6
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PORTLAND, SCSDAY, JUNE 18. 1916.
THE RUSSIAN" OFFENSIVE.
Verdun has ceased to be the main
focal point of the great war and his
tory is now in the making on the
Austro-Russian front. The Russian
offensive action, which opened June
4, has continued without reaction; and
what might have been dismissed as a
series of local actions is now accepted
as a concerted forward move by Rus
sia against the Austrians. The steady
progress made to the west and south
indicates that the armies of the Czar
have been rehabilitated, that new
courage, vigor and hope have been dif
fused among the millions who, less
than a year ago, were driven back in
broken disorder. The recent capture
of Lutsk and the taking of tens of
thousands of Austrian prisoners show
the temper of the Russian armies.
They have appeared for battle not
only with inexhaustible first-line men
and reserves, but with every indica
tion of an ample supply of munitions.
In this respect the Czar's hosts are in
striking contrast to the Russian
forces of a year ago, when artillery
rushed back with empty caissons and
Infantry retreatetl with empty belts
and bandoleers.
The Teuton battle line in Russia, if
Ehoved back a hundred miles from its
recent position, would still leave the
central powers at a great advantage
over Russia. Poland lies in German
clutches, the Teuton line in the north
extending from the extreme south
western shores of the Gulf of Riga al
most due east to Friedrichstadt and
thence in a southerly direction to the
Pripet River in the vicinity of Pinsk.
Von Hindenburg has his headquarters
at Kovno, which is a good 100 miles
back of the firing line and Kovno. in
its turn,' is on a line 100 miles
east of Warsaw. So if the Russians
ever get around to the task of ex
pelling Von Hindenburg they must
force their way under fire over sev
eral hundred miles of territory.
However, the present offensive is
directed against the Austrians alone
from the point where the Austrians
take up their sectors in the Pripet
marshes on south to the Roumanian
border. Lemberg is thought to be one
important Russian objective, together
with Czernovitz farther south, which
the Russians struck at during the
frigid weeks of January and now ap
proach once more. This is less am
bitious than the Russian drive against
Cracow early in the war, but then the
events and course of the war have
made new strategies necessary. The
Russians must overcome vast barriers
in order to find themselves back in
the positions they once occupied.
No such thought as over-running
Austria probably has occurred to the
Russian commanders. The great
drive has the aspect of being the first
stage of a concerted strategy to isolate
the field of Teuton operations and ac
tivity. Capture of Bukowina, inva
sion of Bulgaria through Roumania,
reconquest of Serbia, isolation of Tur
key and the exertion of pressure on
u east which will enable the launch
ing of a powerful allied offensive In
France such are the possibilities of
the Russian drive if it. succeeds, and
doubtless those are the stakes in the
great game now being played. If the
Russians break through from Lutzk
to the .Bukowina, Bulgaria will be
seriously menaced and the allied
forces in Saloniki can be launched in
the tasks of forcing Turkey to its
knees and of later occupying Serbia.
No doubt the assembling of the Ser
bian army remnant of 100,000 men in
Saloniki with new equipment sent from,
France was one of the minute details
of preparation for the great coup now
In process of development.
These operations, it may be as
sumed, were the product of that great
allied conference in Paris last Winter.
No doubt Lord Kitchener was on his
way to the Russian front in connec
tion with this same strategy when he
went down with a British cruiser. It
need not be surprising if a western
allied offensive develops as a second
or even as a part of the present stage
of the movement. Certainly there is
a. connection between the events of
June'in the east and the desperate ef
forts of the Crown Prince to break
through at Verdun and gain the ad
vantages of a great moral victory as
well as a shortened German line.
In General Brusiloff the Russians
oppear to have found a leader suited
to the demands of the enterprise now
being carried forward. During the
few days of June the name of Brusiloff
has taken place with that of Petain
and Von Mackensen in the popular
mind. His brilliant attacks and his
tenacious hitting suggest a command
er who does not reckon with the cost
in men, for the Russian losses must
have been tremendous in pressing for
ward over mile after mile of stubborn
ly held territory. Brusiloff is a pop
ular idol in Russia, although little had
been heard of him by the world at
large previous to the present offen
sive. He is a cavalry officer, a vet
eran of the Russo-Turkish War of
1S77, and while he is not rated as a
deep student he is proving himself an
able strategist and brilliant tactician.
In the past Galician campaigns he
commanded a wing of the Russian
irmy with 300,000 men, but since then
the mantle of supreme command has
been given him. It is, of course, too
early to estimate his genius as a com
mander, but even the meager ac
counts make it clear that he is ag
gressive and willing to sacrifice heav
ily In-order to break through. Not
only has he kept pounding away, but
the Russian advantages have been fol
lowed up relentlessly at every point
from which reports of contact have
come.
