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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1915)
T1TE SUNDAY OREGONTAN. PORTLAND, ' APRIL 13, 19T5; rOBTLANB, OBCGON. Entered at Portland, Oregon, rostofflce as second-class mutter. Subscription Rates Invariably In advance: (By Mail.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year fS.OO Xily, Sunday Included, six months 4.-5 Dally. Sunday Included, three month. . 2.-5 1aily, Sunday Included, one month.... Dally, without Sunday, one year ........ 6.U0 Dally, without Sunday, six months o.J3 Daily, without Sunday, three months... 1.75 Daily, without Sunday, one month tiU Weekly, one year l.oO Sunday, one year 2.50 tiunday and Weekly, one year a.&0 (By Carrier.) Daily, Sunday included, one year JB.oo Daily, Sunday Included, one month T5 How to Item it Send postotflce money or der, express order or personal check on your local hank. Stamps, coin or currency are at Mender's risk. Olve postofflce address in lull. Including county and state. Postage Katea 12 to la pages. 1 cent; 18 to 82 pages. 1' cents; ;! to 48 pages, 3 cents; CO to tiu pases, 4 cents; 6i to 76 pages, (i cents; 7S to l2 pages, 0 cents. Foreign post age, double rates. EaNtern Business Office -Veree & Conk lln, New York, ..Brunswick building; Chicago, blenger building, Sau Francisco Office R. J. Bldwell Com pany, 742 Market street. statement of the ownership, management, circulation, etc., f the Sunday OrrguDian, pubU&lied each Sunday at l'urtland. Ore iron, required by the Act of August 24, 1812: Publisher, II. L. PIttock. Portland, Or. Editor, Kdgar H. Piper, Portlaand, Or. Busi ness manager, C. A. Moiden, Portland, Or. Owners, H. I. PIttock, Portland, Or.; Margaret N. Scott. Portland, Or. Known brldholders, mortgagees and other security holders holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. Average number of copies of each - Issue of this publication sold or distributed, through the mails or otherwise, to paid sub scribers during the six months preceding the date of this statement, 74,389. H. L.. PITTOCK. Publisher. Sworn and subscribed before roe this uth day of April, lUlo. (SEAL) W. E. HARTMUS. Notary Public. (My commission expires May 25, 1915.) PORTXAJfD, SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 1915. IT'S THE MAN BEHIND THE GUN. After a year of government under the managerial system the City of Dayton, Ohio, has Issued through the medium of its bureau of municipal re search several more or less congratu latory pamphlets. Dayton is a city of 130,000 Inhabitants and adopted the new form of city government under Btresa of tho consequences following tL disastrous flood. The records dis close some notable economies, among them a saving of $33,000 on an ex penditure of $200,000 for supplies. The operating revenues increased, however, during the year in the sum of $77,709, but this growth is ac counted for largely in increased serv ice. Comparative costs, too, are not accurate, for, us a result of the flood, emergency bonds were issued and the old administration operated certain departments for several months al most entirely from bond money. It Is argued, also, In the report that "cheapness is no more a. criterion of good government than it Is of good clothes, good tobacco or of good house bold necessities." The managerial system of municipal government is in a sense a reversion. The commission form combines in one governing body both legislative and administrative functions. In this it departs from time-honored principles. It ought to be significant Information to those who are advocating commis sion state government, that the mana gerial system by its supporters is con sidered a progressive form, but that on of the arguments advanced In Its favor Is that It establishes the sepa ration of two governmental functions in cities a separation which now ex ists in state government. There is in fact less reason, for this separation in city government than in state government. The legislative duties of a City Council are Insignifi cant; those of a Legislature are im portant. And there is one obstacle in the way of a general adoption of the managerial system for cities that has heretofore been pointed out. It is the lack of trained managers. In indus trial organizations the successful man ager is usually one who has risen from some minor position. Under the mu nicipal government systems that have been in use for many years ability is rarely recognized by promotion. The clerk who gains a Job stays in the same place regardless of his demonstrated ability to perform more important service. The man with a general working knowledge of city adminis tration and with executive ability is therefore rare. There is another phase of the man agerial system that may putxit in a doubtful category. It combines the short ballot with nominally paid city legislative positions. Obviously if legislative duties are Insignificant it la not proper to pay the members of the council or commission high salaries. The large, remunerations must go to the manager and his subordinates who perform the more important work. Following some disaster or in times of occasional public revolt against mal administration patriotic Impulse may impel qualified men to seek poorly paid positions on the City Council. Or dinarily they shun such places. Whatever may be said about divi sion of the voters' attention incident to the long ballot, it remains true that tiie number of candidates or measures on the ballot is a powerful influence Jn bringing out the vote. An issue be tween two or three candidates or