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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1915)
3 OLYMPIA, LONG SUPPRESSED, IS FINALLY BECOMING . Capital, Ignored by Legislature for Many Years, Now Shows Material Growth aricl Good Trade Prospects. ' ST ADDISON BESNBTT. ; OLYMPIA. Waeh.. Oct. 9. (Special Correspondence.) JVUh but. few exceptions,' only two I think, Olympia ia the-oldest town in Washlne on, of which state it ia the capital city. With only one exception, it is the smallest capital -city in the United States. It- had a population by the census of 1910 of 6996. which was but a trifle les than six-tenths of 1 per ent of the population of the state, as "Washington's , tqlal population was 1.141,990. But to reach that percentag-e Olympia made jl growth of almost 100 per cent during the preceding decade. Now. I am not starting my article in this way to belittle Olympia. There must be reasons for this state of af fairs, and I have been trying to die these reasons out. AVhen I state my conclusions I think any fair-minded reader will agree with me. But. first, let us so back to the foundation of the city. It was in 1846 that a little frroup of pioneers made their way from the vicinity of Portland and Vancouver down the Columbia River, thence up the Cowlitz River and across the divide to the Deschutes, and thence to the extreme southern end of Puget Sound, where the Deschutes flows into the Sound. The place where they made their camp was about the' falls of the Deschutes at what is now called Turn water, which is about a mile south of Olympia. This river should not be con founded with the river of the same name in Oregon. Of course there is no man living to day who can say just how these men argued that they had pitched their tents on what tbey considered the logi cal location for founding a city. But a pretty good guess can be made, for, ever since the foundation of civilization the Important cities have grown up as near the headwaters of navigation as possible. City. Ia End of Oregon Trail. Seven years later, in 1853. the terri. tories ot Oregon and Washington were divided upon the lines existing today. and Washington was started out with a territorial- government, and Olympia designated the capital city, and has so remained and ever will remain. That great man. I. I. Stevens, was appointed the first Governor, and the old mansion in which he resided is still standing. Not far from it was later set up ,a tablet marking the "Knd of the Oregon Trail," and.it till stands there, in the present capitol grounds, as a monu ment likewise to the hardy pioneers who believed they had found .also the westernmost end of civilization In their country. There is no. use in following closely the history of the city for the next two or three decades. It did not have a very rapid growth, but was the real metropolis of Washington. In 1S90 the place had a population of 4S58, but' be fore that time events had culminated to start the wonder cities of the state. So In 1900 the population had dwindled to 3863. To tell why the place had grown so slowly and then began to go back wards it is only necessary to look at the railway maps of the state. First came the Northern Pacific and under took to build a metropolis where stands tho present caJitol waa erected. the City of Tacoma. Later came the (rreat Northern and made its terminals at Seattle. Both roads ignored Olympia. Indeed, so fierce became the railway opposition that in the early '90s, when the town was in doldrums, an attempt was made to remove the capital. El lensburg making a strong fight prin c-lpally through the Northern Pacific influences. And during all these years the state was niggardly in support of its capital. Jt was only after a bitter fight that . building which the state outgrew two decades ago. The legislators gave mighty little to Olympia that any other portion of the state wanted. Instead of having the tat institutions here near heir controllers' hands, they scattered them all over the state. The penitentiary is at Walla Walla, the state asylums at Steilacoom, Cedro Wooly and Medical Lake, the Girls' Training School at Centralia, or near there, tho Boys' Training School near 4'hehalis, the Hospital for the Feeble Minded at Vancouver, the Normal Schools at Bcllingham, Cheney and El lmsbursr. the Tndian Training School at Tacoma and the state fair grounds at North Yakima. The only state buildings here are the Capitol, the Temple of Justice (Supreme Court building), the Btste Ijiw Libraiy and the Reference Library, Now It can not be supposed that the various state institutions were located remote from the capital through spasms of economy. Take the public institutions of Ore con: the governing boards can visit them all in half a day, can thus visit them often and keep close tab on them. To do that In this state would require an expenstve trip of more than a week. No; the locations were made more than likely by deals among the mem bers of the Legislature but always lympia got the little cnl of the bar gain. Going back to the railways; olympia lias never had. has not now. wnythlng like adequate rail accommo dation. Kor years the only line was the dray's Harbor branch of the North ern Pacific. Now the Great Northern has a spur into the city from Plumb .Station, lrt miles nortu of Tontno. which has one train each way a day. Not through soad touches the place. However, the O.