6
TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, POKTLAXD, JANUARY 30, 1916.
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POKTLANO. SCXDAV, JAMAKV SO, 1916.
JI'IIGKS AND THE PRESIDENCY:.
A phase of the possible Hughes
nomination for President is the fervor
with which the newspaper and politi
Ciil friends of President Wilson ap
plaud the Hughes determination not
to be a candidate. They are unani
mous in the opinion that the Supreme
Court of the United States ought not
t be defiled by politics, and that Jus
tice Hushes should stay where he Is.
They feel and say that he has a -noble
regard for the best traditions of the
court. It is shocking:, indeed, that any
member of the court should so far
forget the dignities and honors of his
high position as to be swayed by mere
personal ambition to hold a greater
office. Yes, indeed. But, sad to say,
the Supreme Bench has more than
once been mentioned in connection
iivith the Presidential nomination, and
singularly enough, always till now for
the Democratic nomination.
Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, a name
well remembered by readers of his-
tory for the period of the Civil War,
and by the survivors of that stirring
epoch, was a candidate for President
in 1S60, in the Republican convention.
He failed, but was made Secretary of
the Treasury, a position which he
filled with distinguished success.
Though a member of Lincoln's Cab
inet, he was known yet to be friendly
to all suggestions that he be again a
candidate in 1864; and through his
brilliant daughter. Kate Chase, his
home was a center of social and polit
ical exploitation, looking to the eleva
tion of Chase to the Presidency. But
the wise Lincoln removed Chase as a
possibility in 1864 by making him
Chief Justice.
The sensational events which fol
lowed did not relieve Justice Chase
of his great ambition, but he fell so
far out of touch with his party that
he was regarded as a Democrat. In
1868, In response Jo an Inquiry from
the chairman of the Democratic Na-
tional Committee as to whether he
might be a candidate before the Dem
ocratic convention, he wrote a letter
In which he said:
I have now answered your letter as
think I ought to answer It. I beg- you to
believe me. for I aay in all sincerity that 1
do not desire the office of President, or a
nomination tor It: nor do 1 know that, with
my views and convictions. 1 am a suitable
candidate for any party. or tnat my
countrymen must Judge.
Most clearly the Chase letter was
an Invitation for the Democratic con
vention to nominate him on his own
terms; but it was not done.
Rut there is another notable ei'
ample of consuming Presidential am-
bition bv a Supreme Court Justice.
Stephen J. Field another Lincoln ap
pointee was openly a candidate for
the Democratic nomination in 1880
His name was presented to the con
vention, and he received sixty-five
votes. The name of Justice Field is
among those which gave luster to
America's highest tribunal of justice.
F.ut the list is not closed. Alton B.
Parker, of New York, was Chief Jus
tice of the Court of Appeals for that
state. He was a candidate for the
Presidency in 1904, and he was nomi
nated by the St. Louis convention. He
was not elected, for he ran against
Theodore Roosevelt. A large part of
the Democratic party did not vote for
him, but the reason -was not that the
sacred precincts of a court had been
"invaded" to find a candidate.
If, perchance, the Republican party
In 1916 should call upon Justice
Hughes to become its candidate for
President, and he should accept, it
may be assumed. In view of the rec
ord, that the Democratic press will
concede that no inviolable precedent
has been broken down.
PROSPERITY AND LONGEVITY.
It is altogether natural, perhaps,
that with bounteous prosperity on
every hand Americans should live too
well for their own good. The aver
age business man or clerk who lives a
sedentary life Is a full-blooded animal,
eating more food than he needs and
engaging in less exercise than his sys
tem demands. He has been warned
repeatedly, even to the point of being
advised professionally, that the germs
of decay have Infested his body by
the time he is 30 and that thereafter
it Is merely a matter of how long this
vital organ or that one may hold out.
If these Irregularities take the form
of arterial hardening, he may never
pass through his 40's. Heart disorders
lead to death at almost any age. while
disruption of vital organs may precipi
tate breakdown or death at an age
when the individual should be at his
very best physically.
Repeated warnings have had the
effect of frightening many into better
living habits. Gymnasiums and out
door exercise are growing in populari
ty. But a great number of sedentary
Americans persist in courting early
decay, a fact emphasized by recent
vital statistics, showing that, while in
fant mortality has fallen off amazing
ly In the past twenty years, the death
rate has Increased In the higher age
groups. In other words, the child of
4 is in less danger of death, while the
man of 40 is in more danger.
It is entirely natural that where our
Interest In our own health leaves off
that of the insurance companies be
gins. The longer we live the better it
suits these gentle folk, and whether
their motives be altruistic or other
wise, the benefits are quite the same.
The companies are always delving into
vital health and mortality statistics
in search of enlightenment on the
elusive subject of mortal longevity.