one raised by a single measure is usually decided by a small portion of the elec-l torate. The straight commission form such as we have in Portland, .presents the short ballot principle, but it also presents an inducement in adequate salaries to honest and competent men to seek office for other than purely patriotic motives. The ballot may be short so far as number of offices is concerned, but it is likely to continue to be long in respect to number of candidates, and thereby engage larger attention at the polls. There is no ground for disputing the assertion that the efficiency of any government rests on the integrity and ability of those who govern. There is as much room for corruption in commission government or managerial government as in councilmanic gov ernment. The Dayton municipal bu reau sounds this note of warning But once this type or government la se cured can the citizens retire, satisfied that reform is a hardy perrenial which will make Its appearance at each election time whether the voter cares or not? Or will the partisan politician, who works S6o days In the year, come back, bringing with him the patriots wno have no proles ion than serving their city for pay; the old administrative code of Job and profits' comatose appreciation of community Ideals mud community needs c We have long maintained that one reason for success of commisison gov ernment is that it comes in usually on a wave of public awakening to city shortcomings. The same wave takes into office men above the caliber of councilmen ordinarily elected. But it is not a machine of reform that will run Itself without constant attention by the voters. The same is true of the managerial system. The second election under the commission charter of Portland is soon to be held.' What ever measure of Improvement has been attained under the new charter will not be maintained if there is In difference at the polls, due to a "com atose appreciation of community Ideals and community needs." why a court The fact that the bulk of the labor vote cannot be swayed for against an issue regardless of its merits) merely by pronunciamento of union officials was pretty clearly demonstrated in the road bond election. The work man Is able to judge for himself what is for his own interests. In the light of recent events there is no need for alarm over a possible political coup at the strangely conceived political con vention soon to be held by the labor party to indorse a candidate In the forthcoming non-partisan election. Ordinarily a political convention might be expected to produce the sly and reprehensible methods which it had been supposed were eliminated forever from Oregon election. But it appears that the labor vote cannot be controlled without reason. We fancy that if there is a candidate on the bal lot who is known to the rank and file to be a true friend of labor and also square and intelligent, he will get the labor vote, whether the labor convention or campaign committee, or whatever it be -called, Indorses him or not. Possibly, too, indorsement by the la bor leaders who endeavored to make road necessities an object of barter would drive away more votes from a candidate than he would gain. So why should anybody attempt to pack the meeting? POIJJDKXTER'S GOOD J CDGMEXT. Evidence of Senator Poindexter's "excellent judgment in measuring the sentiments of his neighbors" is found by the New York Sun in his several changes of party. His virtual an nouncement that he will seek re-election to the Senate as a Republican shows that he has once more felt the course of the political wind. He is still a progressive, but with a small p. and he admits that the only way in which Progressives can "save the Progressive legislation of the last year" is by uniting to control the Re publican primaries. Mr. Poindexter's renewal of alle giance to the Republican party is the more significant because he is the only Senator who proclaimed himself a Progressive with a capital "P." Sena tors Bristow, Clapp and Norris sup ported Colonel Roosevelt in 1912, but after.his defeat they discreetly jumped back 'into the Republican fold, leaving Mr. Polndexter as the only Progressive standpatter. When he is back in the fold, only the Pinchbts and-a few oth ers will remain outside. Oh! how lonesome' they must be! BURROWING ARMIES. Man on the battlefields of Europe has become a burrowing animal. In short the war may be described as having been moved under the sur face. While we are coming to un derstand more. clearly of late that the veil of secrecy over the theaters of operation is all but impenetrable, at the same time there stands out clearly the fact that the intrenchment has been seized upon everywhere as the one means of escaping extermination. Trench warfare, it is very clear, has come to be a dominant tactical and strategical factor in modern battle. When the present war is ended there will be a sufficient supply of obso lete military textbooks on hand to keep the fleets of the world in fuel for a year, while the presses will be kept running day and night printing revised Instructions on the latest scientific way of killing uniformed human beings. It is easy . to foresee whole libraries on the fine art of dig ging in battle and preventing the ene my from digging you out. Intrenchments have become a neces sity in Europe. With the high-power machines of destruction no army could stand up very long in the face of veritable hails of lead. In short, when the devices of slaughter are brought into full play the - fighting man must crawl Into a hole temporari ly until the storm