recuperative pe
riods that seem almost unaccountable.
The faint beginnings of Austrian
power may De traced oatu iu a
territory on the south bank of the
Danube, east of the Enns River, which
as set apart in the year sou to guara
hpripmppTip's pmnire from the en
croaching Slavs. It was scarcely sixty
illes from east to west, out cuuueuitru
itv. tt mvsteriouslv was a vague ter
ritory lying somewhere to the east
ward. From this neDuious source
mmmpb the name Austria, which sig
nifies "eastern kingdom." This was the
origin of the monarchy ana lis name.
t .,iA.-a ti TTanshnres beean' their
earthlv career in a castle near the
junction of the Aar River with the
Rhine, which was built in tne year
ft hv the s-ood bishop of Strass
burg. The bishop had a brother,
dbot, whose son inherited tne iate
castle and became the first Count
HapsburgT This youth exhibited
liivnrtnnt hloom those acquisitive
qualities which have distinguished his
descendants from tnat time iu isw
became Landgrave of Upper L.or
ne before he died and amassed
'.-..ic in Switzerland.
Thus started on its assimilative ca
reer, the house of Haptsburg- grew in
possessions by marriage, by inherit
ance and by conquest until in the year
1218 its head, Rudolph, was powerful
enough to make himself German King,
or King of the Romans, as he is in
differently called. In those old times
the Germans found it a little difficult
to distinguish themselves from the
Romans, whose power they thought
they had inherited. Rudolph carried on
the good work by annexing Austria
and Styrla to his domains. This was
thp firpit ..onnectlon of the Hapsburgs
with Austria and the family seat was
now moved from tne Knine to tne
Danube, where it has ever since re
mained. Judicious marriages have
been the principal means by which the
Hapsburgs have grown great. They
obtained -Bohemia and Hungary in this
way, and though both countries were
,.notri!v lost thev were as often re
gained, until finally the family hold up
on them became too nrm u De looseneu.
For the most part the Hapsburgs have
been unlucky in war and yet the only
territories they have utterly lost by
wager of battle are Switzerland, Italy
and part of Silesia. Other lands have
been taken from them now and then
but thev have usually received someV
thing quite as good in exchange.
Modern interest in the Hapsburgs
begins with Philip, son of Maximilian,
who married Ferdinand and Isabella's
daughter Joanna and had two sons,
Charles and Ferdinand. - Charles, the
elder, turned over Austria to his
brother, but in himself he united trie
crowns of Spain, the Holy Roman Em
pire, the Netherlands, Sardinia, Naples,
Sicily and the great Spanish dominions
in America. Besides all these he had
innumerable other lands and titles.
He came as near as anybody ever did
to possessing universal dominion over
Europe and the world. France and,
England were the only civilized coun
tries tjuite out of his grasp. At
Charles' death Spain went to his son,
Philip. Austria and the empire re
mained with Ferdinand's offspring.
Thus the house o: Hapsburg separated
into two branches. The Spanish
branch decayed during the 17th cen-1
tury and was Anally succeeded by the
Bourbons. The Austrian branch went
through the fiery ordeal of the Thirty
Years war, which almost destroyed
civilization in Germany. Ferdinand
II. brought it on by trying to lead L1
back the German heretics to tne Jrto
man fold, but his house lost hardly
anything through its horrors except
Alsace, which went to France in 1648
by the treaty of Westphalia. France
acquired Lorraine from Maria The
resa's husband, Francis Stephen, in
1736. Tne great Empress-Queen Maria
Theresa was the daughter of the feeble
Hapsburg Charles VI, who had no
sons. To insure Maria's succession,
he executed the famous Pragmatic
Sanction, a settlement to which all
Europe agreed and which all Europe
immediately broke as soon as Charles
was dead
Frederick the Great of Prussia be
gan the dance by grabbing Silesia.
