6
TITE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JULY n. 191(5.
rORTI.ANI. OREGON.
Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postoffice SjS
second-class mail matter.
6ubcrlptloa Rates Invariably in advance:
,-' (By Mail.)
Pally, Sunday Included, ooe year $8.00
raily. Sunday Included, six months.... 4.25
Xally, Sunday Included. thre,e months.. 2.25
laily, Sunday Included, one month 75
Iaily. without Sunday, one year 8.00
Xatly. without Sunday, six months 3.25
Jjatly, without Sunday, three months. . . 1.75
Daily, without Sunday, one month..... .60
"Weekly, one year.. 1.50
Sunday, one year........ . . 2.50
eunday and Weekly, one year 3.50
(By Carrier.)
Dally, Sunday Included, one year. ...... 9.00
XJally, Sunday Included, one month .75
Ifow to Kcmit Send postoffice money
order, express order or personal check on
your local bank. Stamps,- coin- or currency
are at sender's risk. Give postoffice address
In full. Including county and state. .
l'nntage Kates 12 to 16 pages, 1 cent: 18
to 32 pages. 2 cents; 34 to 4b pages, 3 cents;
fio to oo pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages,
0 cents; 7S to 82 pages, 6 cents. Foreign
postage, double rates.
KaMtern BuMlness Office Verree A Conk
lln, Brunswick building. New York; Verree
& Conkiin. Steger building. Ohlcago. San
i'ranclsco representative, K. J. Bldwell, 742
Market street.
POETLASD, SUNDAY, JCX.T , 1916.
LEADERS AND FOIXOWERS.
"The only way to explain, the fury
of the non-partisan, press against
Hughes Is that they are scared to
death," remarks the Medford Sun.
"Well said; for it describes completely
the panic into which, the Democratic
newspapers and politicians are thrown
end the frantic search for a- flaw in
Hughes' record, or a slip in his speech
or a breach in his conduct. The counts
against Hughes may be enumerated:
First, Hughes had no right to toe a
candidate while a member of the
toench. But the Democratic platform
was silent on that fictitious offense.
It became evident' early that the ac
cusations or Implications of Impro
priety against Mr. Hughes had made
no impression on the country", and. that
denial of the right of a great political
party to make any one of its distin
guished members a candidate is a de
nial of the right of the American peo
ple to call to the Presidency any eligi
tole American citizen.
Secondly, there were violent and
apparently concerted, attacks on Mr.
Hughes because he was not a Progres
sive and was a "tool" of the Old
Guard to beat Roosevelt. But the peo
ple had not forgotten the courageous
.nd useful service Mr. Hughes ren
dered as Governor of New York, his
many -demonstrations of his independ
ence In word and deed, and the re
markable qualities of leadership he
displayed in more than one . critical
fight for the. people. The Old Guard
talk - was unadulterated buncombe,
easily and quickly exploded.
Third, Mr. Hughes had been on the
bench for years and was out of touch
and no one knew what he thought or
where he stood. He destroyed that
little notion within two hours after he
was nominated by a statement of cur
rent issues that iwill take high place
in the annals of political literature and
that showed instantly and completely
that in him the Republican party had
made no mistake.
Fourth, the German-Americans 'had
procured his nomination and as can
didate he was the product of hyphen
Ism and as President he would not be
neutral. The nomination was brought
about by the uninfluenced wish and
purpose of a great American political
party to have a "100-per-cent "Amer
ican" for President, and by no other
considerations whatsoever.
Fifth, Hughes Is said to. be "for
war." Hughes is not for war, nor for
peace at the cost of self-respect, or
honor, or duty, or Nationalism. "It
is most regrettably true," he says,
"that in our foreign relations we have
suffered incalculably from the weak
and vacillating course which has been
taken with regard to Mexico a course
lamentably wrong with regard to both
our rights and duties." "I am pro
foundly convinced," also says Mr.
Hughes, "that by prom.pt and decisive
action (on the part of the Adminis
tration) the Lusitania tragedy would
have been prevented." If those are
warlike suggestions what shall be said
of the declaration of the President of
the United States that "protection of
American lives and property in the
United States is the first obligation of
this Government, and in Mexico is,
first, the obligation of Mexico and,
second, the obligation of the United
States." We wonder if any partisan
of President "Wilson will assert that
he meant to protect American lives in
Mexico by words and.- not by deeds. If
a definite definition and assertion of
American Tights and duties by Candi
date Hughes is warlike, how can it be
said then that a clear notification to
Mexico that American citizens there
must be protected and that it is the
otoligation of the United States to pro
tect them, conveys no threat or impli
cation of coercive "measures?