subsides. This was a condition little expected at the out set, but all the forces have adapted themselves to the necessity and now the theaters of war are networks of tunnels and underground rendezvous. Recognition of the fact that trench warfare has come to stay is implied by Kitchener's instructions that Eng lish recruits be instructed at target practice in short ranges only. Three hundred yards is given as the max! mum for instruction, of British infan try of the new army. Most of the firing, as a matter of fact. Is done at much shorter range and there are authentic accounts of hostile trenches so close together that hand grenades can be thrown from one to the other, Necessarily the whole technic of combat has been modified by the trench. The long, thin skirmish line has been abandoned completely. Even the tenacious Britisher has come to mass the infantry for an assault. On account of the deadly hail of lead that can be hurled from a trench a thin line would be shot down quickly and certainly would never gain any such fire superiority as would enable it to storm successfully an intrenched posl tion. During the Winter months, if we may believe all reports in the mat ter, the fighting has been exclusively or nearly so of the trench variety. The actions have been of a local char acter. It may be said, almost, that tactics has had ascendency over strat egy. Not only are the firing lines dug in, but the supports and reserves are likewise underground. On the western front these Intrench ments are particularly elaborate, the firing point extending for hundreds of miles underground and being protect ed ingeniously from every vantage point which hostile artillery or Infan try might secure. The approaches from the rear, where supports are stationed, lead by zigzag routes, the angles being sharp enough to prevent an enfilading fire from hostile guns mounted on an eminence. ' Elaborate recesses for supplies and ammunition are built in at the underground ren dezvous, where the reserves are lo cated, and there are veritable under ground barracks. Troops on the fir ing line are relieved usually at night So close are the opposing trenches at nearly all points that observation Is maintained by use of periscopes, the reflectors showing possible movements of the enemy without . necessitatin exposure of a head which would be certain to draw a shower of bullets. Germany set the pace in this dig- ging-In warfare by intrenchingTierself on French soil atter the force of the German advance had been spent. Re ports from reliable sources indicate that Germany is now doing the same thing in Russian-Poland, although the same spectacle of two great armies watching each other from deep holes is not yet presented on the eastern front. The fighting that will occur when either army assumes the offen sive on a large scale is certain to be the bloodiest and most bitter of the war. Only the most reckless disre gard of the cost in human life can serve to drive one force or the other out of its holes. When the allies set their face in earnest toward digging out the Germans it is assured that history will gain some of its goTiest pages. PROSPERITY IN SOUTHERN OREGON. But few Oregon citizens have any conception of what the construction of the new railway lines in Southern Oregon means to that section, as well as to the state at large. This is not to be wondered at, for Oregon is a large state and the distances from Portland to the new fields of railroad activity are quite remote, the nearest being Sutherlin, 185 miles to the south. The roads contemplated and practi cally assured are two. The first leads from Sutherlin up to the timber belt, a distance of some 30 miles; the sec ond from Grants Pass to Crescent City, California, a distance of a trifle ess than 100 miles. The third, to be built from Rose burg, is not yet defi nitely located, but the people of that section are sure to have a road to Coos Bay in. the near future. Considering the road from Sutherlin as of great but local importance, as it will assuredly build up a prosperous town in the Sutherlin "Valley, we may advert to the Roseburg contemplated road as of general importance owing to the vast timber belt and the great coal fields it will touch. Such a road would be of inestimable value to the Umpqua Valley section. But the Grants Pass road, ten miles of which has been constructed and is now in operation, will bring about an almost unprecedented era of prosperity to all of the Rogrue River section. As it is now the entire area of Douglas, Jose phine and Jackson counties is experi encing an uplift which promises to make that promising section one of the most prosperous in all Oregon. WTLI, TVIKN OBEY WOMEN? In the Eastern States woman suf frage is a live question. Here it has been settled in favor of the women and we know by happy experience that the dangers so often predicted from it are purely imaginary, while the benefits are real. But several states east of the Mississippi are to vote upon suf frage before a great while and their wise men are discussing the subject as a matter of pure theory, without the slightest regard to what has been done elsewhere. This might confirm us in the belief that the male sex is unprac tical, given over to vain argumentation instead of studying facts and prefer ring the idle visions of fancy to the concrete realities of life. Such a chi merical philosopher is Duffleld Os borne, who enlarges upon woman suf frage in the current number of the Tale Review. Mr. Osborne presents his thoughts in the alluring guise of a dialogue in which Socrates plays the part