Other Kings helped themselves as ihey
felt able. For a while it seemed as
if Maria Theresa must lose her do
minions, but she proved equal to the
situation and came through her first
period of warfare without sacrificing
much, except, what Frederick had
taken. Later she organized a league
against him and barely missed putting
an end to his career. This was the
Seven Years' war, in which France
took Maria's part, and lost North
America to the British, who helped
Frederick. At the close of Napoleon's
wars Austria held fhe hegemony of
Europe, but the troubles of 1848 shook
her power. At that time began the
rivalry with Prussia which resulted
in her overthrow at Koijiggratz and
her expulsion from the German Con
federation. ThIS was in 1866.
Austria's present alliance with Prus
sia was negotiated by Bismarck, who
went to Vienna in 1879 and concluded
the treaty. Th(s united Prussia and
Austria" against France and Russia,
who were subsequently joined by Eng-
land. Italy joined the dual alliance
when France opposed her aspirations
ill Tunis, but, as current events show,
her adherence was not very strong.
Her true affiliations are with the triple
entente. ,
GERMAN PUBLIC WORK.
Before the pending war began lt
devastating course Germany had be
come an object lesson to all the world
In many kinds of municipal work.
VYe suppose these afctivitips will now
be cut off in order that the war lords
may prance up and down the world
at the rear of their corps, but they
are worth remembering and will no
doubt be resumed when sanity re
turns to the European populations.
William H. Dawson has published
a book (Longmans, Green & Co.)
which describes "Municipal Life and
Government In Germany" when it waw
in full progress. Readers need not
be reminded that Germany has car
ried state and municipal socialism
farther than any other country in the
world. .In spite of its tendency to
governmental absolutism, it has done
wonders for the welfare of its people.
Mr. Dawson does not argue over the
comparative advantages of public and
prlvate"municipal enterprises, govern
ment ownership and so on. He mere
ly sets out the facts and allows the
reader to form his own opinions. His
general conclusion is that in such in
stances as waterworks, light and
power, tramways and abattoirs, mu
nicipal activity, as far as.Germany is
concerned, has been a great success.
THE DAMAGE TO LUMBER,
A corresppndent, whose communi
cation is published in another column,
attemnts to catechise The Oregonian
in regard to our recent discussion, of
the tariff. He appears to imagine that
a Portland mtliman's statements that
the Underwood tariff has had a mosH
injurious effect on the lumber indus
try are disproved by the fact that lum
ber exports from Portland to foreign
ports have greatly increased in the
last few months. He has overlooked
the very important fact that in foreign
trade our lumbermen can use foreign
ships at practically the same low
freight as the Canadians pay. In
coastwise trade our lumbermen are
compelled to use American-built ships
at high rates, while their Canadian
competitors can use British ships.
American lumbermen employing
white labor have been placed in direct
competition, without protection, with
British Columbia lumbermen employ
ing Asiatic labor. Under what a
great handicap they are thus placed
we showed in an article published on
June 28 entitled, "Our Gift to Can
ada." The British Columbia scale of
wages is lower all along the line than
that paid in this country and the mill
man's other expenses in that province
are lower. Since the Underwood law
was passed there has been a great In
crease in the number of shingle mills
in .'operation in British Columbia,
many of which arerunning night and
daj-, and imports from that province
to the United States have enormously
increased.
These facets are easily reconciled
with the increase in exports by sea to
British possessions. Just as the mill
man we quoted a few days ago said,
it is better to turn some of his lumber
Into cash at a loss than to let it lie in
the yard. He might then lose less than
he would sink in overhead charges
were he to close his mill.
Aside from the direct effect of the
tariff on the lumber industry, there is
an indirect effect due to the tariffs
depressing influence on business gen
erally. The Underwood "tariff has cut
down the business and the profits of
the dairyman, the woolgrower and
others and has reduced their buying
power. All our industries are inter
dependent and an Injury to one is felt
by all.
We have not upheld the theory that
Canada rejected reciprocity on ac
count of Champ Clark's verbosity
alone. That was one of several
causes. There is a large protected in
terest in the Eastern and Pacific prov
inces which opposed competition with
American manufactures. There is a
growing spirit of nationality in Can
ada which was suspicious of reciproc
ity as a prelude to annexation. Mr.