So far there have been no indica
tions that the Germans have regarded
the new Russian menace with alarm.
There are no reports of German or
Bavarian reinforcements from the
north or south nor of the presence of
Von Mackensen, past conqueror of
the Russian armies, whose services
might be looked to in a serious situa
tion. But the action is in its early
stages. If the Russian advantage per
sists whence will the Teutons look
for heavy reinforcements without
weakening vital lines? Austria can
ill afford to withdraw heavy forces
from the Italian front. Drawing in of
Teuton legions from southern cam
paigns would advance Russian designs
on the isolation of Turkey. Whether
heavy forces can be withdrawn from
the west, where the new British army
has been assembled, is problematical.
There is the possibility that the pres
ent season will witness the develop
ment of a highly important phase in
the war; but even if the Russian plans
succeed Germany will continue to hold
vast territorial advantages. '
MR. BRYAN FORGETS HISTORY.
Like other Democratic orators, Mr.
Bryan is careless about the state
ments of fact with which he supports
his theories. He said at St. Louis:
If President "Wilson yielded to the de
mand of those who have clamored for
intervention in Mexico, we would no sooner
have crossed the line than the same men
would tell him that the soldiers must never
come out, for, my friends, annexation is
the next step after Intervention has been
undertaken.
We intervened In Cuba in 18 98, but
did not annex it; we handed it over
to its own people for government.
When it was torn by civil war, we
again Intervened, but after putting its
affairs in order we again, withdrew,
leaving it to a government which the
Cubans had organized in the mean
time. During the Taft Administration
we intervened in Nicaragua, but have
not annexed that country. During
the fifty years which intervened be
tween our treaty with Colombia, guar
anteeing free transit on the Isthmus,
and the revolution in Panama, we re
peatedly intervened In that country.
but we have not yet annexed it. We
Joined the other powers in interven
tion in China in 1900, but we have not
annexed one inch of Chinese territory.
ine nearest approach to annexation
since the Spanish War has been made
by President Wilson in Haiti. He
forced a protectorate on the black re
public, taking charge of the custom
houses and the police. The greatest
act of annexation by force in our his
tory was that of California and the
Southwest after the Mexican War, and
it was the work of the Democratic
party. About the same time by a
threat of war that party annexed the
Oregon country. As annexers they
take the medal among American
parties. Not until President Cleve
land scuttled from Hawaii did they
begin to display any scruples about
grabbing other people's territory.
Either Mr. Bryan has neglected the
study of American history or he is
presuming upon such neglect by the
American people. It will be the busi
ness of the Republicans to enlighten
the ..voters upon the historical facts
which he has overlooked.
THE DEMOCRATIC SLOGAN.
The campaign slogan adopted
by
the Democrats, that President Wilson
has kept us out of war, invites the
inquiry at the outset, "What is war?'
ar is not necessarily preceded "by a
formal declaration; it is a series of
acts of violence. Webster defines it
as "the state or fact of exerting vio
lence or force against another, not
only against a state or other politi
cally organized body."
The President exerted force against
Huerta at Vera Cruz and failed in his
proposed purpose to compel Huerta to
salute the American flag, though he
succeeded in his actual purpose to
assist Carranza in driving Huerta out
of Mexico.
Mr. Wilson exerted force against
Haiti and compelled that republic to
accept an American protectorate.
He has recently exerted force
against Santo Domingo In compelling
that country to conduct its affairs as
he dictated. '
He exerted force against Villa, but
has failed in his purpose to capture
or kill that bandit chief.
Mr. Wilson has made four wars,
two of which against Mexican factions
have failed. His only successful wars
have been against the diminutive re
publics of Haiti and Santo Domingo.
But these are not the only wars in
which the United States has been en
gaged under Mr. AVilson's Adminis
tration. A state of war does not
necessarily Involve resistance by one
party to the violence of another, for
Webster defines it as "the state or
fact of exerting violence or force
against another"; he says nothing
about the exertion of opposing force
by that other. Nor does war involve
formal hostilities by one nation as a
whole against another, for Webster
says:
As commonly classified, war between na
tions or states la a public or international
war. and this is called a perfect war when
between whele states, and imperfect war
when limited as to places, persons and
things.