of the dominating male who comes out ahead in every part of the argument, while his poor wife Xan thippe is invariably defeated. Aspasia, who is also present, as sumes at first the attitude of a rather lukewarm anti, but before the scene ends she is violently converted by Soc rates and becomes, as we see the last of her, a virulent opponent of votes for women. Mr. Osborne's point of view is distinctly medieval. He thinks "it is only the injustice and rapacity of mankind that makes government necessary, and these can be held in check -only by physical force or the fear of it." We Infer, therefore, that Mr. Osborne has lost all faith in re ligion, which claims to hold injustice and rapacity in check by spiritual sanctions, and is usually conceded to have achieved at least partial success. No thoughtful person can grant for an instant that the only purpose of gov ernment is to restrain evil. Its far more important purpose is to promote positive good. The postofflce, the Pan ama Canal, the school system of the United States have opened our eyes to the potentialities of government as a constructive agency in evolution. Co operation among individuals for small undertakings is as yet in its feeble be ginnings. The concept of co-operation among the entire population of a coun try, or the world, to attain objects of universal benefit has only begun to dawn upon us. But it really has begun to dawn, and some time It will shine with the full light of day. Even now the concept of government as a mere thief-catching agency has become a lit tle absurd. It will gain no new dignity as the years pass. Mr. Osborne cherishes all the anti quated fears that voting may bring women into perilous competition with men and thus destroy the "chivalry' which has been found so precious at the washtub and in the sweatshop, to say nothing of the stews. He also trembles to think that "a majority of men could not be made to submit to a majority of women and that thence might be born the seeds of revolution and instability, than which nothing is more abhorrent. This awful vision is brought upon Mr. Osborne by his belief that "the state relies ultimately upon physical force to accomplish its of fices." And of course women, being the weaker vessels, never could carry out their will if the men opposed it. Which shows how little Mr. Osborne knows about human nature. There is no state in the world and. never was one which "relied ultimately upon physical force to accomplish Its of fices." Far deeper than the physical force which any state wields is the psychology of its people. Change this psychology and the physical force which flows from it vanishes like the dews of morn. The Russian armies are held together, not by any physical force whatever, but by the love of the moujiks for. their ideal Czar and their faith in the creed of the Greek Church. The actual living Czar is whole unl verses away from their Ideal and the orthodox Greek Church offers a sorry apology for a saving faith, but such facts only reinforce the strength of our argument. Control the mind of a peo ple by any means whatsoever, no mat ter how impostrous, and their physi cal strength becomes as wax in your hands. All statesmen know this to be true, and all of them act upon it. Lin coln, for example, never dared apply the physical force of the North to any project, such as emancipation, until he had first, made sure of a suitable psy chology to support It. Now a people's psychology. In this sense of the word, is a product of their education. This Nation will do tomo row what its children are taught to de sire today. Its physical strength will be used to accomplish the purposes which are now taught to be right and noble. Its conduct twenty years from now will be a direct consequence of the lessons of today in day school. Sunday school and, the family. If among these lessons they are taught unresisting submission to the majority, to the ma jority they will submit totally, without regard to physical force on either side. By the lessons of youth whole peoples are made to submit, not to a majority of women, but to a solitary woman, sit ting alone In Imperial splendor like Queen "Victoria. By the lessons of youth millions of human beings are made to submit their temporal and eternal welfare absolutely to the de crees of a solitary individual sitting on the papal throne. The Church of Rome commands no physical force whatever, and yet we dare say that even Mr. Os borne in all his blindness would scarce ly deny that it is the greatest actual power in the world. It rules through faith alone. That Is to say, it rules through psychology. The sooner we understand what It really is that con trols the world the sooner we shall ap preciate the potency of education. No matter how strong men may be as far as their muscles are concerned', if they are taught in childhood to obey the de cision of the majority they will obey. It and Mr. Osborne's "revolution and in stability" will be the vainest of airy visions. A LAW IGNORED. The Bend Bulletin calls attention to a law (Section 6317, Lord a Oregon Laws) making mandatory the erection of plainly-lettered. guide posts at every crossing of public roads in the state. The law further provides that until such signs are properly placed the supervisor can draw no pay from the county Treasurer for any services ren dered. Such signs must have upon them the distance to the next town or public place on such public highway, with such other information as Is necessary. The Bulletin says: Under those provisions we believe there probably Is not a single road supervisor