Clark's and Mr. Taft's ill-advised
speeches gave the protected interests
a fine opportunity to wave the Union
Jack and stir up patriotism and preju
dice in their own interest. Had reci
procity been adopted some Oregon in
terests would probably have gained,
while others would have lost, but the
general result would have been good.
But there is a wide difference between
a give-and-take arrangement and the
present situation, which is "all give
and no take."
The depression which has prevailed
In this country is partly due to world
wide causes, felt in other countries as
well as this; partly to special causes
peculiar to this country alone. These
special causes no sooner became ap
parent in the shape of the "empty
dinner pail" than we began calling
attention to them without regard to
exigencies of partisan politics. Had
The Oregonian been actuated by parti
san motives in discussing public af
fairs it would not have supported the
currency law- before as well as after
its passage, nor the income tax law,
nor the anti-trust bills. We have crit
icised the tariff law because it Mas
emptied the dinner pail.
FETROGRAD.
The great plain which includes Cen
tral Russia, Western Prussia and the
Eastern slopes of Sweden is terminated
at the borders of Siberia by the Ural
Mountains and on thewest by the
Scandinavian chain. It is a flat land,
marshy over vast areas and plenti
fully- cmnnlflari with shallow lakes.
. . ,t - .. hr(. of these ln-
lan(J waters whose ievel lies scarcely
above the sea. They are so numer
ous in Eastern Prussia that they im
pede the progress of invading armies.
In Russia toward the coast of the
Baltic they attain an expanse like that
of Lake Ladoga, whose longest dimen
sion is more than a hundred hiles.
The plain is an inclement region un
kindly to the human race. In Winter
freezing winds cover the lakes amd
rivers with ice two and three feet
thick. In the Fall damp airs from
the Baltic unsettle the health of the
Inhabitants. The hot Summers are
hardly tempered by the marshy wa
ters. Winter begins in November and
its icy grasp is not relaxed until the
end of April. The average length of
the Winters at Petrograd Is 14 7 days,
during which the Neva needs no bridge
bur the ice.
The Gulf of Finland penetrates the
Russian plain almost to the shore of
Lake Ladoga. 'Between them is a
narrow peninsula along whose south
ern flows the Neva River, which joins
the lake to the gulf. The stream has
low shores and its course is obstructed
by many islands. When westeriy
w"nds prevail the waters of the Baltic
are driveji inland and overflow the
site of Petrograd. A rise ot twelve
feet submerges all the less aristocratic
Quarters of the city. By way of these
desolate stretches the trade of Russia
has passed toward the west from time
immemorial. It was the only course by
which it could avoid the lofty moun
tains and impassable rivers which sep
arated the primitive land of the Mus
covites from civilization and luxury.
At the point where the Neva leaves
Lake Ladoga the Russian traders had
a fortress before Peter the Great was
born. The Swedes built a fort nearer
the Gulf of Finland while the Livon
ians defended .their rights with a fort
ress at Narva still further to the west.
Among these, competing merchants
many a battle was waged which his
tory never heard of or lang ago for
got,"At the beginning of the 18th
century the Swedes, then ruled by the
adventurous and reckless Charles XII.,
had overrun tie whole territory be
tween Lake Ladoga and the Baltic.
Thia blocked the advance of Russia
and barred the ambitions of Peter the
Great, who longed to force hjs country
into the comity of European nations
and teach the Russians the civilization
of Western lands. He himself had
traveled in those countries and knew
by experience how superior they were
in the arts to his own barbarlous do
minions. Hating traditional customs,
he assembled his high-born boyars
and with his own hand cut off their
flowing beards and mustaches. He
broke the authority of the orthodox
Greek Patriarch and replaced his re
ligious absolutism by the more man
ageable absolutism of the Holy Synod,
.which was willing to receive the de
crees of the Almighty through the
mouth of the Czar. Peter , with his
impatient zeal for change and prog
ress, forsook the polsonoiis fanatic
ism and immovable conservatism of
the ancient capital. Moscow stood to
his imagination for that hoary and
unyielding past which it was the pur
pose of his life to conquer. And since
he could make no impression upon
Moscow's traditionalism he resolved
to shake its dust from his feet and
leave it to its idols. Fired with this
purpose he drove out the Swedes and
founded a new city on the Neva in
the path of the old historic trade
movements of the empire, looking
away from static Asia toward mobile
and enlightened Europe. City build
ing, is a simple business for an abso
lute monarch. Peter began his capital
by erecting a fortress and a cathedral.