They seek to point a moral and sound
a warning. If we live longer we ben
efit ourselves and the Insurance com
panies. A perfect community of in
terests! So. more than passing inter
est attaches itself to the latest experi
ment conducted for the purpose of
tring to find out why many Ameri
cans do not live longer.
Two groups of 1000 men each were j
set apart by the Life Extension In.
stitute. The first group, composed of
skilled mechanics, was examined as to
the health of its units, and the re
sults were compared with those ob
tained in taking the health ratings o
the second group, composed of clerk
and desk men. Oddly enough, no
great difference was found in the
health of these two classes of work
era. One group showed a marked pre
disposition for a particular order o
organic disturbance, but neither group
was in robust health. Dr. Eugene
Lyman Fink, who conducted the test.
notes the ill effects of bad habits of
living, particularly overeating. Th
life of the average young man in the
two groups, he finds, is preparing for
an early breakdown or premature
death, which might be prevented by
simpler living and adherence to ordi-
nary hygienic guidance.
The trouble is that we have not ad
Justed ourselves to our prosperity.
Take the simple folk of Central and
Southern Europe, with their frugal
diet. Their lease of life is long. Eco
nomic conditions Impose clean living
upon them. Economic conditions here
surfeit as with food at a minimum of
exertion. Prosperity is not an un
mixed blessing unless we learn as
people to temper our plenty with wis
dom.
THE ALTERNATIVES.
Estimates wer given the Senate mill
tary committee today by Brigadier-General
Croxler. showing1 that a plant costing S40O.
000.000. operated by a force of 750.000 work
men. would be required to manufacture am
munition and -war materials necessary to
keep an army of a million men in the field
and equip an additional million recruits.
rom an Associated Press dispatch.
The alternative, no doubt, is
smaller plant, operated by fewer men
which shall be operated continuously,
in time of peace, in order to lay up
great stores of munitions for time of
trouble.
Or it is to devise and support a mil
itary policy, which provides that un
der no circumstances shall we have
a large Army, regular, or reserve, or
volunteer, which will call for the- use
of great supplies of munitions.
Of course, then, in case of war, we
shall be the easy prey of any aggressor,
But will not the mighty principle that
nobody shall make any money out of
the manufacture of arms and am
munition have been vindicated?
NOT REACTIONARY.
Whatever the merits of the Brandeis
appointment to the Supreme Court
of the United States, the plea by a
frothy newspaper admirer of all the
President's acts that it will tend to
offset the "reactionary side of the
court" is both demagogic and inex
cusable. It would be interesting to
have some one who thinks the court
needs a leaven of radicalism and so.
clalism to give its "reactionary" rec
ord. The fortunate truth is that the
Supreme Court of the United States
is the most wisely progressive body
in the world. In the long list of
hearings for the past twenty-five
years, it is doubtful if a single decision
can be cited to which the characteriza
tion "reactionary" can be given. But
if there should be those who regard
the New York bakery case, or the
original Income tax decision as belong
ing to that classification, the many
instances where the court has taken
most advanced ground may be cited in
disproof. It was the Supreme Court
of the United States which came to
the rescue of the women workers in
the Oregon laundry case, several
years ago, giving to the sex the special
protection of favoring legislation. It
was the same court which upheld the
initiative and referendum. It may be
imagined that a reactionary bench
would have" made short work of that
radical Innovation.
Public welfare laws, safety appli
ance laws, corporation regulation laws.
shorter-hours-of-labor laws all laws
for the protection and liberty of the
citizen have with scarcely an excep
tion been sustained by the Supreme
Court. It is. not the bulwark of the
Interests." as it proved in the North
ern Securities decision; and it is the
refuge of the Individual who seeks
equality before the law and the right
to work in security under humane
conditions.
It is not to be assumed that the
President or anyone speaking with au
thority for him, will venture to ex
cuse the Brandeis appointment on the
ground that the court Is reactionary.
" itAKTIAL tCNACT.
When the smoke of conflict has
been carried away by the gentle winds
of peace and the scientific men of the
world proceed with the inevitable post
mortem, it will be interesting to note
what the alienists have to say. Defi
nite information on the prevalence of
Insanity in the war zone has not been
forthcoming up to the present, al
though detached dispatches have told
of thousands of men driven insane
under the strain of the battlefields.
In an effort to show that war Is not
especially provocative of insanity or
nervous disorders. Surgeon-General
Rolleston, consultant physician of the
British navy, has submitted a report
showing that of the cases of sickness
in the fleet less than one per cent en
tered the column for mental disorders,
while less than four per cent exhibited
a mild neurasthenia.
But these naval figures really prove
nothing. The sailor lives a comfort
able life, usually with plenty to eat
and a place to sleep. He must endure
no frightful hardships. Either he gets
sent to the bottom or he is not, with
the chances in favor of his escape
from harm. The blasting and blight-
ng hardships of war are imposed
upon the men of the land forces.