Sixth, Hughes was said to be mere
ly another Wilson. But that argu
ment is abandoned, for we hear now
that Hughes is an "aggressive leader"
and is therefore likely to prove a Cae
sar or a Napoleon, while Wilson i,s a
follower, not . a leader. We rather
think that President Wilson would re
pudiate any pretense or contention that
(he follows and does not lead, for he
has proudly proclaimed himself the
"captain of the team" and. the "leader
of his party." If he is anything he is
the undisputed head of the Demo
cratic party, though his title to the
leadership of the Nation, in the sense
mat asnington, or Jefferson, or
Jackson, or Lincoln were leaders, is
not so clear. Yet it is seriously urged
for him that he will not lead the
country anywhere, but will follow. He
will not guide, but he will keep his
ear to the ground. He will not pilot
the ship of state, but he will abandon
the helm and trim the sails to any
and every wind. What a pitiful pic
ture of a Presidential candidate! Tet
' there are demagogic beaters of the
party tom-tom who are not ashamed
to make it.
The people ask of a Presidential
candidate that he have principles and
'avow them, and policies and define
them. They will sup-port him If they
approve, and defeat him if they do
not approve. They have no fear of a
statesman who seeks to lead, "but they
heartily despise a truckler who wants
to know what others think "before he
is willing to say what he thinks
Hughes is no truckler; nor is Wilson
But some of the latter's blind par
tisans would have it appear that the
weathervane controls his convictions
and any whisper of unfavorable criti
cism his actions.
It Is sincerely to foe hoped that ef
forts this week to refloat the Bear
will be successful. The Coast can 111
afford to lose a fine ship at any time
tout just now the loss Is especially un
fortunate. The situation is the same
. on both coasts with regard to the
pressing need of vessels, as Is illus
trated by the action of steamship com
parties' In buying up anything- that will
float and putting it to use. An old
Long Island Sound steamer, the Rhode
Island, for some time doing service as
a barge, has been taken over for con
version Into a. sailing ship, -and five
big lake steamers have just been
bought and more are on the way to
New England, to be put into the trans
Atlantic service. There is no sign of
abatement in the demand for tonnage
everywhere.
VOTIXO BY MAIL. '
Possibility that thousands of young
men of voting age may be absent from
their homes on election day defending
the southern -border of the country has
revived interest in absentee voting.
North Dakota and Virginia have
statutes permitting absent citizens to
vote by mail. There is an Oregon law
which provides a method whereby a
citizen absent from his precinct may
vote in person anywhere in the state,
but it does not extend to voters tem
porarily absent from Oregon.
The Virginia Guardsmen will be per.
mitted- to vote next November, If not
in the state, by pursuing the following
formalities:
' Twelve- cents forwarded to the registrar
of the -voter's precinct thirty days prior
to the election will Insure a return ballot,
which -must be opened and marked In the
presence of his commanding officer or his
delegated representative. There la a coupon
attached to the certificate of registration
which Is. to be inclosed with the marked
ballot in the return envelope. It must
reach Its destination on or before the day
of election in order that the vote shall
count.
The coupon mentioned is probahly a
device to preserve secrecy of the bal
lot and presumably also the Guards
man is not required, to permit his com
manding officer to observe just how
he marks the ballot. The law is new,
in fact wholly untried, but it seems to
meet the situation in a wise way.
Not only are many traveling men,
railroad men and citizens suddenly
called away - on business' deprived at
election of the franchise but countless
others are' caused to neglect business
elsewhere and undergo the expense of
a trip home for the mere purpose of
voting.
There Is nothing In absence from the
state that essentially deprives an
elector of ability intelligently to exer
cise the franchise. We know of no
reasn for not providing a way for
him to vote other than possibility that
the privilege might" be conducive to
fraud. It ought to be possible, ' how
ever, to eliminate room for fraud and
let in, as an offset to those at home
who are too indifferent to vote, the
absentee citizens who want to vote.
IMPAIRING Tins MAIL, SERVICE.