To populate its marshy and unhealthy
he brought in thousands of unhappy
peasants by military force. But hjs
enterprise begun in violence and fos
tered by absolutism survived his death.
His successors, inspired more or less
by the same ambitions, enlarged and;
beautified the new capital.
In the first part of the 19th century
the Neva was spanned by three great
bridges named from west to east,
Nicholas, Trinity and Alexander, which
are connected on the right shore by
an embankment of stone. The center
of Petrograd is the admiralty building
south of the Neva at about the middle
of the embankment. Three canals,
leading from the Neva on the eat and
returning to it on' the west, form half
circles about this building and three
great boulevards, or Prospects, radi
ate from it southward. The easter
most, the Neva Prospekt, is Petro
grad's most pretentious street. Here
are the principal shops and the pal
aces of the mighty. It runs in a
straight line southeast for 3200 yards
to the Moscow station and then bends
toward the upper course of the Neva,
which it touches after 1650 yards
more. The architecture of Petrograd
is imitative and for the most part bad.
Its museums contain many good pic
tures but they are painfully exotic.
The university on Vasillevskiy Island
has 4000 students, but thgir work is
hampered and often blighted by ty
rannous police supervision.
Outwardly Petrograd has done great
things for education, has even a
university and an agricultural college
for women. But inwardly "its offer
ings are apples of Sodom. With its
population of a million and.a half the
capital has four large theaters, two
for vaudeville and onera, one for for
eign and the fourth for native plays
The orthodoxy of the city is unim
peachable. Of the population 85 per
cent are members of the Greek
Church, 10 per cent .are Protestants
and most of tne remainder Roman
Ctstholies. With this exemplary piety
it exhibits an Illegitimate birth rate
of one in four and death rate which In
some quarters carries off every other
child born into the world. Infectious
diseases, due to filth and poverty, ac
count for half the mortality. Some
lums are never free from cholera ex
cept in the coldest weather. On Vasi
llevskiy Island in convenient proxim
ity to the university Is the fortress
of Peter and Paul, now the Russian
state dungeon. Around these two
typical Russian Institutions dwell a
miserable throng of "educated prole
tarians," university graduates to whom
life offers no vocation but incendiary
talk. It Is from this barbaric capital
that the Czar has dispatched his
hordes to Inundate Europe.
Senator Stone rapped the wasteful
ness of Congress when the Senate was
discussing an appropriation for drag
ging th channels of the Alaskan coast
hi ordffr to locate the sharp pinnacles
of rock which can be located In no
other way and which have caused
many shipwrecks. The appropriation
was cut out in conference, whereat
the Oregon and Washington Senators
protested. Mr. Stone remarked to
Senator Lane:
I was aolna t say to the Senator from
Oregon that there would be this consolation
followlna the failure of this appropriation
that, it the sDirlt of liberality in erecting
monumeirts and memorial tablets which has
prevailed here of late continues, after a
disaster in these waters and a large number
of men. women and children have been
drowned, he might .probably get $200,000 ap
propriated for a monument.
That is the usual Congressional
programme stint money for llfesav
lng, but spend It lavishly on monu
ments after lives are lost.
The co-operative canneries which
have failed were weakest at the mar
keting end. They usually obtained
plenty of fruit and put it up properly,
but they couldnof) dispose of their
product. Salesmanship Is the most
difficult art in the realm of business.
It requires an adeptness seldom found
in rural communities. The new or
ganization among the fruit mon prom
ises to solve a perplexing problem ami
bring prosperity to thousands of
homes.
In the siege of 1870 Frenchmen
fled to Paris from the surrounding
country, several hundred thousand In
all. Now everybody Is leaving It.
thereby showing the best of sense. If
there is to be another siege Its mis
eries will fall, mainly upon fighting
men. Almost 1.500.000 non-combatants
have already fled. More will
follow. Perhaps the result of the
siege, if there is to be one, will als
differ from that of the former.