-W. R. & N. Is now laying rails on a line that will lead out east seven miles to the joint lines of tho Northern Pacific and O.-W. R. & N Over this they promise good service and clofe connictions with all through trains between Seattle and Portland even with the Shasta Limited. This Is the first ray of hope In the way of x good rail connection that the Olympia people have ever had and they apnre elate it. The depot will be in the heart of the city and the road will be in operation withbi & month or so. I do not suppose I am voicing the fenttmenta of the Olympia people publishing these facts. They have be come .o accustomed to getting the crow and letting the oiher. fellows get the turkey that they are quire inured to their fate. The facts and deductions are joy own. It might be well to philosophize a utile bit and draw upon tnc imagina tlon as to what sort of a city Olympii would be if the Northern Pacific had been built at Olympia as originally in tended. A mere .moiety of what the grounds, docks and harbor connections cost t Tacoma would, have dredged the T. "T - ' -' ' t - 7T T ; ..yr... entire bay west of the city to a depth of 35 feet at low tide, and connecting up with the leep water south of Ta coma. And the dredging would have mado an ideal townsite large enough, with the high grounds back of It. for a city of 500,000 people. This was con sidered the logical site for a city by the pioneers of 1846; it seemed the logical location when Governor Stevens made his reports to the Northern Pa cific people; it seems a logical location today. Olympia Growing Rapidly. ' Do not for a moment suppose that Olympia is standing still. In my fig ures I have given the city a population of 10,000. The directory people and the postoffice officials give it 11.000. It is safe to say that even if times wag along about as at present until 1920 the city of Olympia will show a growth for the present decade of more than 100 per cent. I have been over the city pretty thoroughly and have taken notes care fully, I can say that there are 100 new dwellings in the city that have gone up within tn last 12 months. When I was last here, about six years ago. Olympia was a sort of overgrown, straggling, mud-streeted village. Now practically every street is paved and well paved; The principal business street is about as fine a thoroughfare as you Can find in any city of its size in the country. During the last year, mostly j during the -, last six months, about a -dozen good business-buildings have been erected, and more are under way, some of them handsome struc tures.'- None -of them are skyscrapers, lots are too low in price for that; but good substantial two-story tructures; most ly, of brick or reinforced concrete. One of ihem, the new home of the Olympia National Bank, is about as handsome a structure as you will find any where. The new Capital Apartments is another handsome buildin;?. one of which any city might well be proud. It is a long time since I have seen a city showing a, better growth than Olympia. Another cheering tiling ia that busi ness in all lines is mighty good and the merchants- tell me it is getting better every day. I was talking with one of the largest genera dealers in the city today and he told me his September business was almost 70 per cent over that of Spttmber. 1911. The city is growing, business is growing and the spirit of optimism is doing the same. One thins causing tbis is the action of the O.-W. il. & N. in building their cut off during these days of railway de pression. Indeed this is the greatest rift in the transportation clouds the city has ever experienced. Several Public Buildings Completed. The city has a great many fine build ing a.ii.le from the state structure. The 'Ciipitol is a very line structure, but far. far too small. Plans are being perfected for grouping all of the state buildings, which means a new Capitol. perhaps twice as roomy as the present one. But more about that later. Dur ing the last year a splendid public li brary has been put up and the Federal building completed. This is an exoel lent structure also, its architectural lines being very artistic. The County Courthouue is another attractive edi fice, this being the county seat of Thurston County. The Masonic Tem ple is another important structure. Mentioning the county reminds me that Thurston County is about the size of Washington County. Oregon. Wash ington County has 713 square miles. Thurston County 709. Thurston has a population: or had by the last census. of 17,681 people, which was a growth of i.i per- cent over 1300. Agriculturally speaking it is -a good county, particu larly adapted to dairying. There are two creameries here and several small ones scattered over the county. Dairy ing is advancing rapidly. In March, 1314, there were 4160 dairy cows in the! county; in March. 