All of the factions which have been
carrying on war against each other
in Mexico have at the same time made
war on the United States by habitual)
ly killing, maiming, imprisoning or
robbing American citizens throughout
the three years during which Mr. Wil
son has been President. The United
States made spasmodic retaliation
against Huerta and is now making it
against Villa, but the followers of
Carranza and Zapata have made a
one-sided war against us, in which we
have not struck back except when our
troops were treacherously attacked at
Parral. This has been an "imperfect
war, limited as to places, persons and
things," but it has been war, never
theless. Any unlawful attack by the
armed forces of one country, or by
the concerted action of its citizens
with the countenance of its govern
ment, upon the citizens and property
of another, is war. It can- be taken,
out of that category only when the
offending country promptly disavows
the act, punishes the perpetrators and
makes amends to the offended nation.
That course was taken by our Govern
ment, when mobs murdered .Italians
and Chinese.
Applying the same definition of
war, Germany made war on the
United States during the year when
submarines were killing American
citizens and destroying their property
at sea. Mr. Wilson's failure to re
taliate and the limitation of his oppo
sition to written protests make it none
the less war. This one-sided war be
gan with the killing of American pas
sengers on the steamer Falaba, con
tinued with the murder of hundreds
on the Lusitania and other ships, and
did not end until the Sussex and sev
eral more ships carrying . Americans
were torpedoed. Mr. Wilson inducer
Germany to stop this war by saying
in effect, after Germany had struck
us repeatedly: "If you strike again,
we are very likely to strike back."
Nothing has yet been done to alter
the fact that during the entire period
of German attacks on American citi
zens Germany was making war on
the United States without resistance
on our part. The German government
has defended and assumed responsi
bility for those attacks. It has of
fered to compensate the-injured, but
has not disavowed the acts nor pun
ished their perpetrators. It has sim
ply ceased to attack the United States
through its citizens.
Apologists for the Wilson Adminis
tration probably refer to the Euro
pean war when they boast that it has
kept us out of war, but theit boasts
are false. They may refer to the fact
that Mr. Wilson has not intervened
by armed force throughout Mexico,
but there too their boast is false. He
has retaliated ineffectively against
our weakest enemies, but hag pursued
a policy of non-resistance towards the
strong. He has valiantly committed
acts of aggression against . weak
state like Haiti, but he has cowered
before the might of Germany and of
Carranza. Had he been a Quaker,
had this been a Quaker nation and
had he consistently followed the pol
icy of non-resistance, he might have
defended it as a matter of principle,
but his interventions twice in Mexico
and in Haiti and Santo Domingo de
prive him of this defense. There are
also limits to the non-resistance even
of a Quaker. It is related that a stal
wart member of that sect once visited
a British warship and was accosted
by a little whipper-snapper of an of
ficer with the question: "If I were to
slap your face, would you strike
back?" The Quaker replied: "I would
not strike thee, but I would shove
thee overboard." Mr. Wilson has not
even threatened to shove any Ger
mans or Carranzistas overboard.
THE SCRAWNY BOOK CROP.
'Literature is unable to look back
upon a prolific or profitable year. The
black twelve months of 1915 yielded
a relatively small crop of books, and
not any in the small crop stands out
conspicuously as a work of art. No
great poem, great novel or great
drama fell from the pen of genius,
and unless great virtue has escaped
detection there is little to Indicate a
single American book produced dur
ing that period which will outlive its
own jday and generation.
The Bookman goes somewhat
mournfully over the figures for the
year, which have been compiled after
some little delay. The falling off, as
compared with 1914, reaches a total
of 2276 books, which is an extensive
library. The total output was 9734,
the smallest in years. Historical books,
inspired by the war and bearing upon
that conflict, took something of a
spurt, the gain over the preceding
year being 2 04. But any history of
current 'events written in the present
hour must lack both perspective and
facts. It can hardly find a place on
permanent shelves, unless as an ex
ample of how crude our views hap
pened to be during the hours history
was being moulded. The history of
today will remain for future gen
erations. Books of every other sort
fell away in number. Religion
and theology dropped from 1038
to 800. Education suffered a
loss of 31; applied science and tech
nology records a. deficit of 206 over
1914. Even law books dropped 100
per cent, while works of fiction fell
from 1053 to 919.
This might be forgiven if someone
had written a great drama or novel
or poem. A falling off in. the number
of books might be interpreted as a
hopeful sign, if the quality advanced.
There are so many needless books
printed by ambitious writers at ' pri
vate expense that mere numbers need
mean nothing. But when numbers
fall and quality lags also, then the
dedaction is not amiss that there is
a deep-lying cause, and the cause is
not difficult- to guess. It is the same
cause that delays the progress of civ
ilization in every other gentle field
of endeavor these dark days.
IS THE STAGE BEING SET?