The Turkish Ambassador, on being
asked sharply if he had been cor
rectly quoted in his insulting remarks,
on the United States, promptly re
plied that he, had. Whereat Secre
tary' Bryan announced that the, inci
dent was closed. More diplomatic
backing "and filling.
Peace at this time would be a mis
fortune, inasmuch as it would leave
the countries with an array of bitter
enmities which would bode 111 for the
future. Peace will look better and
better to them as time passes.
Great Britain and Germany jolt the
popular idea of the efficacy of prayer.
The former does not want peace until
the latter is humbled, and 8he(ln turn
scouts the proposition until France is
ground into the dust.
French captives have nubscribed to
the German Red Cross which treated
them with great kindness. It there
was more of that spirit in the world
and less of the other, we'd be havlnfe
no war.
A French laundress has been- com
plimented for bravery on the firing
line. But we still are without news
that the suffragettes are forming a
regiment to prove their equal rights.
Two more German Major-Generals
killed. Major-Generals would do well
to take advantage of the privilege of
keeping well to the rear, since hostile
bullets are not respecters of rank.
The 'Astrlan officers who deserted
their battalions en masse are in
striking contrast with the British of
ficers, who have to be cursed into ly
ing down at the firing halts.
A German corps is commanded by
General von Deneckendorff und von
Hindenburg. Wonder If "he is able to
muster double pay on the strength
of it.
Bryan sees the end of militarism In
the present conflict. It hasn't been
long since he was saying tint another
great war was out of the question.
A Dallas preacher is to retolve
from his congregation the eggs laid
on Sunday. But what will become of
the hens that lay on this tlayT
a. h French tell it. the whole Ger
man army is on the run. and as the
Germans tell it, one ot tneir aavance
guards has been drawn back.
vm wants Carranza to direct us to
move our troops out of Vera Cruz.
Possibly Villa feels they might be in
the way of his next coup.
We should think that our State
Department would at least have
slapped that flippant Turk on the
wrist.
It is xtrmel difficult to make
heads or tails of the present military
situation in France.
If Turkey Joins Roumanla, Greece
and Bulgaria stand ready to leap In.
Checkmated!
We have been expecting to hear
that the war has sent up the cost of
text books.
No doubt the Teuton right wing
would be glad of an armistice of rest.
No military genius has yet come
Into view above the military horizon.
The Austrians surpass the TurkB
as military sprlnten
War bulletin: The Russians have
been licked at Lyck.
Mother's real vacation begins to
morrow.. Back to school!
Western Verse
THE PIONEERS.
(Dedicated to Rev. Thomas M. Hams
dell, a pioneer of 144, who ha seen
Oregon In all stages of development.
Mr. Rumsdell has assisted In laylog
the foundations of the state as teacher,
minister and judge, and has had much
to do with bringing this commonwealth
to its present splendid solidity. Ripened
by experience, and tilled with the con
sciousness of work well and conscien
tiously done.' he still lives to enjoy what
he helped to sow. Ha Uvea at Eaavt
Twenty-fourth and Madlaon streets,
Portland, Or., In the SJa year of his
age. His mind la still active, and he
indulges the advantage of a good edu
cation by writing on social and thao.
logical subjects.)
They streamed through the pasaoa.
They im from afar;
On, their foreheads the light
Of Hesperian star.
They splashed the bright waters
Of rivers unnamed
By the fear-hauntod Jungle
Their campflres flamed.
They gored the gray strata.
And reft them of spoil.
And sowed the first seeds '
In the heart of the soil.
The swing of their stride.
And the crunch of.thelr feet.
Where each mile was a nieasur
Of misery and heat,
"Tere as strong, were as bold.
And aa clear was each aye
As the Norse chieftain's were
When the sea winds were high.
Burned black in the boat
Of the desert, and cursed
O'er the waterless void
By the devils of thirst;
Beneath them the rustle
Of paperlsh grass:
Above them a sky
That was blistering brass.