1915. the number had increased to 5185. That is a mighty tine growth and of the right sort of an industry. . If it keeps up with an In crease of 25 per cent a. year it will mean great things for Olympia and Thurston County. It is said that there have been more silos sold in the county during the year than there were here all told last Spring. In the first place it means an enlarged corn area, ia the second place it means an increase in the average milk yield per cow and more hogs and more silos. Bank Standing High. Olympia, like many of her neighbor ing cities, was bitten a year or so ago by the high finance bug. Consequently depositors, especially foreigners, are chary about dealing with banks. Hence the bank deposits of these cities are not what they should be. But Olympia is not ashamed of her financial stand ing. On the contrary, she is proud of it, for the showing made is good. There are now but two banks here, but both are - strong in every way. The Capital National is the oldest. having enjoyed a successful career, for the last statement, issued on Septem- ber gives a capital of siOO.000. sur plus and profits of $17o.687, and de posits of $1,474,447. C. J. Lord is the president, W. J. Foster ca6hier. Mr. Lord has the reputation of being one of the safest and most astute bankers In the state. The bank is growing rap idly and is attracting funds from all over Southwestern vs ashington. The Olympia National has a. capital of $30,000. surplus and profits of $91. 632. and deposits of $587,179. - P. M. Troy is the president and F. M. Kenny tho cashier. This bank has just about THE SUNDAY OKEGOXTANV PORTLAND i. bEEE.; . --. .. ' - . . :t " I " T - ' ' ' 1 completed one of the finest bank homes that any financial concern in- the Northwest has. This new building will oe occupied between now and Novem ber. It surely speaks well for a city and well for a bank to erect as hand some a building as that of the Olympia National. Papers Prosper With City. Olympia has now four good news papers, two daily and two weekly. The Morning Olympian was founded in 1891. It is ably managed by t-. L. Lester. An evening daily is issued from the same office, the Olympia Dally Recorder. Both of these papers are controlled by that able and versatile newspaperman of Tacoma, Sam Per kins, who is responsible for the Tacoma Daily Ledger, one of the ablest papirs in Washington. The Washington Standard is ono Ot the oldest newspapers in the state. It was established in 1860. It is issued weekly under the able editorial man agement of Eagle Freshwater. The other weekly, the Olympia Chronicle, was established in 1899. It is under the guiding hand of M. D. Abbott. All of these papers enjoy a good advertis ing patronage and represent wt-11-equlpped printing establishments. An establishment that means much to Olympia, and -will mean more and more every day, is the National Can ning Company, which puts up all sorts of canned goods. It is a California cor poration. George S. Pelton being the president. W. P. McCaffry secrctary and treasurer, and Mark Ewald vice president and manager. This concern has, during the last few months, ship ped 25 carloads of its products to New York City, via the Panama Canal. It has a large plant on the waterfront and has ideal rail connections. A number of years ago the Olympia people, knowing that to escape the rail road oppression they must do some thing for themselves, organized the Olympia Terminal Railway Company. They built a belt line running all along the waterfront and connecting with all of the docks and manufacturing es tablishments and with the Northern Pacific branch line. This wan oper ated as needed until President Farrell. of the O.-W. R. & N.. came along and purchased it for his company, which is now connecting it up with the line un der construction out to the main line. It was a wise move of the Olympians. perhaps had they not built it their day of deliverance would not yet be in sight. Chamber Baa Ita Worker. After all. I guess the most Impor tant factor in the remarkable upward movement now going on here is the Olympia Chamber of Commerce, of which J. L. Peters is president and H. L. Whiting secretary, with Fred Hepp as assistant secretary. Mr. Peters is one of the foremost and active business men of the city, and Mr. Whiting an able executive officer. The chamber has 280 members. do not simply mean that number of names on their books. They have that number or active, working members. And they are leaving no stone unturned toward upbuilding their city. It. is difficult and expensive to run an or ganizauon ot tnat sort. Their ex penses of entertainment are entirely out or proportion to tneir resources, tor Olympia is tne greatest conven tion city in the state. And the dele gates are always well treated, while their wives and sweethearts are en tertained in a way to send them home praising the Olympians for their hos pitality. Just now the chamber is busily en gaged in arranging for the Thurston County Fair, which opens on October 18. It wj.ll be among the last fairs of the season, and they are making every effort to have it the best in the state. xney are also engaged with the county agriculturist, O. C. Van Houten. in lending what aid they can toward getting more people on the lands of Thurston County. To that end they have formed a board of five members to co-operate with Mr. Van Uouton, consisting of a leading business mu from the bank ers, fruitgrowers, cannerymen. grocers and creameries. Now this Is not a committee of idleness. Mr. Van Houton called them together for a meeting at 9 o clock one morning when t was in the city and every one of them was present. Oyster in Demand Everywhere. Wherever a person along the coast. from Mexico on the south to the Cana dian possessions on the north, speaks of Olympia, tho auditor's first thought is: "That is where the delicious Olympia oysters come from." Well. Olympia sends out about $500,000 worth each year, or has during the ast coupie of years, and t-e .demand is growing steadily. I noticed an ex press truck on the platform at the depot one morning, on