Long, exhausting campaigns may be
launched In which the men get neither
food, shelter nor sleep for days. At
time when their systems are sur
charged with toxins generated through
exertion and lack of rest, the devastat-
r.g representations of the battlefront
are imposed upon their minds. It is
nevitable that a harvest of insanity
hould follow where millions of men
are engaged. It Is a condition calcu
lated to develop latent insanity - and
strain weakened minds to- the break
ing points. The brain of man is not
readily adjustable to such frightful
spectacles, nor his body to such ter
rible ordeals. The necessities of the
campaign know nothing of human
limitations.
Militarists, of course, will point to
this as a benefit to the race. War, the
great discoverer of incipient insanity!
If war had not done it the stress of
economic life would have achieved
the same end sooner or later, they will
say. This may be true to a limited
degree. Yet, ordinary life can Impose
no such strain upon mortal minds as
that produced by war. Fear, weari
ness, worry, hatred and homesick
ness are grim allies of old Mars and
they assail their victim In the most
furious and terrible manner in the
theaters of war.
THE FIGURES FOB IT.
The true causes of the Treasury
deficit were plainly shown by Repre
sentative Fordney in the House to be
the Underwood tariff and Democratic
extravagance, not the. war. In spite
of the war, imports for nine months
from March to November, 1915, were
$72,716,000 more than in the same
period of 1913. Because of the Under
wood tariff, customs receipts Bhowed
a loss of $76,000,000 in the same pe
riod, or $5,320,000 a month.
The war taxes have more than made
good this loss, for they produce $6,
800,000 a month, yet the general fund
in the Treasury decreased $75,603,336
between July 31, 1914, and 'July 31,
1915, and is now down to about $50,
000,000. Had the Democrats prac
ticed the economy they promised, the
Treasury balance would have been in
creased by the amount that the war
tax revenue has exceeded the decrease
in customs revenue. Its shrinkage in
face of larger aggregate revenue was
not caused by the war but by Demo
cratic waste.
A CORTV BUSINESS MANAGER,
The Taxpayers' League in Benton
County is getting down to real busi
ness. It has decided to hold an all
day meeting March 25 and Invite rep
resentatives from every other county
to be present. The effort will be to
establish a state-wide organization
which will seek relief from the Legis
lature and perhaps submit an initiative
measure.
It is the right system. The way to
lower taxes is to formulate and present
a specific plan: It was with that idea
that The Oregonian recently under.
took to impart a little knowledge as to
what might and what might not be
done by the Legislature. Yet there
are in Benton County, as In every other
county, men who still cling to the
notion that they themselves are in no
wise to blame for the increased cost of
government. They are willing to ac
cuse any body except themselves and
usually they prefer to accuse the Leg'
lslature. That body has become the
'houn' dog" for the unltiative tax
payer to kick around whenever he gets
his tax receipt.
A typical example is one who writes
a letter to the Benton County Courier.
He is horrified by The Oregonian's
suggestion that a movement to reduce
county taxes should have the backing
of a taxpayers' organization at the
Legislature.
"Does The Oregonian mean to say
that it will be necessary for the tax
payers of Oregon to maintain a lobby
at Salem if they hope to have whole
some laws passed?" he asks. Exactly.
Yet the statement is not an indictment
of the Legislature, as the writer seems
to think.
The Legislature will proceed no fur
ther in the enactment of radical legis
lation than it is convinced the people
want to go. There Is nothing repre
hensible in lobbying if it-is done hon
estly and with good purpose. Some
of our most vociferous organized
champions of purity and progress send
lobbies to the Legislature when oc
casion seems to demand. The Grange
does it; union labor does it; the Port
land Chamber of Commerce does it;
the women's clubs do It; the prohibi
tionists do it; even the school teachers
and the ministers of the gospel have
been known to follow the example.
No important legislation is accom
plished without lobbying. The memo
rializing of Congress is lobbying. It is
even necessary to lobby with the peo
ple in order to pass enactments
through the initiative. If the proposed
state-wide taxpayers' organization de
cides on the direct method of obtain
ing its demands it will doubtless ap
point an executive committee to carry
on the campaign. Tne committees
efforts will be lobbying, pure and
simple.
The real need for representation of
the taxpayers at Salem when a reduc
tion in number or pay of county offi
cers is in issue, arises from the fact
that the officials affected are Invaria
bly there with their lobby. Not only
that, but they get their friends and
appointees to write or telegraph to
members of the Legislature or go in
person. If nobody else is heard from,
the member, severed by many miles
from his constituents, naturally thinks
he is listening to the voice of the peo
ple t when in fact he hears only the
oice of the beneficiaries qf high taxes.