In attempting to meet Senator As-
hurst's charge of discrimination be
tween periodicals by the Postoffice
Department, the Senate has only made
matters worse. It adopted, the sec
tion of the postoffice bill repealing
prohibition of extension of Becond-class-
mail shipments by freight train and
added a proviso that no unfair dis
crimination should be practiced and
no undue delay permitted. The Postmaster-General
and his subordinates
are left to judge whether their dis
crimination is unfair and, the courts
having refused to interfere with the
details of postal administration, no
means of questioning the legality of
these officials' acts 13 left open, ex
cept impeachment. They will still be
open to strong temptation to discrimi
nate against periodicals which criticise
the Administration, and there will be
practically no check upon them.
Senator Hardwick appeared as the
champion of carrying mail by freight
train, and he trotted out the well-
worn argument that second-class mat
ter is carried at a heavy loss, though
he admitted that the postal service as
a whole had yielded a profit of 3,-
500,000 in 1914. If, as he said, second-class
mail caused a loss of $81,-
000,000 in the fiscal year 1915, a large
profit was surely made on letter mail
parcel post and money orders. Pe
riodical publications of all kinds are
the most useful developers of this
profitable 'business. They cause mil
lions of letters to be written by sub
scribers, advertisers and patrons of
advertisers, money orders to be bought
and parcels to be sent. They are to
the postal service what branch lines
are to a trunk railroad feeders
which produce profitable business for
other kinds of mail, traffic.
The people of the United States do
not expect the Postoffice Department
to pay a profit. They expect it to pay
Its way as a whole and to render ef
ficient service. It pays its way as a
whole, but in trying to make each
separate class or mail -balance ac
counts Postmaster-General Burleson
renders its service inefficient. He has
done so by his handling of rural-routes
and star routes, though star routes
are the principal link 'between Isolated
communities and the centers of civili
zation. Now he wishes to impair the
service still further and to increase
his arbitrary, power by giving some
periodicals mall service and others
freight service at the same price.
If the Senate really desires to prac
tice economy, it has a fine opportunity
in remedying the abuses of the frank
ing privilege, w-hich. is not a feeder to
the money-making classes of mail but
is chiefly responsible for postal deficits
in the years when Presidents are
elected.
TRADE WITH SOUTH AMERICA.
No new trade movement is without
its gloomy prognostlcators, and efforts
to develop ' new markets in South
America are no exception to the rule
ReOVnt investigations into conditions
in the countries to the south of us
have been made by a mission- from
the United States and the commis
sioners entertain the opinion that the
field is an exceedingly inviting one
btxangely enough, though, pessimists
managed to obtain first circulation of
a report that Latin-America had been
found not worth while. Some of the
alleged reasons given were: . Uneven
distribution of. wealth, thereby re
stricting the market to a few luxuries;
inability of the great masses of the
people to purchase, 'because they have
no money of any kind; market aside
from luxuries limited to materials for
use in development of the country,
which will be purchased In Europe if
European capital is employed in de
velopment. It is pointed out by The Americas
that even if some of these statements
are true they do not Justify pessi
mistic conclusions. It is true that
wealth Is concentrated In the posses
sion of fewer persons, in proportion,
than in some other countries, but this
order is changing constantly. Thus,
Argentina, which is only just awak
ening to modern agriculture, has more
than doubled the number of individual
farm holdings in the past ten years,
and exploitation and development of
irrigated lands. Intended to place them
in the hands of an increasing num
ber, have only Just begun.
. An exceedingly promising feature
of the trade situation is that South
American-countries have- vast quan
tities of raw materials needed in the
United States, and so long as these
exist American exporters are assured
a reliable and certain basis of ex
change. South America, would be
able to pay In materials that we are
glad to accept, even if her resources
In coin for the time were limited. This
is true of all countries south of the
northern boundary of Mexico.
The objection that materials for
development of the country, such as
machinery, steel rails and the like,
will be bought in Europe -to the ex
tent that European capital is employed
In the work is put aside with the
statement that Americans ought to be
content to let it rest on that basis.
It Is declared to be quite obvious that
after the European war is- ended
Americans should have a material ad.
vantage so far as capital for foreign
investment Is concerned. The demand
for raw materials heretofore referred
to will, serve automatically to induce
such investments, which already are
being considered on a larger scale
than the public generally Is aware of.
MECCA. CENTER OF REVOLT.
The uprising of certain Arab tribes
against the authority of, the Sultan
and the report that Mecca Is the cen
ter of the revolt puts end to any hope
the Sultan may have entertained for
a holy war, in which all the peoples of
the Mohammedan faith should Join in
a mighty effort to extinguish the un
believers. A good deal was said at
the beginning of the war on this topic
and there were many who professed
to believe it possible to engineer a
union of all Islam that would find
expression in a fanaticism more ter
rible than any the world ever had
known. But the months have gone
by without any serious manifestation
of that nature, and now, Mecca itself
seems to be definitely cut off from
possible connection with a movement
on the part of the Mohammedans
against their Teligious enemies.