in Crook County who is entitled to his pay from the County Court. And with our road situ ation as it Is we believe that the court would be doing- a real service to the public If it hereafter enforces to the letter this section. Crook County officials are not alone in dereliction as to this law. Every road traveler can point to places in other counties where such signs are badly needed, but are not in evidence. In fact some road supervisors ignore the law entirely, much to the incon venience and annoyance of travelers. Yet these supervisors have their bills audited and paid regularly by the County Court. Hence these officials are as guilty as the supervisors. GRAND OPERA AT POPULAR PRICES. The excuse commonly given for of fering bad music and silly plays at the theaters is that the public demands trash. Audiences are so tired, we are told, or so stupid or so childish that they will have nothing to do with the great artistic productions. Their fee ble minds must be fed on folly, with an occasional spice of wickedness. There is some truth in this plea for vulgarity and idiocy on the stage, but it is not the whole truth by any means. There is a part of the public which really prefers silly sentiment and trashy melodrama to sterling sense in the plays it sees and which is pleased by no music except idiotic Jigs and maudlin squalls, but there is another part which has better taste and morals. To bring this interesting section of the community into the light it is only necessary to provide something excel lent at a moderate price. The people of whom we are speaking are not wealthy. They can seldom afford to pay $5 for a theater seat to' hear even the grandest ef grand opera sung by tenors and sopranos of world-wide fame.. The tickets must usually sell for a dollar or less to be within their means. An audience composed of these active-minded, intelligent people forms an Interesting study. Few clawham mer coats and dinner gowns will be seen in the seats. Almost everybody wears ordinary clothes because ho others can be afforded. But what is lost in gorgeous raiment is gained in intelligence and understanding. No fashionable audience listens with half the eager attention of these plain people or catches the fine beauties of the piece half so quickly. It is not necessary for the singers to court their favor, for they come to the theater as eager as children to be pleased, and are ready to applaud everything that has merit. They Know the fine pas sages in "Trovatore," 'Rigoletto" and "Faust," even if they have never beard the operas sung before, for these modest audiences are great readers and remember well the comments of writers whose opinions they respect. Some - of the great arias they have learned at home on the piano. The stories of the operas they know by heart, so that it makes little difference if the beautiful Italian words are but musical sounds to them without definite meaning. This audience is composed of many classes of people, most of whom live on moderate . salaries. There are teachers and ministers with their wives among them, here and there a lawyer who has not yet gained re nown and a heavy bank account, and plenty of men and women of the clerical type. There are others, too. One sitting in the balcony while the lovely strains of "Trovatore" fill the theater may have on his right hand an Italian, clean but dressed in work ing clothes, while on his left is a Russian laborer. They love good music as well as . if they possessed millions and have saved up for the great feast at the v Baker Theater. They listen to the voices with rapt attention. They never applaud in the middle of a scene, but at the end they award the tenor his full meed of glory and when he graciously condescends to repeat the divine melody of the Miserere they bend forward to gather every note and miss none of the heavenly harmony. Grand opera at popular prices is a boon to those who live the intellectual life on slender means. Their imagina tions are filled with the splendor of the famous scenes, but it is only rarely that they can see them on the stage, for in America great music is for biddingly expensive as a rule, unfold ing Its beauties only for the rich and the extravagant. If by pinching and saving they lay by the money to buy a ticket to , the gorgeous shows they never can 'sit with the best. They must climb wearisomely to the top gallery, where the loveliness of the music is poisoned with foul air and the keen edge of the notes is dulled by distance. But when the best seats can be had for a dollar they crowd the parquet, and, for once in their lives, hear Verdi's music and Gounod's as comfortably and happily as the multitude can hear it almost every night in European cities. They demonstrate, too, by their eagerness that the plain people love the best when it comes within their means. They must have amusement of some kind, but when the good is priced miles above their ability to pay they must perforce content themselves with mediocrity. ' But to the crowding audiences which have listened to the great operas at the Baker Theater music is not merely an amusement. It is more. far more. . It is a part of the Intel lectual life which they live in the rare and lofty moments when they can lay aside pretenses and false values and dwell with the great Ideal. Music, like science and literature. Is one of the mighty structures which human genius has reared in the progress of the ages. It is a voice which expresses the woe, the aspiration and the triumphs of universal man. Its chords unite us to the souls that have striven and suffered