From the malodorous environs of
Mexico come dismal rumblings. Noth
ing new or unusual from that source;
but Mexico's distracted affairs are ex
citing an exceptional interest in Wash
ington and there are evidences of a
show of fight on the part of the Ad
ministration. Carranza is to receive
a note that, Judging from advance no
tices, will make his venerable whis
kers readjust themselves in emotion
al ringlets. It was held up until the
Wilson nomination had been an
nounced and the campaign launched.
It may go forward this week; possibly
today. Just why it has been held up
we are not permitted to know. Car
ranza presented his demands for with
drawal of American troops some
weeks ago. But there are political af
fairs In the United States as well as
in Mexico. Carranza has been forced
to wait.
How is the sudden show of concern
over Mexico to be explained? Three
years of watchful waiting and spine
less diplomacy have marked the Wil
son course. Mexican affairs have been
meddled in and muddled. We have
presented ultimatums and delivered
threats, taking sides first with one
bandit leader, then with another. Wil
son maaf personal war on the one
man who showed any evidences of be.
ing able to control the Mexican popu
lace, Victoriano Huerta. American
troops were landed at Vera Cruz un
der a fire which claimed the lives of
a score of American fighting men. But
instead of going into Mexico City and
settling the Mexican tumult once and
for all the forces were withdrawn on
one pretext and another. The Bryan
Wilson A-B-C mediation farce was
made use of to prevent one crisis.
Thereafter the Administration dealt
warily with Mexico, seeking to restore
order and industry by high-flown
diplomatic sermons. When the safety
of American citizens, who have been
slain ruthlessly by the hundreds, de
manded harsh words, disregard of
these demands by the Mexicans was
not followed up by show of force or
insistence.
When the Wilson meddling in Mex
ico reached the stage of interfering
as between brawling bandits and the
smiles of the Administration were
centered upon Carranza as against the
erstwhile pet Villa, bandit contempt
for American impotence culminated
in the series of raids into American
territory which have not ceased.
Goaded by the attack on Columbus
and the restlessness of the American
people, a puny force was assembled
and the first tangible action taken.
Expeditions were directed against
Villa with instructions to run him to J
earth. Of course, our troops must not
enter towns nor must they proceed
south of a given point.
- Now the displeasure of the Admin
istration shifts to Carranza. A diplo
matic Jolt has been prepared for that
proud Latin-American which is cal
culated to put him into a fighting
mood. We told him a few weeks ago
that the American troops would not
tarry long in Mexico. Now we are
telling him that these troops will stay
until the United States feels disposed
to withdraw them. Incidentally, a
fresh- crop of alarming stories is per-
mitted to emanate from Mexico. It is
safe to assume that conditions in
Mexico- are about the same as they
have been for the past two or three
years. With utter chaos prevailing,
conditions could not get any worse.
As for killing and threatening Amer
ican citizens, that has been a daily
pastime of the Mexicans for the past
three or four years. So what is the
significance of this sudden alarm and
concern at Washington, this sudden
fever of preparation for "eventual
ities"? Admitting that drastic action
in Mexico is the one hope of solving
the Mexican problem. Is the Admin
istration Just awakened to the fact?
Or is intervention in Mexico, for which
the stage, from outward appearances,
is now being set, going to provide an
important part of the - Democratic
campaign?
If so, the country will not be fooled
nor will it accept intervention at this
hour as being anything more than the
bloody climax of a series of fool
hardy blunders.
EVERBEARING STRAWBERRIES.
Some of the Utah strawberry grow
ers are meeting with phenomenal sue.
cess with a new variety of everbearing
strawberries, which bear continuously
from early May until the vines are
killed by the Autumn frosts. It is
said that one grower in the vicinity
of Brlgham City set an eighth of an
acre to this berry in May of last year
and between the dates of the first
bearing in July and the last in No
vember he sold 787 quarts, which
brought $73.46. That would be at
the rate of $587.68 an acre; but re
member the plants were not set until
May, and consequently the May and
June crops were missed.
As the second and third years are
the best periods for bearing of straw- i
berry plants, It can be seen that this
new variety gives great promise, for
had this experimental patch been
planted the year before, so that a full
season's crop could have been har
vested, the yield would have been well
up to $1000 an acre. As the ripened
berries come along slowly and steadily
for several months, it would seem
that the labor of picking would be
less expensive than where that Job
has to be accomplished within a
couple of weeks or so.
Perhaps some of our Oregon grow
ers have tried this new plant, but if
so not much publicity has been given
to the experiment. It would seem
that it Would be important for the
growers in sections from which large
shipments are made, and from the
growers who cater to the Portland
markets, to give it a thorough trial, j
for if it will do anything like as welliCnPrIes E- Hughes will introduce no
as In Utah, and the berry is as choice
as it is said to be, there ought to be
good money in the everbearing for the
growers.
DEATH-CH-UIBER VERSE.