The number of Mohammedans is a
matter of some doubt. The Turkish
government has estimated them at
176,000,000, and this figure is be
lieved to be conservative. Much stress
was laid in the beginning on the fact
that at least 60,000,000 of these were
living in British India and the British
possessions a truly staggering num
ber, if they had been united for a
war. But they were not, and the ac
tion of thhe Ara.bs proves it.. The
British evidently have been active in
their own behalf, and have started a
backfire of intrigue without waiting
for a possible conflagration to over
whelm them.
The strategic advantage of centering
the revolt in Mecca cannot be over
estimated. Mecca is the birthplace of
the prophet, but even before Mahomet
was born, it was regarded as a sin
gularly hov place and the prophet's
designation or tne -tvaaDa, sanctuary its
the "house of Allah" was probably the
outgrowth of his own deep attachment
to the place as the shrine at which
he himself had paid his earliest devo
tions. No true believer regarded his
spiritual mission on earth as complete
until he had made his haJJ, or pil
grimage, to Mecca. It was in -truth
the center of the faith, the holy of
all holies, the rallying point of all
the Mohammedans of the world. As a
war center, in the midst of strife by
contending religious factions, possibly
running with, blood and seething with
anarchy, it loses standing in the eyes
of religionists; and especially it proves
that the Sultan is without recognized
authority as a spiritual leader to call
Mohammedans to arms.
The 5herifs of Mecca asserted
authority by descent from the Prophet,
and for a long time ruled without
question, but the Sultan craftily sought
to dispossess them of a power that he
foresaw might easily become danger
ous to him. So he set up walls, or
Governors, and gradually extended
their authority. This the Sherifs
resented, and they had a powerful fol
lowing. The Grand Sherif Hussein is
the leader of those who have repu
diated the Sultanate at Constanti
nople. His followers proclaim him
the "holiest man of Islam" and ac
knowledge him as the true guardian
of the faith by virtue "of descent
through the son of the fourth caliph.
Hussein is a friend of the British, and
especially an admirer of Lord Curzon,
wiho, as Viceroy, of India, did much
to implant the belief that the former
Sultan, Abdul Hamld, was a usurper
of the caliphate of Mecca, and that
he had twisted . the meaning of the
Mohammedan scriptures tb his own
purpose,. The point was theological
in a high degree, but the British Vice
roy, it now appears, did his country
a greater service than he knew in
mastering it. But for Curzon's for
tunate concepjion of the Arabian's
theological mind, the Turkish Sultan
would come nearer having his own
way today".
Mecca has Its romantic associations
in the world outside, due in part, per
haps, to the mystery that always has
surrounded It. It is a tradition that
no unbeliever may visit it, but more
than a dozen Europeans have suc
ceeded In reaching, the holy city,
though at extreme peril of their own
lives, and it is to their writings that
we owe what, is known of the city
itself and the rites that accompany
the annual pilgrimages of the faith
ful. It is "a town of perhaps 50,000,
of some importance commercially be
cause of the caravan routes it com
mands, but its people chiefly derive
their support from catering to the
pilgrims. One gets a flavor of the
Arabian Nights from the knowledge
that the aqueduct which supplies the
city with water from a distant valley
was built by the wife of the Caliph
Haroun-al-Raschid. It has a few
manufactures, but they are confined
almost wholly to rosaries and pottery.
These facts are recorded by the en
cyclopedias. Its history, despite its
holy character, has been turbulent,
and this has been due to the fact that,
situated in the midst of warlike peo
ples, it has nevertheless neglectedi the
problem of defense. When a chief
tain with a sufficient force at hand
made up his mind to capture it, he
did so. None of its possessors seems
to have given thought to holding it
afterward.
One wonders more and more at the
peculiar workings of the Oriental mind
in contemplation of the contradictions
of the religion taught at Mecca. The
Prophet made the pilgrimage to Mecca
one of the four cardinal duties of every
true believer, associating it with the
injunctions to prayer, to almsgiving
and to observance of the fasts. It
naa especially enjoined on all pil
grims that their words and thoughts
should be in harmony with the sanc
tity of the territory they were about
to visit. Even the lives of animals
were made sacred, and yet an unbe
liever found within the precincts of
the city would- have been slaughtered
without mercy. The rites at the sanc
tuary were exceedingly complicated
and were observed to the last letter.