nobly, its melodies tell the mystic tales . of human experience whose meaning is too deep and sor rowful for words. To the mind which has been nurtured on high thoughts and dwelt with great ideals art is something strange and holy. To enter the theater where "Faust" or "Alda" is to be sung is like entering the por tals of some cathedral where the lofty arches seem to reach heaven In the dim light from the pictured windows and the perfumed air trembles mys teriously with the whispers of smiling angels. To hear Verdi's music is a religious privilege and he who makes it possible for the multitude con tributes to the spiritual uplift of man kind. FOR THE LAND HUNGRY. There is opportunity for" sensation in the intervention by the Attorney General In the Oregon & California Railroad grant case, but not of the order the Pinchotites and other reser vatlonlsts are seeking. Adoption and Import of the resolution instructing the Attorney-General to intervene were published fully in The Oregonlan following the close of the Legislature. There was nothing secretive about It. The real sensation is the situation in which an unconditional forfeiture of the grant lands will place Western Oregon. There are 2,074,161 acres of land lo cated in eighteen counties. The land is in tracts of individual sections, lo cated alternately or laid down like a great checkerboard. If it reverts to the Government without some reserva tion in behalf of the state it -will re main waste, or unused land, until Congress consents to devote time to a measure providing for Us disposition. At that time, if Eastern reservationists who have an echo in the West prevail. this great area will be covered into the Federal reserves where red tape and regulations will prevent utilization of even that which is best adapted to agriculture, if past history is a cri terion. The disastrous consequences to Western Oregon of reserving this grant from use or sale ought to be ap parent to every citizen. Intermingled with it are more than 3000 sections of other land whose best development will be prevented by the Federal re served sections which lie on each sWle. It Is not solely a matter of opening to use or sale the railroad land grant. An area twice as great is in a way In volved. The taxes collected on the 2,000,000 acres In the railroad'grant would have aggregated in the last year It was assessed the sum of $466,872.87.. Un conditional forfeiture means a sur render by Oregon of approximately half a ;mlllion dollars a year without calculating- the increase that would attend settlement and cultivation Herein U not mentioned the prosper, ous homes that might there be lo cated, nor the industries, nor the cre ation of wealth. Taxes alone amount to nearly half a million a -year. -- The resolution adopted by the Leg islature instructs the Attorney-General to intervene in the United States Su preme Court "for the purpose of se curing and protecting the best inter ests of the State of Oregon and its citizens and to take any and all steps and proceedings which may be neces sary or - permissible to safeguard such interests." It advocates elsewhere the disposition of the grant in accordance with the original terms sale to actual settlers at $2.50 per acre. It nowhere suggests that the Attorney-General support the railroad in an effort to re tain the lands and continue its policy of withholding them from use. It in structs him to protect the best Inter ests of the state and no one except he who is willing to sacrifice prosperity and development In behalf of doubtful benefits to unborn generations can conscientiously recommend the addi tion of this grant to the enormous res ervations and Government wastes in Oregon. ' PROGRESS AMONG NEGROES. Decided progress in education and economic independence of the negro race in the United States is shown by a census bulletin. Of negroes six to twen ty years of age 4 7.3 per cent, as com pared with 66.9 per cent among na tive whites of white parentage attend ed school In 1910, and in Boston the percentage ran up to 67.2 and in Con necticut to 67.1. The percentage of illiteracy, while still high 30.4 Is lower in the younger than in the older generations, being only 22.1 among negro children 10 to 14 years old in Georgia. The lowest percentage of Illiteracy among negroes over ten years old Is 3.4 in Oregon and Minnesota. The negro is also making progress as a home-owner, 22.4 per cent of negroes in the South owning their homes in 1910 as compared with per cent in 1900. As to occupation 87.4 per cent of males and 54.7 per cent of females over ten were gain fully employed. Of tho males 30.9 per cent were farm laborers and 25 per cent farmers. Negroes operated 893.370 farms worth $1,142,000,000. o which 9 8.6 per cent were irvthe South The number of farms operated by ne groes increased 19.6 and the value 128.4 per cent since 1900, compared with an increase of 9.5 per cent in number and 99.6 per cent in value of farms operated by whites, but only one-fourth of the negro farmers were owners compared with two-thirds of the whites. The increase in negro population between 19 00 and 1910 was 11.2 per cent, compared with 22.3 for whites, but the latter was due largely to im migration, which is negligible among negroes. More than 50 per cent of the total population of Mississippi and South Carolina was negro and between 40 and 60 per cent in Georgia, Louis iana, Alabama and Florida, while in each of 5 3 counties scattered through the South at least 75 per cent of the population was negro. Of the 9,827, 763 negroes, in the United States, 20.9 per cent