Around them forever
The mirage and the glare
On their lip and their palates
The parch of the air.
With the dust of the hoof.
And the grit of the tire.
That burned in the nostrils
I A torturing fire.
Vet on. ana still on!
By the uncharted way:
And on, and still on!
To the close of the day. ,
Though behind them was horn.
And the graves of the dead;
And the corn anil the cane
Were, all stately of head.
Though the cool melons rlpenad,
Half hid tn their vines.
And the green was as deep
As a forest of pines;
Yet on, and Mill on!
Where the blue bases lie;
And on. and still on.
T'ward the low-bending sky.
For this wag the breed.
With the square. Iron chin;
Of the dangerous laugh,
And the tawny, white skin. . .
Of the eye. flashing bright.
And the deep sunken cheek:
Of the strong arm that lifts up
A comrade grown weak.
For their fathers came down
To the ocean In ships.
With the slogan of "Liberty"
Hot on their lips.
And they launched them away
On the ocean's wild track.
For they fled from the dungeon.
The stake, and the rack,
enfettered their hands,
And unbattered their brawn:
Thy were free as the trade winds
That watted them on.
Arid their children have slashed them
A place for their feet
Where the storms and the floods
And the dark forests meet.
They have gathered the grapes
Of a blistering vine;
And have trodden the must
That was bitter as brln.
They have mastered their foes
On the shore and the plain.
And have nursed of the wolf
In the lairs of pain.
To fhe green, sunny vales. .
Where the silence Is deep,
And the purples of Fancy
Haunt forest and steep.
Where the waters go laughing
With songs to the sea:
And the twilight is tender
On valley and tree
They came with their prayer.
And tjeir stoutness of heart;
And they nowed of their souls
What cart never depart.
And they built by the fountains
As pure as a maid
When she muses of love
In the dim forest shads.
And they cleft the sweet cedar.
And planted the corn;
And they reared up the myrtle
' I nmhprpil the thom.
They builded their temples.
And hallowed i "
With the fear, and the praise.
And the worship of'Qod.
They have loved, they hav4 woosd.
And their vows have been said;
They have crooned by their crsdlea.
And wept ior tncir .
But they're gone from the land.
And we see tHem no more.
Like the foam that was heaped
on th wave-beaten shors.
Their cabins are crushed
By the weisrht ot tne snows.
In their crumbling chlmnaya
mi ...... u,llw irrnWH. '
We fain would dwell with tham.
But they are not here;
Thev have folded their tenta
t .ik a the true nloneer.
By their ashes we follow
The way they have gone.
For In lands of the sunset
They're still moving on.
OUT FITCH PHStM.
"SMOKE IUM.V
WTieTi I fill my good old brier
And settle down to rest.
While my thoughts mount metier.
higher,
"Jo thf regions of the bleit,
iM-numi fnrirotten come to cheer me;
Softly, ah! they flutter near me!
Boyhoods laugh of carefree pleasure
Fondly, O. my fancy hears
Captain Kldd's piratic treasurs.
Crusoe's lale again appears:
With the smoke's upcurllng rings
Mounts my soul and sings and ilnga
Thus 1 wonder why the post
Sang of ravens and "Lenora
Whv he let his fancy go It
On the liara i-iuioniau
Why his melancholy muse
Drooped and fluttered with the bluaa. ,
There Is mingled Joy and terror
In the chiming of tha Bells .
But what wail of sorrow
In the tale the "Raven tells.
rerched above the poets door
With his croak of "never mora.
. . ,, have been a reason
Why he nourished such a "grouch."
Should you ask me. I should seise on
Bad tobacco In his pouch
"Only that and nothing more
If the reason' I explore.
If he had (O. how delightful!).
Just imagine Allen Poo
With a good old mellow plpeft.l
Of "Stag" or "Tuxedo,
Then that melancholy fowl
Had never vexed his classic soul
(1,'kvoh
There's a comfort when you're weary.
A solace rare and ripe:
There's Joy forevsr chesrir ,
A good old friendly pipe.
Qeo H. Kaade.
Portland. Or.