which there were about a dozen boxes, all con taining oysters. Out of curiosity, I looked at the labels on them. I found two boxes going to San Diego, two to Lob Angeles, four to San Francisco. others to Denver, Salt Lake City, Butte, St. Paul and Winnipeg. And in no other place do they mature with the perfection that they do In their native waters hereabouts. several years ago an enterprising man of small means living here pur- Chased a little hand knitting machine. The operator stuck to his knitting o closely that today he is the proprietor oi a Knitting establishment that Is employing about 30 persons and turn ing out hoods, coats, sweaters, scarfs and caps of such rare varieties that it promises to become one of the large Institutions of the Northwest. Another important Industry that has developed beyond expectations is an ex tract concern, the Buckeye Extract Company. Starting in a very modest way a couple of years ago. It now employs a good many persons, prin cipally girls, in the factory and con stantly keeps three salesmen on the road. Of course, the lumber business is the greatest here, and always has been. There are four sawmills and three shingle mills almost in the city limits, and also one door manufactory. These concerns have had a pretty steady run during the lumber slump, and from now on it is expected that they will increase tneir output, for., it seems a turn has been reached in that busi ness, a turn for the better. Brewery Pre-usre for D rouge lit. "It's the Water!" Did you ever see a sign reading like that. Did you ever try the product founded on Olympta's famous water and the famous hops of Oregon and Washington? Yes, Well, all admit it was a pretty good article of beer. . However, there is a rumor circulating up and down and around thhrough Oregon and Washington that plain water is to be the fashionable drink after January 1. I think I can hear the managers of the Olympia brewery saying "We should worry." As a matter of fact, they have par tially turned their brewery into the soft-drink channel. They may put out a near-beer, but I am not sure. But they are already turning out about the best fruit Juices I ever tasted, their "Luju" being as fine an article of lo ganberry juice as there is, and put up in all-sized bottles from the 10 cent size to the quarts. Then their "Fruju," or fruit Juices, are simply de licious and made in eight different fla vors. The principal part of the juice extracting is done atSalein. so Oregon will get some of the benefits, at least for a while.- That the late brewery people will make a success of their ven ture is assured. With their large capi tal and great business ability they are sure to make a go of it- Soon we will probably see an electric sign at the bend in Sixth street. Portland, with an OCTOBER 10, 1915. electrio liquid flowing over a fall, and over all a great electrical sign "It's the Ju." . : Going down to the business eentor of Olympia. at Fourth and -Main streets, you will see on the telephone poles cer tain marks. If you are wise you will know that the marks, on Fourth street OPTIMISM IS FOUND ON ALL SIDES IN GERMANY People Unanimous in Opinion That United States Was Unjust in Treatment of Lusitania Affair, Says Richard Koehler. GERMANY in war times Industrial Germany, social Germany and po litical Germanyare described by Kicnard Koenior, retired purchasing agent of the O.-W.' R. & N. Company, who has just returned from a year's visit in various parts ot that country. Mr. Koehler, in response to repeated inquiries from . friends, has prepared tor The Oregoman an explanation ot the German attitude toward the United States Government over the Lusitania and Ar.ioic incidents and over the Vari ous otiier subjects of controversy be tween those two countries. Lite in German cities and in the homes of the people is unchanged from times of peace, he says. The people are hopeful and optimistic, loyal to their government and patriotic. r reedom of the seas for all na tions and the right of Germany to com pete for world trade with jealous com petitors," he declares, is the sole ob ject of the German nation in the pres ent war. Some of the principal questions asked of Mr. Koehler and bis replies to them follow: What was the attitude of the Ger man people towards the American Gov ernment over the Lusitania and Arabio incidents? Did the German people seem to justify the sinking of the Lusitania? America Considered ITnjuat. The 3erman people were unanimous in the opinion that the American Gov ernment was unjust in its treatment of tho Lusitania Incident. In that it disregarded the position in which Ger many was placed by previous measures of Great Britain by her declaring a blockade of the English Channel and a large area of the North Sea, in stead of attempting to block the Ger man harbors under recognized rules of international law or usage: and in subsequently Inaugurating measures under its so-called orders in council. intended to cut off all food and other supplies from reaching Germany, even It noncontraband. The German people cannot under stand why the United States acquiesced in these measures, while strongly pro testing against German measures, re sulting in the submarine warfare against English commerce and did not go beyond a mild protest to the Eng lish government and allowing the en tire controversy, so far as Great Brit ain was concerned, to rest for an in definite time, while on the other band vigorously