Benevolence, charity, prayer and then
more prayer no Mohammedan who
made - the hajj .to .Mecca, omitted, the
smallest part of his duties. "Then he
girded ' himself and if he continued
to obey the teachings of the koran,
went forth to make war on Infidels.
But such a war has not become a
material thing. - Instead, Mohamme
dans are busy with a war among
themselves. . The Sunnltes care not a
whit what the Shiites think about U
and the Arabian - tribesmen arc not
bothering themselves about the feel
ings of the yoiing Turks. Islam Is
not united, after all, and Is not a
menace to the plans of the entente
allies in . the great war that) has its
center on European battleffelds. - '
DECLINE OK LEPROSY.
Not the least of the recent achieve
ments of the medical profession is in
dicated by a recent report on the de
cline of leprosy in the Hawaiian Is
lands. The famous colony on the
island of Molokai, which a few- years
ago had a population of 2000, now
numbers fewer than 700 unfortunates.
This h,as come about because while
deaths have occurred at the' normal
rate, few new cases have been added.
Thus it appears that one of the most
sadly picturesque communities In all
the world raay cease to exist within
a generation.
Leprosy is one of the most ancient
of all the maladies to which the flesh
of mankind has fallen heir. Though
early records are confusing in terms,
and sometimes permit the inference
that another-disease- than that now
known as leprosy is meant, author
ities believe they 'have authenticated
prescriptions -written in . an attempt
to effect its cure nearly 700.0 years
ago. That these efforts came to noth.
ing is shown by the spread of leprosy
through Asia and its prevalence In. Eu.
rope in the Dark Ages and by the- vast
number of "leper houses'' in Central
Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. One writer places the num
ber of these crude Isolation hospitals
In Germany, France, England and
Spain at 19,000 at one time. Yet it
was not until -1871 that the bacillus
of leprosy was isolated; and" it "has
been only within the past deca'dev that
medical men have been encouraged to
believe that a cure might be found.
Surgery, also, has played an Impor
tant part in the prevention of its
spreaa, on tne discovery oi a. tocai
affection.
Poverty and Insanltation have been
charged with responsibility for the
existence, in almost 'epidemic form, of
the disease, "but," says a writer, "they
go with every malady and there is
nothing to show that they have any
specific influence." Vaccination has
been accused of aiding In its' Bpread,
"but vaccination is a relatively new
thing feprosy a very old one." The
Important fact is that not many newly
developed cases are being sent to Mo
lokai a fact In the face of Improved
conditions, of supervision in the
Hawaiian Islands . that Justifies the
conclusion that -the oldest of all the
plagues in history is in the way of
being stamped out.
A FEDERATED BRITISH E3IPIRJC
Adoption of the Federal system for
the British Empire, which has been
for many years a subject of academic
discussion, has been made a live pollt.
leal issue by the war. Only devotion
such as that which the British colonies
feel toward the mother country could
have caused them to rally to its sup
port with all their resources of men
and material in the absence of any
legal obligation. But their spokesmen
have not hesitated to tell British
statesmen that the time has come to
end a situation in which they feel mor.
ally bound to fight a war in beginning
which they have had no voice and in
ending which they may not be con
sulted. British newspapers and states.
men have taken up their cause, and
the outcome may be a welding to
gether of the scattered parts in a com.
pact, world-girdling federation.
The colonial dominions have the
right of self-government so far only
as their internal affairs are concerned
When they go beyond ' those limits
they are met with an imperial veto
Queensland tried to anftex New Guinea
but was forbidden. New Zealand tried
to exclude all except lts.own and Aus
tralian ships from its ports, but the
bill, was disallowed by the home . gov
ernment. British Columbia has at
tempted to exclude Chinese imml
grants, but the Dominion of Canada
has annulled its laws as contrary to
imperial policy. Questions of foreign
policy are decided by the Imperial
Parliament and the British Cabinet
though they closely concern the Do
minions. The latter are merely con
sulted by courtesy, and there is no
obligation to regard their wishes. .On
the other hand, the mother country
has assumed the sole burden of de
fending the whole empire by paying all
the cost of army and navy. Only of
late years have the Dominions taken a
share by building warships and by
sending-contingents of troops to war
They have done so 'voluntarily, being
under no legal obligation to provide
a ship or a man.