Of, course, if the counties of the
state desire a home rule that Involves
a cutting loose from constitutional and
legislative direction and restraint, the
way does not lie through the Legisla
ture. That at least some sentiment ex
ists in behalf of such a radical pro-
edure is indicated by the receipt by
The Oregonian of a suggested consti
tutional amendment from one who de.
sires to know what The Oregonian
thinks of it. The amendment is not
ery long. It reads as follows:
County elective officers, other than Ju
diciai. In counties having fewer thaa 50,000
population, shall consist of three Commls-
teners and no others. The Commissioners
shall continue to transact a-H the county
business now devolving upon County Courts
not inconsistent with the following pro-
isions. They shall appoint a business man
ager but shall appoint no other officers or
county employes.
In the business manager shall be vested
11 other authority and duties now vested
in county administrative officers. Such
duties when prescribed by ordinary statutes
hall be subject to enlargement or curtail
ment by statutory enactment.
The business manager may have such as-
stance as the County Commissioners deem
necessary. The Commissioners shall have
uthonty exclusive or the Legislature to fix
he number and pay of such assistants and
county employes, but the power to appoint
hem, and the power to remove them at
III. shall be vested solely in tne business
manager.
The office of County Judge Is hereby abol
ished. The Judicial Jurisdiction and duties
f said Judge shall be transferred to other
courts now existing and tne Legislative As
sembly is hereby charged with the duty of
passing such laws as may be neceEsary to
make legal procedure conform to this
mendment.
The County Commissioners shall receive a
per diem of J3 when actually engaged in
transacting, county business.
This act shall take- effect June 1. 1917.
ntil a Board of County Commissioners as
herein constituted ahall have been elected
nd qualified the county Judge and the two
Commissioners in each county elected
I in accordance with superseded lawful author
ity shall perform the duties prescribed for
County Commissioners In this amendment.
The proffered amendment has ap
parently been drafted with the desigp
to adapt to county government what is
known in city government as the commission-manager
system. If such an
amendment were adopted the County
Commissioners would still allow bills
contracted by the county, equalize and
levy county taxes, fix polling places
and establish election precincts. They
would also fix the number and salaries
of all county officials and employes.
The Sheriff. Treasurer, Assessor, and
other county officers would be ap
pointed by the business manager and
work under his direction. Instead of
county officers' pay being fixed by the
Legislature it would be fixed by the
County Commissioners. The amend
ment would affect ail counties except
Multnomah. The date of taking effect
is set ahead apparently to give the
Legislature opportunity to transfer
probate procedure to the Circuit Court.
The only comment The Oregonian
cares to make on this amendment at
this time is that it probably provides
for county home rule about as briefly
and clearly as possible, although it
may be that one learned in the law
can find ambiguity or indefiniteness in
some of the provisions. It is published
herewith merely as an interesting con
tribution to the discussion of lower
taxes.
ATHLETES AND AILMENTS.
Sound health, rational living and
plenty of exercise are reputed to be
the principal guardians against en
croachment of Winter ailments, par
ticularly pneumonia. Yet the numtwir
of powerful athletes swept away al
most overnight by pneumonia appears
to refute the idea that physical sound,
ness is the best safeguard. Athletes
oftentimes succumb with less show of
resistence than men of frail physique,
even though these same athletes have
no bad habits such as drinking and
smoking, which are the arch allies of
pneumonia.
The recent sudden death of a splen
did athlete has led the New York Sun
to inquire into the causes of this ap
parently contradictory condition with
the result that competitive athletes
are placed by the Sun in the column
of bad habits. Recent experiments on
animals at the Wlstar Institute re
vealed that constant exertion during
the growing period resulted in an in
creased growth of one-fifth in heart.
liver and kidneys. Investigation at
the University of Wisconsin disclosed
the fact that between five and ten per
cent of the freshmen had enlargement
or dilation of the heart. '
Naturally when the heart is devel
oped out of proportion to the lungs
and other vital organs an abnormal
condition is created when the victim
settles down to an inactive life. Hence
when a damaged heart seeks to dis
tribute blood through the precincts of
plugged lungs -during an attack of
pneumonia exhaustion of the pumping
station follows more quickly than if
the heart were normal and developed
only in proportion to the rest of the
body.
The value of exercise is not to be
questioned for a moment, but the dan
gers that lie in overexercise and those
practices peculiar to training periods
are becoming more and more appar
ent. Development of the body must
be effected in a systematic way rather
than by fits and starts.
TIIE CANALS OF MARS.
At last a solution seems to have
been reached upon the matter of Just
how the canals of Mars were dug. The
controversy has been raging for some
forty years as to whether what ap
peared to be canals were actually
canals, with the preponderance of
concrete evidence favoring the objec
tivity of the Martial linear waterways.
But now the tide is turned before the
onslaughts of the most powerful glass
in Europe. The canals of Mars were
dug by the imagination of man. They
have no external reality, iauch is the
verdict of the Section for the Obser
vation of Mars of the British Astro
nomical Association.