protesting to Germany and threatening with severe measures un less submarine warfare were modified. Germany considered it the duty of the United States as the only powerful neutral to act on behalf of all neu trals and force Great Britain to aban don her measures intended to starve the civil population of Germany and to dominate the sea to the exclusion of all other nations. German people were, therefore, in run accord with their government in measures taken in retaliation, especially in view of tho timely notice given In establishing a submarine commercial warfare. Germans Behind Oovrrn merit. Much as the great loss of life was regretted by every German (and it may here be said that the - rapid sinking of the ship seemed to point to some inner explosion, caused by the nature of the cargo), they stand behind their government, asserting that ample warning had been given to Intending passengers before embarking, by the general notice In February and by signify that it Is a part of the Olympic Highway; the marks on Main street signify that that street forms a part of the Pacitio Highway. By following the marks on the poles you will have no trouble in keeping on the main high way. As long as you see no mark, keep straight on; if there Is a large white special notice published before sail ing. They looked and still look upon the Lusitania as au auxiliary cruiser and registered as such, carrying muni tions and other contraband. The wholesale furnishing of mu nitions by Americans, although it Is not declared to be prohibited b- law, is, of course, looked on as an unfriendly act and has em bittered the German people to a hisl degree, so that they have been look ing on any. attempt of their government to prevent munitions reaching their enemies as an act justifiable: in fact. as a duty to the country. The Dumba incident occurred about the time I was leaving Germany and while I am unable to say from per sonal observation I think that the po sition ot tno uerman peoplo Is fully expressed in the action taken bv the German Ambassador in Washington, who brought to the. attention of the German citizens residing in the United States the provisions of the German law, mailing it a criminal offense for persons of German citizenshin to lend aid in the manufacturing of ammuni tion or other war material Intended for the enemy. I do not think that they are sanctioning measures calcu lated to raise international strife in the industrial world of the United States. Berlin Life Is Normal. In regard to life in Berlin and other cities during the war period as com pared with life in normal times, to the casual observer it would seem, gener ally speaking, about the same as in peace times; that is to say, the .streets are as crowded at certain hours of the day and night as heretofore. The res taurants and coffee-houses are fre quented as much as in time of peace: theaters and concerts are xoin and well, attended. The only difference seemed to be that night life was cur tailed by order of police or military regulations, securing an earlier closing of places of amusement. The theaters cut out many plays of origin belong ing to hostile countries, especially those who made themselves particu larly obnoxious, like Gabriel D'Annun io and others. Plays of Shakespeare or Moliere could be seen on many of the prominent stages. Repertoires In theaters had largely a patriotic tinge. The character of the population fill ing the streets was only changed in sofar as you would notice a smaller proportion of younger men in civilian attire. This was offset, however, by a greater number of uniformed men. of ficers, as well as men from the ranks men in all kinds of uniforms, for to the arms of cavalry, artillery and in fantry there are now added the air men, the chauffeurs, the motorcycle men, the hospital corps, physicians, etc. There is a constant throng of men of all arms coming and going; men recently called to the colors: men drill ing: men moving to the front or men on furlough coming from or going to the front. Added to this is the con tingent of the sick and wounded. You would see the latter frequently at places of amusement listening to a con cert or whlling away their time in some other suitable way of recreation. Traasportatioa Is Lacking. One distinct change is shown by the smaller number of vehicles to take care of passenger locomotion. Horse car riages as well as motors are not in abundance. Lack of transportation made Itself felt, however, only during eucn hours of the day when there wax a particular rush, to and from places of FACTOR -1 I s,. L on a black ground, turn to the left and soon you will come to a pole that has. If the road goes straight on. a ide white band between two black bands. In all cases such a sign means straight ahead, an L means to the left and an R to the right. It strikes me that this Is a mighty tine way to mark these Important highways. On the posts in Portland I have seen signs that must have been put up to confuse Instead of instruct; by the method in vogue In Washington there can be no confusion, no delay. On occasions the people of Olympia hnd they have -about 2500 strangers -to take care of,, usually . when the Legis lature is grinding. But they always do take care ot them. This shows that there must be ample hotel accommoda tions. Well. I would hardly say that the hotels can "sleep and eat" 2500 strangers, but with the assistance of tho numerous restaurants and the many rooming-houses there is never any real difficulty. School System la Good. However, the city has two good ho tels, and large ones the Mitchell and the Kneeland. I was fortunate enough to stop at the former, where ' H. M. Pierce, the manager, took good care of me. It Is about as good a stopping place as you can find anywhere. The Kneeland. 