As these contributions to defense
have grown in magnitude. Dominion
statesmen have become outspoken in
demanding a full share In the sov
ereignty which is held 'by Great Brit
aln alone. In proposing the expendi
ture of $35,000,000 on battleships as
a contribution to the British navy by
Canada, Sir Robert Borden said to
the Canadian Parliament in 1912:
When Great Britain no longer assumes
sole responsibility for defense upon the
high seas, she can no longer undertake
to assume sole responsibility for and sol
control of foreign policy.
Andrew Fisher, ex-Premier of Aus
tralla, said that, if he had stayed in
Scotland, he would have been able to
vote on questions of imperial policy,
but since he had gone to Australia,
though he had been Prime Minister,
he had "no say whatever." He added:
"Now that can't go on. There must
be some change." t
Since the Dominions have sent to
the service of the empire armies which
before the war ends will probably to
tal 1,000,000 men, the British people
have begun to realize that "that can't
go on." The London Times has taken
the lead in a movement for a written
constitution for the entire British Em
pire under which "the Dominion peo
ples must be parts of a single imperial
electorate sending members to a sin
gle Imperial Parliament and governed
by a single Imperial Cabinet chosen by
that Parliament." The Times proposes
that the present Parliament pass a
law transferring to this new body con
trol of foreign policy, provision for
naval and military defense, provision
of funds for these purposes and gov,
ernment of the dependencies, that is,
territories which have not self-government,
such as India, Egypt and the
East and West African colonies. Un
der this scheme all self-governing
colonies would have a voice in making
war and peace, and all would provide
their quota for defense.
In proposing this revolutionary,
change, the Times vaguely hints that
it is prepared to accept another, of
which it .'has hitherto-been, the most
vlolent'opponent Irish home rule. Of
the working out of its scheme it says:
The most Important duties of the British
government and of the present British
Parliament would have to be taken sway
from them. The result would be that the
Parliament, or Parliaments, of the British
Isles would stand In the same relation to
the new Imperial Parliament and Ministry
as the Dominion Parliaments and Ministries
now stand to the present government and
Parliament of Creat Britain.
That implies readiness to' accept
separate Parliaments for- England,
Scotland, Ireland and Wales, having
the same relation to the Imperial Par.'
liament as our State Legislatures have
to Congress. There would be this dif
ference, however, that the limits of
Federal and state power would be
more exactly defined than with us, and
there would be little opportunity for
talk of twilight zones or for law
breakers to escape control by playing
one off against the other.
AMERICAN CIGAR CONSUMPTION. "
Statisticians in the tobacco trade pre
sent some startling figures as to the
growing consumption of tobacco, par
ticularly cigars. In the "United States
in recent years. Accurate figures are
available because tobacco Is a source
of revenue to the Government and
close watch is kept both on home
manufacture and the imported goods.
According to a recent Government re
port, the total number of cigars on
whieh tax was paid in 1916 was-in
excess of eight billion, an4 it will Bur-
prise many to be Informed that de-
spire tire high standing of the "im
ported" cigar, it cut relatively little
figure. To be sure, there were
brought into the country from Cuba
more than thirty-eight million, but
this was only about a thirtieth of the
number of domestic manufacture. The
Bmall figure Is only in part accounted
fot by the fact that large quantities of
Cuban tobacco are manufactured in
the salubrious climate of the keys of
Florida, in the United States. The
United States itself is a large producer
of cigar tobacco, and production Is
Increasing. Practically all of the
cheaper cigars consist largely of the
home leaf. -
One interesting conclusion drawn
from Government figures by students
of the tobacco situation is that there
are in the country some thirty million
men of "smoking age," and that' of
this number about a fourth do not
smoke. Of the remainder, it is estl
mated that in round figures two-thirds
are not cigar users.- The total num
ber of those who smoke cigars, there
fore, is between seven and a half and
eight millions, giving to each smoke
on an average something In excess of
1000 cigars a year, or about three a
day. This puts smokers as a whole in
the moderate" class, but of course
there are many who go to excess as
well as others who smoke seldom who
enter into the figures.
The figures of total production are
official. The rest are more or less
guesswork, but are based on the ex
perience of large manufacturers and
retailers. These same authorities es
timate that about a third 'of all the
cigar smokers use a weed that costs
less than a nickle, such as the stogie
and the cheroot. Something in excess
of five billion higher grade cigars are
consumed by about five million smok
ers, or 5 per cent of the population
About a million of these are believed
to indulge a taste for cigars that come
at "three for a quarter" or higher.