Our hero-worshipping instinct is
ever on the lookout for possible Bun
yans, and a slight impulse from be
hind the bars is sufficient to set us
all crying "Eureka" with tremendous
enthusiasm.
It is not to be wondered at, there
fore,, that when Dr. Arthur Warren
Waite, sentenced to die July 10 for
the murder of his father-in-law, be
gins to produce enormous quantities
of poetry in the Tombs and Sing Sing,
public attention should be caught in
stantly, public curiosity whetted and
public fancy begin to cast a web of
literary hero-worship around him.
In announcing that Dr. Waite's
prison-produced poems will be pub
lished probably "after July 10," so
that the public, may gain some idea
of the "finer side of his nature," the
brother of the condemned man indi
cates an excellent practical grasp of
human psychology.
In announcing furthermore that
Dr. Waite had never written any
poetry before he entered the Tombs,
nor had he expressed the slightest in
terest in writing it. his brother mani
fests this grasp of practical psychol
ogy still more definitely.
The conditions are perfect for the
creation of a successful popular idol
in contemporary verse the type of
idol winch represents the quickest
and largest returns in royalties from
publishers.
Reading such of the verses them
selves as have been given out for pub
lication, one may be inclined to doubt
if all those elements actually exist
outside of the advance notices pre
sented by the condemned man's
brother.
If Dr. Waite actually never did at
tempt to write poetry before, and
never showed the slightest interest in
the composition of poetry, his achieve
ments iu the present case are marvel
ous and call for explanation by those
who understand the workings of the
occult, rather than those whose line
is the study of literature.
- Knowledge of poetical technique
and the demands of both rhyme and
rhythm shown in such verses as the
following appears to be too well
grasped for the poem to De the pro
duction of a man who never wrote
poetry or showed any interest in writ
ing it: i
The nightingale will sing between
The daylight and the dark;
The moon will kiss the cypress Queen,
And paint and shadow-mark;
At dewy mom the grass will shine.
Until the sun's too strong.
And then the meadowlark will wake
And till the world with song.
Throughout a series of verses by
Dr. Waite published in the New York
Times, when his prison-inspired poeti
cal talents first began to be called to
public notice, runs the same indica
tion of a good working knowledge of
rhythm, rhyme and stanza structure.
The error's are too few to indicate
anything else than the work of an
amateur who has schooled himself
well in the verse-writing craft.
The verses themselves give the
reader the impression of the writings
of a man who is well read in the
standard poets so well read in them
that their modes of expression and
their devices of imagery flow more or
less trippingly from his pen;. -.
He has a poem to himself, presum-1
ably air apostrophe of his soul to his
body, in which the voices of his mas
ters seem to echo faintly- through the
coarser and less finely trained lyric
of his own construction. The first
stanza suffices to give an idea of his
method.
And thou art dead, dear comrade, . t
In whom I dwelt a time.
With whom 1 strolled through star-klsaed
bowers
Of fraprant Jessamine!
And thou wert weak, O comrade,
Thvself in self did fail.
And now the stars are turned to tears.
And sobs the nightingale.
Another poem, a nocturne, bears an
inescapable reminiscence of Gray's
elegy. In both stanza structure and
mode of expression:
The fields contract. The world la dipped
in night.
A gentle hush, like snowflakes falls
around.
And here and there the marshland lights a
light.
An Incandescent secret held in pound.
Another poem, moralizing upon his
life and deeds and using them as a
warning to others. Is a weird con-These
glomerate of the influences apparently
of Fitzgerald's "Rubaiyat," of Swln-1
burne's philosophical poems and of
Emerson:
So gentle moves the Image unto death.
It's passing scarce of note, (rows less
and less.
And all Is dark except the living breath
Unseen to eye is treed from its distxeaa.
Perhaps the Breath lent mo has served God
well.
For some must chow the false, compared
In true
And, too perhaps that s why I beard him
tell
That in that Breath I found my own
life. too.
My own life found and may It live through
Death
To full in humble servitude before
xuose soul whose wrongs are righted by
rhe Breath
Which gives and takes and bolta the
little door.
The greatest hue and cry of the
readers through his poetry, when it
shall all be given to them, probably
will be on the trail of indications pro
and con as to his sanity.
In this point findings will differ
widely at last, it Is probable, and per
haps, if the vogue for Dr. Waite
spreads sufficiently, little Hamlet-mad-Hamlet
sane circles will be
formed within the discussion, each
drawing its texts and proofs from his
work.
On tHte surface, the principal things
apparent in the work are profound
egotism and apparent absence of any
kind of remorse for his crime. He is
as calm in his writings as though he
had been found guilty in Oregon in
stead of a capital-punishment state,
but calmness can hardly be taken into
consideration as an indication one way
or another as to his sanity.