were mixed blood, there hav ing been a continuous increase for forty years. The death rate among negroes is still much higher than that among whites, but is decreasing more rapidly. In all respects, the negroes show steady improvement . in education health and economic independence. With this improvement they are at taining a higher degree of self-respect and personal responsibility, which raises their social position and softens the friction arising from the race Issue. Chicago has completed the guaran tee fund for a season of grand opera this year and next. The amount re quired was $100,000 for each year and somewhat more has been obtained ithout difficulty. This should in spire Portland to new efforts for the support' of the symphony orchestra. We should be willing to do a little when other cities gladly do so much for music. Germany's strategic railroads on the eastern border facilitate swift concen tration of troops at unexpected points. The Russians, who have no such sys tem of railroads, are therefore con stantly taken by surprise and appar ently outgeneraled. But it is charac teristic of the Slav to retrieve his dis asters and begin again. He is partic ularly capable of learning from the enemy. Dean Briggs, of Harvard, bewails the increase of "the number of intel- ectual persons who cannot spell." His grief is made particularly poignant by the fact that one of his brightest stu dents spells eggs "algues." a quaint and original rendering. The chances are that Dean Briggs will see worse spelling . still before long. The- ten dency is decidedly in that direction. Black anarchy impends in Austria, The burdens of the people have be come unbearable and the demons ol revolt are swarming from the pit Things are more quiet on the surface in the other warring countries, but human nature is alike in all of them It will suffer patiently up to a certain limit, then it explodes. Luther Burbank's presence at the Rose Festival would be ornamental and inspiring. He may come, it is said, to judge the roses, but If he does he will himself be the fairest flower, Few men have done so much for the race as Mr. Burbank. We shall all rejoice to do him honor. Ah! Here is Sunday, our day of rest, at hand again. How delight fully refreshing. Nothing to do ex cept shape up the lawn, trim the rose bushes, weed the garden and perform a few incidental chores. Then, tomor row, back to the grind for a much needed rest. Peace talk should not be taken too seriously lest the heart be made sick by hope deferred. When there is peace, certain people predict war when there is war, certain others pre dict peace. In both cases many are proved false prophets. The prohibition avalanche is appar ently gathering- momentum In Great Britain. The breweries are a substan tial factor in English life. It is al most impossible to think of a beerless England, but the impossible sometimes happens. Foreign governments are gathering data on chaotic conditions in Mexico Europe may have to set apart some, of her hard-driven energies to straighten up the Mexican muddle. It is certain that we will do nothing. In, Germany It has been found tha a substitute for butter can be. made from sunflowers. Now if some way of reducing powder smoke to bread can be devised the supply problem will be fully met. Chinese students have been sent over to study the American press. China will have to speed up a few centuries in order to appreciate Amer ican Journalism, however. As to the precautions being taken to watch Iluerta we opine that he couldn't be lured into Mexico at the end of a rope attached to a span of hard-pulling army mules. Men past 4 5 are to be barred from appointment In the police department. These days of the young man It pays to have a good running start before passing the 4 5 mark. Having been utterly routed at the recent bond issue election we trust that the mossback army will now disband- and go over en masse to the army of progress. The war god has shifted the gear in his European machine from low to intermediate. He'll be getting Into high about next month with full speed ahead. A Virginia factory will make two and a half million shrapnel shells for a European consumer. An ample supply to fill at least 500,000 graves. The Portland polo team won an Im portant cup at the fair tourney. Which is another reminder that Portland usu ally scores In every line of activity. Special treatment is asked of Great Britain for ships carrying Oregon ap ples. Such a cargo assuredly Is en titled to special consideration. Russians report a complete rout of a picked German force in the Car pathians. Picked by the Russians for tho occasion, we take it. British wapien are urging an early end to the war. While Kitchener says the war will not really begin ' until next month. New aerial raids are threatened now that weather conditions are improv ing. Pity the Innocent non-combatant. If Germany succeeds in making "butter" from sunflowers she will add economic value to world industry. Italy, with 1,200,000 men in arms, could put the finishing touches on poor old Austria in short order. Bet the weather in Paradise is no improvement over the present April in Portland. Bishop Sumner Is becoming accli matized, and will be good for a hun dred years. In France the popular color this Spring Is black. Very appropriate. The April showers of this year will come later. The moon is dry. However, all In all.