When Schlaparelli, the Italian as
tronomer, made his celebrated draw
ings of Martian canals, phenomena
which were confirmed by many not
able astronomers of the past three
eighths of a century, he used the mar
velous 8 -inch refractor which was
the wonder 'of his day. Mars, even
within those intermittent visits to the
relative vicinity of the earth, delivered
up her network of canals by mere
flashes. A glimpse of a canal today
and another glimpse tomorrow finally
contributed a strongly marked map ol
the planet, which in 1908 showed 585
lines.
It will be recalled that here the
less ponderous and conservative sci
entists took up the discovery. Canals
having been discovered they must be
explained. The theory that they were
natural channels did not find favor for
the reason that the lines, while of dif
ferent sizes and lengths, never varied
in breadth so far as individual lines
were concerned. Since nature does not
work in such prescribed or regular
manner the lines must be canals rather
than channels, and since canals are
dug by intelligent beings Mars must be
inhabited. No end of deduction fol
lowed. The canals were needed to
carry water for irrigation purposes,
and the presence of so many artificial
waterways, each of which must be sev
eral miles in width, suggested a truly
wonderf ul people. Imaginative writers
proceeded to take up the matter
where daring scientists left off, and
we were regaled with invasions and
other visitations from Mars.
Efforts to. communicate with the en
lightened creatures which might thrive
in a planet of cultivated waterways
have been undertaken with some seri
ousness. Put these were abandoned
when the experiment was checked up
and the discovery made that tele
graphic transmission of a message
over such a distance would require
something more than a hundred years.
Nevertheless the Mars fiction made a
powerful impression upon the human
mind, and even now. the canals of
Mars are accepted at par by millions,
while the belief persists that one day
we may be able to enter into com
munication with our neighbors, who
are only a few hundred thousand
years' travel from us by aeroplane.
Now comes the British Astronomical
Association's report to shatter this
house of cards. Through the medium
of the great Meudon telescope with its
32-inch Tefractor Mars was placed
under scrutiny at the time of the last
opposition to the earth in 1909. The
handing down of the findings after all
these years Is characteristic of British
deliberation. It will be recalled that
British census takers did not report
the fact that London was smaller than
New York until several years had
elapsed. Possibly the British astron
omers would have pondered over their
report another year or two except for
the near approach of the next visit of
Mars to these parts, an event sched
uled for next month.
E. M. Antoneadi, who conducted the
1909 observations from a French ob
servatory with the famous Meudon
refractor, found no lines except when
the glass was flaring. With a Schla
parelli map before him he was able
to draw continental portions of Mars
into steady view. The time-honored
canals lost their .regular linear appear
ance and became a mass of irregular
bands, lines, diffused complex shad
ings, narrow irregular streaks, and
series of more or less disconnected
irregular knots and filaments. These
marks were as little like canals as an
ink splotch is like unto a pen stroke.
So Mr. Antoneadi proceeds to sum
up his observations and deductions in
battle array to flout the earlier find
ings of astronomers. To begin with
he notes that the Meudon observation."
brought Mars from four to sixteen
times nearer the earth than in Schia-
parelli's modest refractor. Then all
the Irregularities which were noted at
Mettdon were held steadily in the
larger telescope, while the straight
lines were only glimpsed at the Ital
ian's Milan observatory. Again the
irregular markings obey the laws of
perspective, which is not always found
to be the case -with the "canal" lines.
A real narrow, dark, planetary line.
such as Cassini's' division in front of
Saturn, is held to be far broader and
more conspicuous in a large telescope
than in a small one. This, naturally,
because of reduced diffraction. Finally
It is observed that minute irregular
detail, utterly beyond the reach of the
Italian astronomer's glass, was held
steadily in the Meudon glass without
any trace of lines being seen. "We
reach the conclusion," the report says,
"which leaves no room for doubt that
the natural apearances revealed by
the great French telescope give a
much more truthful representation of
the details of the planet than the rude
spider's webs of the Italian astrono
mer." Naturally the wiping out of Martian
canals will not be seized upon with
enthusiasm. The theory was one de
signed to hold the popular fancy, since
it was so suggestive of mortal neigh
bors in the heavens. The splotches
revealed at Meudon mean nothing.
They offer no scope for tangible de
duction. But since the smaller glasses
produced an illusion of lines, possibly
caused by the edges of the splotches
now visible, we shall have to wait for
more powerful glasses than that at
Meudon to let us see more of what
lies behind the obscure smears on the
face of Mars. In the meantime we
must feel that we are less intimately
in touch with celestial neighbors than
heretofore.
FA KM Kits TO RCN CREDIT SYSTEM.
The article by C. R. Cottrell, com
missioner of the Washington State
Grange, criticising the joint commit
tee's rural credit bill now before Con
gress, is based on an entire miscon
ception of the purpose and effect of
that bill. In fact, reading of the text
of the bill shows that it is not open
to some of the criticisms made by The
Oregonian, which were based on an
incomplete summary of its provisions.