1 was told, gave mighty good accommodations. I might go on for a few columns and tell ahput the stores, the schools, the churches, and and the new or con templated future grouping of the state hnlldlngs. As 'to the schoois. it can simply be said that. like all Washington cities, they are good. Of churches there is no lack, about ull of the denomina tions being represented. Some of. the church buildings are very beautiful, and I tried to get pictures of half a dozen of them to form a sort of mosaic. But my time was too short to do so. As to the grouping of the state buildings, that is so far simply a pro posal. It will soon come, beyond a doubt, for the Capitol is wholly inade quate to the present needs of the state. A plan of segregation has been worked out and drawings made of it. Finally, let me say that I was greatly -surprised to nnd Olympia the attractive city it is. My last visit, a half dozen years ago. left a bad impression with me. bo I went there last week rather reluctantly only to And it one of the finest cities I have visited for a lon time and prosperous. I think I can say In all candor that Olympia today is making greater headway, taking, of course, population into consideration, than any other city in. Oregon or Wash ington. - And you must remember I get around a lot and see about all of the citiea In the two states. work or to and from the trains, and especially in the morning and evening and at the time when theaters and concerts begin or end. Then it was. indeed, difficult to obtain accommo dations. Regarding food in sight or in pros-' pect to supply the German civilian pop ulation for the probable length of the war, I think no dearth need be ex pected. Measures taken by the gov ernment in time tended to prevent waste and insure a rational use of stocks on band. There was some fear in the begin-. ning that foodstuffs would run short, for Germany always imported not in considerable quantities for man and beast. Statistical information obtained i.t the earliest period of the war showed that by economic handling any dan ger of shortage ought to be avoided, but in order to obtain desired results, measures were frequently taken by the government, mostly of a highly socjal- slic character. Cereal Distribution Requested. The first thing to be taken in hand was to regulate the distribution of wheat, rye and other cereals. A large concern for the purchase of these food stuffs was established; maximum and minimum prices were fixed and the en tire country which already in peace time was organized "for self-admlnls-' tration down to Its smallest units the 'communal-verband," composed cither of one large city or a group of smaller towns and villages or a district, facil itated materially this distribution and equalisation. Owing to the shortage of wheat no pure wheat bread was allowed. A com position of wheat, rye and potato flour was adopted, which Is nutritious and palatable and which involved no hard ship on the population, proper care be ing taken of the sick by an exception from this otherwihe universal ruling to use such bread. In order to cut out unnecessary con sumption of cereals by an overstock of about 5,000.000 hogs, an early slaugh ter of these was arranged, converting them into meat products of lasting quality, such as hams and smoked ware, sausage, etc. Potatoes and many . other products required for the sus tenance of life were likewise put in full control of the government and ad ministered by it for the common good. cutting out undue speculation and maintaining reasonable prices for all alike. In fixing the amount that could be obtained on individual bread tickets the allowance, while large enough in the average, was not sufficient for hard-working laboring men. and after taking an inventory of stock, which, in most instances showed quantities of commodities in excess of estimates, the government promptly modified the allotment of bread to laboring people. Check of supplies on hand and in sight after the harvest of 1915 could be fairly estimated, which harvest was only an average one, perhaps even slightly below the average, showed a sufficiency for the support of the na tion. And in addition to home product Germany now controls by occupation almost the whole of Russian Poland, most of Belgium and a good slice of Northern France, which contains vast agricultural areas that are under cul tivation. What do the German people say that Germany is fighting for. and what is the ultimate object of Germany in this war? The German people are fighting for their existence as a nation; for their right to expand their trade and for the right to maintain themselves as an equal to other world powers, and this Involves the right to use the sea.s which they wish to have free to all nations on like terms. Their ultimate object in this war is to obtain as speed ily as possible an honorable and last ing peace which will secure to them and to others the above aims. They assert that the war was not of their seeking: that it was forced on them to defeat their attempt at further prog ress towards industrial and commer cial expansion. ,