The strongest position of those who
adopt the Hamlet-mad theory no
doubt will be the manifest egotism of
the man and the self-Justification that
pervades his verses, as, for example.
the stanza quoted above: "Perhaps
the Breath lent me has served God
well."
While few of the stanzas are poor
and none of them can be called great
poetry-, the whole collection might
serve to give Dr. Waite a fairly secure
temporary place on the "Minor Poet's"
The best auspices under which the
condemned man's verses are coming
out before the world is the tradl
tonally Imagination-gripping circum
stances under which they are said to
have been produced
WnlSKERS AND PRESIDENTS.
If one will take the trouble to check
over or visualize the faces of American
Presidents he will observe that Mr.
innovation when he takes up h,ls of
ficial abode at the White House next
March. Whiskers have been a favorite
adornment of Presidents, and particu.
larly of Presidents who served in the
past half century. A total of thirteen
chief executives have reveled in these
swaying trysting places of the gentle
winds and they have .worn them In
many styles and cuts. No one, it is
true, heretofore has taken into the
White House the particular style of
hirsute appendage Mr. Hughes boasts,
although several have had whiskers in
greater profusion and luxuriance.
John Quincy Adams was the first
man with a facial fringe to move to
the White House. He had them on
the sides. Van Buren had a striking
growth and Zachary Taylor wore side
whiskers. However, Abraham Lincoln
was the first President to cover his
chin with hair. Garfield and Harrison
carried full beards about with them
while Grant and Hayes concealed the
lower part of their faces under ample
hairy x coverings. President Arthur,
following a style which became popu
lar In his time, adopted side whiskers,
Cleveland, Roosevelt and Taft . wero
content with hair on their upper Hps.
Nor must the value of whlskrs be
underestimated, particularly whiskers
of the Hughes type. They are food
and drink for the caricaturists, and it
is foreordained that the Hughes whis
kers will supplant the Roosevelt teeth
in the popular fancy. Leave that to
the cartoonists, who are forever seek
ing marked facial characteristics and
strong effects. It is a stupid and
clumsy ink artist who cannot express
the Hughes whiskers in five or six
bold, well-delivered strokes of a stub
drawing pen.
VACATION DAYS.
Politics, Mexico, the great war and
other current topics of vital interest
are beginning to lose their intimate
interest Just at this season. Fagged
by the year's work and excitements
the average man's mind is turning to
the mountains, the fields, the trout
streams, the seashore and the other
alluring realms of vacation time. This
is the season tjhen the average busy
man will tell you of his pet plan to
break away from the world one day
and spend a whole year in seclusion
Of course, after he has 6pent a couple
of weeks in rural haunts he will feel
altogether different about it. A few
weeks close to nature have a wonder
ful effect as a tonic. Work and nor
mal associations are seen again in
their true light.
It "ought to be asy to decide upon
a vacation in Oregon. But it is not.
There are so many tempting vacation
places so near at hand that the aver
age person finds difficulty in making
up his mind. Seashore, mountains,
tempting country retreats, scenic
roads, all present their conflicting ap
peals. Even when one has decided on
the particular kind of vacation, the
particular place to go remains a dif
ficult problem. Fishermen, for ex
ample, have a hundred favored haunts
to pick from. The streams of South
era and Central Oregon are famed far
and near for their bounteous yields of
speckled beauties. Along with the
fishing goes matchless mountain scen
ery with ideal environs for a week or
two under canvas close to rugged na- 1
ture. These streams may be reached
by train or auto, even by streetcar.
Those who seek the restful and in
vigorating seashore have a number of
beaches to choose from. A few hours'
run by train or auto lands the Port
lander -011 the shores of the Pacific.
There accommodations are to. be found
suited to the tastes and circumstances
of all.' It has been said and proved
that one of small means is able to
spend the Summer at the seashore for
a smaller outlay than Is required to
remain in the city. Thousands take
advantage of this opportunity, spend
ing the Summer months in tents and
cottages and returning to the cities in
the Fall as brown as Indians and vig
orous as aborigines.
For the vacationist with an auto
mobile at command the opportunities
are limitless. Not even Switzerland
offers greater scenic wealth and one
may drive for weeks on passable roads
devouring the most wonderful nat
ural pictures ever- devised by prodigal
nature. The automobile vacation party-
is able, too, to run the whole gamut
of vacation Joys seashore, mountains.
trout streams, choice hunting grounds.
things may be combined in a
single routing of one week,
It Is the combination vacation. In
fact, that is coming to be more and
more popular in Oregon. Most of the
beaches are accessible to good fishing
haunts. All are handy to the moun
tains. The head of the family going
from Portland for the week's end with
his family takes creel and rod and
finds ample time and opportunity for
their employment during his brief
stay at the seashore. The man who
craves a vigorous vacation with gun
and rod can find no honest excuse for
leaving his family behind, since there
are Innumerable points where the
family is able to rusticate at a com
fortable base of operations in woods
or mountains.