Despite the large figures involved,
there has been no recent large Increase
in the use of the cigar, while on the
other hand cigarettes and pipe tobacco
have been- experiencing a boom.
SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW COINS.
It would be quite idle to attempt to
find a subject on which more,has been
written and spoken In recent years
than money. A good deal is said in
earnest, somewhat more in Jest and
more than either in that form of
flippancy which is an Ineffectual at
tempt to make light of deep-seated
longings that may or may not ever be
satisfied. . "Money talks" Is as old as
money Itself and paragraphers have
told why It talks in a hundred differ
ent ways. From the explanation of
why George Washington was able to
throw a sliver dollar across the Rap
pahannock River down to the speeches
of Senator Jones, of Nevada, and 111.
lam Jennings Bryan and John G. Car
lisle, it would seem that more has been
written about money than any other
one topic of human interest, not ex
cepting religion and social reform
We do not conceal our real feelings
on the subject with persiflage and few
are deceived by it. not even the' Joke
smiths, who get real coin in exchange
for the products of their pens.
Recently, In accordance with the
law that provides for a periodical
change in the designs on the faces of
our coins of all denominations, the turn
of the half dollar, the quarter and the
dime has come. Two eminent sculp
tors, engaged for the purpose, have
completed their work and It has been
duly approved. . The new coins are
now current and In time will find
their way pretty generally into the
hands of all the people. "It Is pre
dicted," says one funmaker, "that the
new coins will be popular." And he
adds: "This seems reasonable." But
he was not referring to the designs
In themselves. These. It appears,
were meant to have a significance all
their own, unrelated to their purchas
ing power and to similar questions of
a sordid and worldly nature. For we
have it from the sculptors who de
signed them . tsrat for the man who
will look carefully at each piece of
the new money that comes into his
hands there will be a moral, a precept
or two and no end of sound advice,
to say nothing of as many other inci
dental axioms and saws as one may
read into it. Beauty lies in the eye
of the beholder, says the moralizer,
and so with the new coins. They may
represent the price of-a square meal
or the aspirations of the human race,
just as their possessor cares to look
at it.
Restricted as they wereby the law,
which prescribes that certain sub
sidiary coins shall bear on the obverse
side a representation of "Liberty," and
the word itself, together with the date
of coinage, while on the reverse the
American eagle shall appear, the
sculptors were nevertheless left to
their own devices as to the details of
those representations. They have sue
ceeded admirably, it would appear,
from the statements of Adolph Alex
ander Weinman, who designed th
new half dollars and dimes, and of
Hermon A. MacNeil. designer of th
new twenty-five-cent piece. Within
the small, milled circle they have in
cluded what Mr. MacNeil modestly
says can be at best only the "kernel
of an ldea; more man one Idea, as
the men themselves proceed to prove.
For example, Mr. Weinman for hi
half dollar conceives Liberty as ;
full-length female, enveloped in th
folds or the fc-tars ana btrtpes. "pro
gressing in full stride toward the
glorious dawn of a new day." In her
hand she carries branches of laurel
and oak. .The hand is. extended, and
this fact is not without its special
meaning. The laurel is meant to sym
bolize civic attainment: the oak stands
for military Elorv. Let no one who
did not "raise her boy" to be a soldier
refuse to accept the coin because of
the presence of the hateful oak leaf,
however, for she ls'at liberty to read
into it a symbolism of her own. The
oak aUo is suggestive of strength,
evn when unaccompanied . by the
clinging ivy, and strength is despised
by no one. least of all by those who
are committed exclusively to the arts
of peace and the delights of "fatted
ease." Someone ought to be strong
and the oak will do for those who do
not subscribe to the paradox that
weakness Is a sign of strength. The
right hand, to which attention has
been called. Is extended in bestowal of
the spirit of Liberty upon the land
of the free and the home of the brave.
The reverse side of the same coin will
depict the eagle perched high on a
crag. His wings are unfolded, as if
he would soar aloft. Springing from
a rift in the rock is a sapling of moun
tain pine, emblematic of America, The
eagle Is fearless in spirit, and, it is
important to add, is conscious of his
power.
As much is said by the dime, to
those who listen with receptive ears.
The Liberty of the dime wears a
winged cap. On the reverse Is a bun
dle of staves with battle ax. the faces
signifying authority, the bundle unlty
and co-operation, the ax preparedness.
quite a series of lessons in civic duty
by themselves.