-the home team has made a pretty fair start. Full speed ahead for the Celllo cele bration! Not long till Rose Festival. Get busy. Gleams Through the Mist By Dean Collins. The April Yearn. Oh for he swirl of the sweet waters swlsh- Inc Round the red roots of the wild willow tree! Oh for the fun, farm forth to so fishing UOtto in the deeps where the speckted trout bel Woe to the wight who must stick at his noi kins-. When down in the shallows his quarry is lurking: Woe to the vanity only of wishing Just io be out in the open and free! Oh for the song of the swift streamlet plashing. Fretted with cold In tha allnt of the sun I Oh for the spray of the waterfall dashiugl Ana on ror the lunge of the trout as they run! White the brave bloom of the dogwood la drifting. Over the mirror of clear water shifting; Yonder Look! Lookl 'Tls the speckled trout flashing! Joint up your rod and prepare for the fun. Where Is the wight whom his office has lure fur. When the whole wide world Is mad with the Spring. Mad with a madness there's only one cure lor Just to be out like the birds and awlna-. Cherry blooms blown by the west wind are falling: Faintly and far the full forest Is calling; This is no time when your chains cau en dure, for You hear tho low chant that the trout rivers sing. O April, your spell Is too sweetly en thralling. And leads our poor fancies afar from onr tasks: The voice of the swlft-rushlng river Is calling. And drone the deep falls where the speckled trout basks. And woe to the wight who must, stick to his working. When down in the streamlets his quarry Is lurking; One day to be free, where the rapids are brawling And fighting trout linger Is all that one aski. e Our Idea of a mechanic is the man who can nail the old-fashioned carpet right back where he got it. without spraining his back or knocking oft either of liis thumb nails. Solemn Thought. When Spring is panting In the air. Then Phyllis wanders here and there Among the scented woodland bowers. And gathers lots and lots of flowers. And next day nature's bitter Joke Her nose swells up with poison oak. By the time the hygienic crank geta done showing you where to apply all of his ounces of prevention, you are in need of several pounds of cure for nervous prostration. - . "Sir," said the courteous office boy, "we have Just uncorked volume four of our capsule classics for the five-inch bookshelf for busy men." "Read it," I said, for I esteemed my self a busy man. "It is Tennyson's 'Princess' and goes thus:" said the C. O. B. I'rlnce goes away, Seking fiancee; Her tastes vary; Runs girl's seminary; DisKuWed as maids. Prince's bunch Invades; Princess finally met Kee-lur sufiracette. Spots them she's no fool Huns tlti-m out of school; Prince and several others Walloped by her brothers; Barely dodge the hearse; I'rincess acts as nurse; Kelents as he gets well; Consents to wedding bell: J-'uture plans they dream. Like I'ethlck-Lawrence team, see When a susceptible young chap goes out canoeing under the Spring moon these days with a pretty girl, tha jfjor Idiot probably Imagines that tho t.iot- to "Safety First" applies only to rock ing the canoe. see It seems sufficiently well established by this time that mothers of vaude ville artists didn't raise their boys to be soldiers, so why continue to rub It in? e e "I like to hear the froggles croak." Said simple Hufus Lialllngard. And next day sev'ral frogs moved la And settled down In his back yard. And as they croalfed at eventide. Full harshly simple Kufus spoke. While hunting for a hefty club: "liy jimmluy, I wlh they'd croak!" Italy and Russia appear to be mak ing about equal progress toward the invasion of Austria-Hungary. Brftanla rules the waves, 'tis true. Where'er the ocean laves; But look what things are coming to A bit beneath the waves. e Although it Is an even bet that soma other wheeze-whlttler bas beaten us to It, we beg to suggest that Jess Wil lard, in his proposed vaudeville en gagement, might make a hit in that popular song, "Blow the Smoke Away." e To travel daily miles and miles The Jitney bus aspires. And yet the hope seems vsln, ou know. Because the Jitney tires. m Silence is golden, but who ever saw a woman taking the gold cure? e , The Jitney jingle above waa summlt ted by a chap who didn't know we had declared a closed season on Jitney wheezes. To prevent him from coming back with more we hereby outflank, him: The Jitney knocks the streetcar trade While running here and there; We wonder, when this game Is played, bay Is tho Jitney fare? e e All that jitneys is not Ford. A Matter of Proportion. Howe'er It be, it seems to ine. Although I know not what It means. There are more trucks than touring cars. And Jitneys more than limousines, see The cost of keeping up his car Hrought Jones unto a sorry pass; He runs It as a Jitney now And almost pays for tires and gas. e e e He motored to his ork at morn; He walked to lunch at noon; He motorcycled out to fish; He street-csrrnd home eftsoon; He taxlcabbed about at night. As any fellow must, ( And 'gainst a lamp post, later on. The poor guy Jitney bust. BVKNIXG CHIMES. Six persons arose at the break of day To earn their "dough" in the usual way. As judges and clerks on an election board A luxury that Portland doth oft afford. And. the hours dragged and the voters were few And the air wa cold and the room was "blue" : For the chairman "cussed" and the ladies "tatted." And all grew weary as fast as they chatted. And the hours dragged and the voters all in And the night board came with a know ing grin; And in an hour, less or more. Had checked those ballots o'er and o'er. Had closed the box and hiked away. " 'Twas easy money," then quoth they. And the "people dear" they paid the bill. As they ever do and ever will! GRACE E- J I ALU 1