The main purpose of the bill is to
establish a co-operative mortgage loan
system among farmers similar to that
of the landsclraften in Germany, which
have been in successful operation for
over a century and which have been
the chief instrument in development
of German agriculture. The plain in
tent is that the farmer-borrowers shall
hold the controlling interest in the
stock of the Federal farm land banks.
While stock in these banks may be
subscribed by "any individual, firm or
corporation or by the government of
any state or the United States," the
requirement that each farm loan asso
ciation shall subscribe stock equal to
5 per cent of the loans made to its
members ensures control by the
farmers.
It is not probable that the amount
of Government and private capital In
vested would exceed 5 per cent of the
loans made to farmers by the bank,
which will be the measure of farmers'
stock holdings. Plainly the Intent Is
to invest Government funds only in or
der to set the banks going and then to
withdraw them gradually, for section
5 provides that "after subscriptions,
exclusive of Government subscriptions,
shall amount to $500,000 in any Fed
eral land bank, said bank shall apply
semi-annually to the payment and re
tirement of stock held by the United
States one-quarter of all sums there
after subscribed to capital stock until
all stock held by the United States is
retired at par." The present aggre
gate of farm mortgages In the United
States is about $3,000,000,000. When
the farmers had refunded these debts
under the rural credit bill, their hold
ings of land bank stock would aggre
gate $150,000,000. As fast as they
increased their borrowings they would
increase their stock holdings. It is
not probable that private capital would
seek Investment in that stock to an
extent which would take control away
from the borrowers. Since exorbitant
profits could only be earned at the
expense of the stockholders, there
would be every inducement to restrict
profits and to practice economy.
The bill also permits the organiza
tion of Joint stock banks to engage
in the mortgage loan business under
Federal control. Such banks exist in
Germany side by side with the farm
ers' co-operative loan associations, but
their business is chiefly urban loans,
only 6 per cent of their total loans
being made on farm land. There is no
doubt that the market rate of interest
would be fixed by the rate at which
the Federal land banks sold farm
bonds, and that. Joint stock banks
would be unable to make loans at
higher rates unless the security were
of poorer quality. There might be
districts where the farmers were un
able or unwilling to combine for the
purpose of organizing farm loan asso
ciations. The joint stock banks would
afford individual farmers in such dis
tricts an opportunity to obtain loans.
Competition between farmers for
sale of mortgage bonds would be as
nearly as possible eliminated by Gov
ernment supervision, for the bonds
would be practically uniform in char
acter and all would be secured by
improved land worth double their face
value. This uniform character, the
long term, the reserve funds, the ready
market offered by the land banks
themselves would make these bonds
readily salable at moderate interest.
Mr. Cottrell's statement that the law
establishes no maximum rate of In
terest is contradicted by the provision
he quotes, that the rate of interest
shall not exceed the legal rate fixed by
law for National banks. The operation
of the Federal reserve law has mate
rially reduced the latter rate, and is
likely to continue doing so, but long-
term bonds secured by real estate, as
farm mortgage bonds would be, would
sell at far lower rates than the Nation
al bank rate. They would more closely
approach the 4 or 5 per cent paid on
railroad bonds.
The requirement that. In order to
borrow, a farmer must subscribe stock
in' the farm loan association equal to
5 per cent of the loan and must de
posit his stock as collateral would
work no hardship. A farmer having
property which justifies a $5000 loan
should be able to borrow $250 for a
short time until the loan is made, for
the bill permits him to "use part of
said loan to repay any sum borrowed
to pay for his stock." The land banks,
which would be controlled by the bor
rowers, may pay off stock held by
farm loan associations, and In that
case the latter must pay off an equal
amount of their own stock. The par
value of the stock Is then to be cred
ited as a payment on the loan, and the
farmer is to receive any excess in cash.
Referring to the provision that
funds to be loaned "shall be in cur
rent funds or farm loan bonds," Mr.
ottrell asks. "Of what use are bonds I
to a farmer IT he must sell oa the I
open market to the present Napoleons
of finance?" He ignores the words
immediately following the above quo
tation, which are: "At the option of
the borrower or of the farm loan asso
ciation." In other words, if the bor
rower prefers cash, he can get it; If
he prefers bonds, he can get them. It
is possible that the bonds would be
salable at a premium, though they
must be issued to him at par. He
would thus have the opportunity to
sell them at a profit and perhaps ob
tain $5100 on a $5000 loan, though
only required to pay interest on and
to repay $5000.
The remarks about exploitation of
farmers are not pertinent, for the
farmers would control the banks. If
the banks exploited the farmers, the
farmers would simply be exploiting
themselves. They would be free to
commit that folly if they desired, but
they would not desire. So with regard
to deposit without interest of farm
loan associations' current funds with
land banks, that is optional and would
not involve tying up liquid securities.
"Current funds" correspond to a
checking account at a bank, which is
not. tied up and on which interest is
rarely paid.
The provision for foreclosure of
mortgage in case of default is neces
sary to enable farmers to borrow.