Vacation has grown to be a uni
versally recognized institution. Time
was when dour slaves of toil and duty
regarded this gentle surcease from
economic slavery as a device of molly
coddles and weaklings. But the man
who used to boast that he had never
taken a vacation and never would, is
a rara avis these days. He has learned
that the human engine requires a rest
from vibration at least once each year.
It has been established to his satis
faction that he does better work after
having banked his engines for a
couple of weeks in the heat of Sum
mer and that the same rule applies to
those employed by him. Business
houses generally recognize vacations
as a necessity, and arrange their vaca
tion schedules as regularly and as
sedulously . as they strike their trial
balances.
Getting the most out of this brief
rift in the year's toil and turmoil is a
duty' not to be takea lightly. Remain
ing in normal haunts may commend
Itself to those who are not inclined
to be robust and vigorous, but any
such Inclination should be put aside as
a waste of valuable time. Life in the
open air offers the one real stimulus
to the wearied human mechanism and
augments the laying by of a new
stock of vital energy. The person who
has not learned to make use of vaca
tion days and mopes about town won
dering what to do with his time, misses
one of the choicest morsels of exist
ence and loses an opportunity to
lengthen his mortal days.
General Pershing was warned by the
Mexican commander that if he moved
farther into Mexico the Mexican army
would attack him. The threat doubt
less was of the Mexican variety and
based on knowledge that the Amerl
cans had positive orders from Wash
ington to mark time until the conven
tions shaped up.
County Commissioner Holman rec
ommends a free public mending serv
ice for automobllists who meet with
punctures on the Columbia Highway.
Great idea. And in order to install the
system properly he should have an
other set of $1500 efficiency experts.
A man was arrested for striking the
Janitor. Such improvidence. Be kind
to the Janitor, the bootblack and the
waiter and they may let you ride home
In their high-powered touring cars.
The Army appropriation bills have
not yet been acted upon by Congress.
And there is no certainty that they will
be with the particular kind of a Con
gress the country now has.
Of course, it must be admitted that
some little jngenuity must be exercised
to line up the tonsorial vote for
Hughes and Fairbanks.
A hybrid potato that tastes like a
antaloupe has been grown. It should
make amends for the cantaloupe that
tastes like a potato.
But after the Russians have rushed
the Austrians out of Russia, Von Hln-
Aatnburg may send a couple of Ger
mans down to rush them back again.
The Italian Cabinet is a complete
failure. Wherein the Italians have lit
tle on us. Theirs quit. We change
ours next March.
Thirty-six women fainted when Rev.
Billy Sunday preached to a congrega
tion of women at St. Louis. The power
of true art.
It will take a real patriot to march
in a preparedness parade on the
Fourth, if the thermometer .holds its
own.
A war with Mexico has one allure
ment. Mexico is the one nation on
earth we can whip at the present time.
It certainly does begin to look as
if we were going to have Mexico as a
part o the Democratic campaign..
Cheaper cuts of meat are becoming
popular. Whereupon they are certain
to "become the most expensive. '
The Democratic platform asserts big
achievements for the Administration.
Literary achievements, yes.
. What's a mere bank president com
pared with the inside attendant at a
cold-storage plant?
The Colonel persists that he is out
of politics. But he'll try to come back
again some day.
Mysterious ruins have been found in
Colorado. Possibly the Democratic
platform of 1912.
Get used to the term President
Hughes, for that's what it is going
to be.
And Bryan's services as a reporter
were not in very high demand this
time.
However, the Russians have not yet
renewed their cry of "On to Berlin!"
He is a lucky chap who arranged to
take his vacation early this year.
The sun certainly is making amends
for all past derelictions.
Remember that delightful blizzard
w had last Winter?
And the favorite sons have gone
back- to the ice plant.
What became of Champ Clark's
houn" dog this time?
Has the equator wandered up this
way by mistake?
A real Fourth sounds like old times
again.
Why not arbitrate this weather mat
ter?
But it's hotter than this in Mexico.
Do your Christmas shopping early.
Gleams Through the Mist
By Dtsa Collins.
BALLADE OF THE WOOD ROGER.
Past the last sign about "Lots for Sale."
Out where the carlinea don't even,
run.