Without it no bonds could be sold,
and hence no loans could be made,
and the entire scheme would fall.
As to the 1 per cent excess of in
terest on mortgages over interest on
bonds, some charge is necessary to
pay expenses of the system, and the
amount stated is a maximum, which
the Farm Loan Board could reduce
The borrowers being In control, they
could restrict expenses.
The exemption of the capital and
bonds of farm land banks from tax
atioiv is justified by the fact that they
would represent a loan on real estate
which is already taxed. Were these
securities taxed, the impost would con
stitute double taxation and would ul
timately be paid by the farmer in
higher interest rates.
It will be Impossible to conduct the
rural credit business without able men
of strict integrity In charge. Such
men could easily earn $12,000 a yea
in private business. If the Govern
ment paid less it would risk getting
inferior men of doubtful Integrity,
Hiring cheap men is poor economy.
No doubt a large number of subor
dinate officials will be employed, bu
farmers pay a probably larger number
of men much more money in com
mission, attorney fees, abstractors
fees, surveyors' and appraisers' fees
than they will pay under the new plan
Not having heard anything from the
last query concerning the sinking o
the Persia, the Administration has sen
another reminder to Austria. It
altogether possible, however, that
while Austria heard us the first time
we spoke, such inconsequential mat'
ters as a diplomatic dispute with the
United States must await their turn in
the order of dull routine.
Students who do not apply them
selves are to be barred from Stanford
University. . A step In the right direc
tion. Collegiate dawdlers are a nui
sance to themselves and everyone else,
They occupy time that might be ap
plied to good advantage on the earnest
students.
An Oregon City man complains that
supporting two wives is too much of
a task for him, even though one
kept on an alimonial basis. The moral
is that a man should not embark upon
a greater number of matrimonial ven
tures than his means will permit.
With Germany saving the hides of
animals killed in battle and with the
British contending that the war has
not gotten fairly under way, there are
reasons to believe that the gory carni
val will continue to ravish civilization
for many weary months to come.
What have you added to the Jewish
relief fund? If you have done nothing
and yet are In comfortable eircum
stances, your conscience should trou
ble you in these days when millions
of helpless men, women and children
are starving in Europe.
The Kaiser has graciously given Bui
garia all war material captured in
Serbia. So that Bulgaria will be better
prepared to assist In pulling Teuton
chestnuts out of the fire.
The bibulous cynic, of course, will
insist that the advent of prohibition
and this sort of weather stand in the
relationship of cause and effect.
It is a cold day indeed when a new-
military expert does not rise up to re
fute all the other experts on what we
should do to defend ourselves.
Judging by the number of experts
making themselves heard, we must
have a much larger military force than
we had been given to believe.
Lloyd George says the war has
hardly begun. If given another year
no doubt the British would be ready
to do their part.
Tomatoes are quoted at 50 cents in
Alaska. Likewise in fashionable cafes
a great deal nearer home than Alaska.
If the preparedness agitators hope
to hold the public interest they must
act before the baseball season opens.
An Eastern Oregon dispartch reports
a dust storm. Can there be such
thing left In this snowy world?
However, no man with a poor nerv
ous system or a weak spine should
seek the Presidency this time.
About time for the Bryan Presi
dential announcement on a peace-at-any-price
platform.
Killing Americans is growing to be
almost as popular a pastime as slaugh
tering Armenians.
"President Begins Trip for De
fense," says a dispatch. Defense of his
job, we suspect-
No doubt if there is another Su
preme Court vacancy it will go to
Cole Blease.
An American official shot a Mexican
bandit who fired upon him. Naughty,
naughty!
Titanic claims are being settled. But.
Lusitania claims remain in status quo
A new Russian drive is forecast.
Likewise a new German balk.
It would appear that some of the
blind pigs" are not blind.
Time
for Villa to be "captured"
again.
Gleams Through the Mist
My Dean Collina.
EQUALITY.
The wind from the north came ecurrylng
forth
And bellowed in boisterous mirth,
And started to throw confetti of snow
All over the beautiful earth:
It covered the ground and the birdisi
strayed round
In grief too pathetic for words.
AndI thought: "What they need is a regu
lar feed.
So I'll start a crumb line for the Mrda."
I Invited them, then; the robin and wren.
The sparrow, the snowbird and all.
Now. deprived of their worms, on equality'!
terms
To meet where the crumb feast should fail,
'Twill be understood. In this bird brother
hood. That all are regarded as equal.'
I said to the crew as around me they flew
But this waa the horrible sequel:
The prospect looked good for the bird
brotherhood;
The snowbird and robin and wren
In my Socialist state came freely and at
And all was serenity, when
A sparrow came by and his business-like eye
Slsed up the extent of the lunch
And he ruffled his wing, threw his hat In
the ring.
And proceeded to wallop the bunch.
Then, shocked to the marrow, I scolded tha
sparrow.
And cursed him in accents irate:
" 'Tls certainly rude for you to intrude
And bust up our Socialist state;
For I Issued my call to the birds one and all
The same opportunity giving,
And you came to bat. like a rank plutocrat,
And cotnered the source of their living."
He answered: "A-hum," as he picked up a,
crumb,
"Quite equal, no doubt, 'twas begun.
But I tried to enhance my share of tha
chance.
Which none of the others have done.
Quite equal, you've stated, all birds wera
created;
And I will admit It, my friend.
But, to say the last word It's the crumbs
for the bird
Who shows most enterprise in the end."
I heard the Courteous Otuce Boy
Coming down the hall.
Blowing blue notes on a harmonica, '
Cacophonous, delirious, imaclstlc
Like some of the later Strauss scores.
And I knew were In for another session
of free vtrso
(Like what I ain doing nowl.
So I hung a rapt expression on my map.
And wheeled my ear-flap toward the C. O. B.
You were that clear cicillan flutlnK, oh.
Office Eoy,
That pains our thought even now
To use the exact wording of ttlrhard Ald
ington. Who is regarded as a wis at Imaglst verse,
Bv those in the know.
You were the notes of cold fantastic erlcf
Some few found beautiful
Though I have never met any of those fe
Who found them beautiful.
And you entered the rooi.i.
Playing 'Hail, the Conquering Hero Comes"
In futuristic strains;
And with you 'nine Julian Scott.
Whose views of vers 111 r- diner from mine.
Although we are tne best of friends other
wise. And Julian said that I had something coin
ing to me
For poking tun at the new school of poetry.
And I said: "Shoot!"
And he fixed me with a cold unci glittering
eye
And made mo listen to the following.
Which he had written for my especial bene
fit; he said:
"REVENGE"'
"Our Dean Collins of the Boney Bean,
Who rhvmes 01? rhythm by the ream.
And gives his C. O. B. a fit of spleen:
And is always hatching gloating schema,
To separate vclf Ill-re from Its cream,
Is screaming yet his rhymey sen ams
You gloaty. get-your-poaty Pean.
I"ll get . yoi yet and soak you on your
Boney Bean."
TrniiMlntiona From Kntcllah laaxlcik
G. Pythagoras Binielack. Ph. D., the
well-known philologist, etc., has sent
us a translation into American, of (
Gray's "Elegy in a Country Church
Yard," as his latest contribution to the
series.
Owing to the length of the original
poem, we are giving only tlie first ten
stanzas of, the Elegy, at this time. This
includes the stanzas from "The Cur
few tolls the knell,'" etc., to the stanza
beginning, "Can storied urn, or ani
mated bust, etc."
Note the marvelous accuracy with
which Bimelack translates from the
obsolete English into the vigorous
American.
Sob Stuff Moped in a Hube Burying ('rii:nd.
The curfew rings the curtain; tdaylight
croak:.; ,
The shorthorns blatt and mooch along tha
line.
The frazzled hick toward home and supper
pokes.
And leaves a semi-dat kent-d siufce for
mine.
The stagehands pull the dimmer on tha
scene,
And gobs of silence float In tlif ozone.
Except a butt goes buzzing past my bean.
And baa-baas will not leae t.ieu- bells
alone.
Except a grouch owl In the steeple when
lie chews the rag and makes a long report
Unto the moon about the way us men
Stick rcund and interrupt his day in court.
Beneath those clumps of elm and yew-tree
. sticks,
Where the whole lawn humps up and
then humps down,
Securely planted in their two-by-six.
Are the old chaps who used to own ths
tow n.
The morning call to duck the ostermoor.
The dickeyblrds that hop around and Jaw,
The rooster or the breakfast horn, for sura
Can't Jar them loose again from out tha
straw.
They tune the furnace up for them no
more.
Nor does the wife get busy round tha
shack.
No kids announce "Hello, dad," any more.
Or shin their shanks and give their mush
a smack.
They cut some swath
harvest time.
they say.
And they were
bears at plowing stony
ground.
Gee-hawed their plugs around the lot all
day.
And whittled up the cordwood all around.
Amblsh should hand no horse laugh to their
Job,
Their b::sh league sports, she
should not
bawl them out.
Nor Swell Guys give the hee-haw to tha
slohs
Who get two lines when they go up
the spout.
All the swell stuff in even the big league
game.
Tho kale
le. the wrlteups, the triumphal
arch,
Must take the count some evening just
the same
The Boola ends In Cnoln's funeral march.
It la to I. flush.
Judge.
Human nature ts a strange thing."
sayg the man with tne apuiuae tor
utterins platitudes. ".Now tne tnings
that amuse mo on not amuse vou at
all."
Quito true." i-opllfs his friend. "Hut
h-r- ;im- coirilM-nra t Inns. Now, It
Binu.-es nit- to see that you are amused
by the things that amuse, you."