There's a stream that's gleaming in
wooded vale
That was blest by the Lord when the
world was begun;
And nobody knows of a fairer one
In all of the countries high and low;
And woe is me. as the day is done.
I hear It call and I cannot go.
You seek it out by a hidden trail.
O'er mosses dappled and. gold and .
dun; .
Tour guide Is the timorous, slinking
quail.
Tour heralds the deer that before
you run;
There lie no terrors for you to shun
In the magical wood where the still
streams flow;
And out of the dusk, when the day is
done.
I hear It call-rand I cannot go.
There's a rift of sunlight on mosses
pale.
It dances like fire where the ripples
run;
And the lazy trout In his coat of mall
Flashes his Jewels against the sun;
In all of my dreamlngs there is none
That catches hold of my fancy so;
I see it oft when the day Is done;
I hear it call and I cannot go.
L'EXVOL
Paradise for the weariest one
Who would flee from the city of
work and woe;
And evermore, as the day Is done.
I hear it call and I cannot go.
"Sir," said the Courteous Office Boy,
looking over my shoulder as I drove
the last tack into the foregoing pome,
"since when did you begin to take such
a lively interest in municipal -affairs?
"Meaning what' I said, blowing the
file dust off the last rhyme.
"I have read no further "than the
title, but seeing that it dealt with the
'Wood Hunger." I naturally presumed
that- you .were offering another ex
planation of the probable reason why
the thousand cords vanished from the
municipal pile " said the C. O. B.. but
he got no further, tor I sprang upon
him and gagged him with a dactyl.
Ol'Il OTHER CHEEK.
"Bou B.,'" the poetical purist, who
was allowed to come lightly contrib
blng into our colyum last Tuesday, be
cause of his striking fecundity In the
matter of rhymes for Tillamook,
fetches a wallop at us on our grammar,
but we are of such a forgiving nature
that we will not explain to him that
we saw It In the proof but were too
Indolent to correct it, and we will not
even assert that our friend the compos
itor was to blame for he wasn't.
Just to show "Bou" that our other
cheek Is available at all times, we al
low him to get by once more with the
following on:
THOSE VICES.
This writing verses Is a vice;
I like It;
The poet class Is far from nice:
' I like it;
It makes your thoughts go very
wrong;
Tour breath grow short, youij, wind
grow long;
It makes your hair grow wild and
strong;
I like it.
CONCERT ING NAMES.
I went Into a toyshop where all the
dolls had names;
And there I saw both Lloyd and Ruth,
Elizabeth and James.
Celestine, Jack and Mary Jane; and this
thing me annoyed;
When I asked the clerk to sell me
Ruth, she said: "I'll celluloid."
W. K. BELT, Newport, Or.
OUTRAGE DEPLORED.
To fhe Editor: Please correct your
correspondent's version of the marriage
of Miss Lemon. This ballad is very
old, as I knew it In my early youth in
this form:
Miss Lemon, she, with air so free.
She married Archibald Sneezer;
Now she "can sneeze whene er she
please
And he's a Lemon-squeezer.
I leave It to you and the public if
this isn't far more interesting, as his
tory, and far better poetry.
It's an outrage that anyone, should
be allowed to plagarize from an old
treasure of this sort with impunity. As
Tennyson says, half a truth is rotten
business. A. W. NICHOLSON."
THE SHORTEST POME.
Finis Idleman, which we suspicion is
a pseudonym in parti sent In as the ul
timate in short pomes a period with the
explanatory reading:
Period
, Wearied.
And we were.
Too wearied to resent the poor rhyme
he sawed off for us.
We were almost ready to call the
shortest pome contest ended and begin
hanging the Iron crosses for we have
received by actual count 442 shortest
pome contributions since the contest
started, which Is about 435 more than
we expected.
We were, as we said, about ready to
call it closed and begin doling out the
decorations, when this same Finis Idle
man and Tom Thumb, alias "R. G. A.."
and Albert Moran came through with,
a request that we print a whole column
of the shortest pomes, from the be
ginning of the contest to the end. so
that the whole wide world could mark
the process of diminution toward the
vanishing point.
We are appalled by the boldness of
this request.
We are so appalled that we are
obliged to postpone for a few craen
more the handing out of honors to the
winners in he great contest.
IN THE GARIrK.N".
In the Canterbury bell.
Swooning 'neath her honey trpe.ll.
Blinded by the pollen dust.
Crusted with its golden crtfst.
Snores the drunken bumble bA;
Circe's willing victim be.
Swooning: 'neath the honey spell
Of tbe Canterbury bell.
NAMES IS NAMES,
Tilden. on a darkened street
A robber robbed, as robbers will;
The thief upon the docket sheet
Was listed tha: "He robbed
Til."
V
the