In designing the new quarters the
artist has been moved by a desire to
give representation not only to the ar.
tlstic development of America, of
which enough might be said to Justify
a separate article, but to its material
advancement in the last quarter of a
century. Liberty on the quarter dol-
ar is in the act of uncovering her
shield, which it ,must be clear to ev
eryone means nothing else than pre
paredness, while at the same time she
bears the olive branch, meaning, of
course, that she has nothing aggres
sive in Jier intentions. This was the
idea of Mr. MacNeil himself, and we
see no reason for reading any other
meaning Into his work. She, too, is
stepping forward, as is the Liberty
of the half dollar, but Mr. MacNeil
sees her in the act of advancing to
ward what he would call the gateway
of a. new country our own- country
when It shall have achieved all or its.
ideals. She is meant to illustrate the
fact that preparedness doubles the
value of efficiency, and that she is
awakening from a false sense of se
curity to make herself ready for
whatever task lies before her.
these are the stories ox the new
coins as the men who designed them
meant them to be. But they possess
a larger value to the person with im
agination. He has a wealth of sym
bollsm from which to draw a moral
to please his own fancy and to adorn
any tale he chooses to tell.
ine impulse . that controls a man
when he seeks solace in the compan
ionship of his fellows In a cafe, or it
may be a downtown dramshop, instead
of going home to his wife, who per
haps is a Xanthippe, has a scientific
name, given it by Albert, King of the
Belgians, himself a close student of
the wants and desires of his own peo
ple. He calls it by the word which in
English Is written eurythmy and in
French looks just a little better as
eurythmie. It comes from the Greek
the first syllable, "eu." meaning
"well." and the rest of the word ex
plaining itself. It is the longing for
rythm, harmonious movement. . pleas
ing surroundings, and so forth, that
moves such a man. "and not original
sin, as some would have us believe
Lucky the home that has within Itself
the required eurythmie attributes, to
extend the word permissibly, which in
language that everybody can under
stand is just the every-day happy
home, so celebrated In. song and story
and still possessed by some of us.
It is bad news for the young folk
that kissing has been branded offi
cially as one of the influential agencies
In the spread of poliomyelitis, or in
fantile paralysis. Word has gone out
in New York that every possible pre
caution must be exercised against the
spread of the .dreadful malady, the
end of which cannot be foreseen at
this time, so it is to be expected that
the osculatory activity that has been
so long a naive feature of excursion
boats and trains running from the
congested districts to the pleasure re
sorts will to a certain extent be Curbed
at once. ' The ban on all kissing, by
grownups as well as the extremely
young, is due to the fact that the germ
of the epidemic is transmitted by well
persons almost as often as by the sick
Hurrah for the Pacific fleet! Gun
practice rated as. excellent, which wa
more than could be sard officially for
two-thirds . of the big ships on th
Atlantic side. Still, the real point is
that we need a Navy in which all th
vessels shall show a high ability to
hit the mark. It is the shots that hit
that count.
Weakness of war stocks on the New
Tork Exchange may or not reflect
honest belief that the "drive" of th
allies will shorten the war. The prob
able explanation is that ' the "specu
latlve" element simply wants to be on
the safe side. .
Building of ships in American yard
continues to increase. On June
there were building or under contract
372 steel merchant vessels of 1,147,00
tons,, an Increase of four vessels and
20,000 tons over May 1, mostly in new
yards.
"Better late than never" may have
been the thought of Henry Leffler
when he became naturalized. But h
had been a citizen in all essentials for
many years, having done his part in
building up the state.
There is nothing inhuman or mill
tar 1st about killing Dominicans in bat
tie It seems. But those dear Mexl
cans! How could we find it in ou
hearts to hurt them?
Those who may feel inclined to
quarrel with the Summer weather this
season should think of, the boys
the sun-baked border and be ashamed
of themselves.
If Editor Fensworth puts up th
same kind of fight at the front that
he does in a political Campaign th
Mexicans are likely to know he is on
the Job.
Carranza s sudden activity in pur
suit of the bandits in Northern Mexico
naturally suggests the question: Why
didn't he wake up long ago?
On the map Mexico appears in th
shape of a cornucopia. Pandora's box
furnishes, however, a more expressly
simile. .
I Gleams Through thejMifct' I
Br Dean C's-lllna. I
HACNTKD.
struggle to stick to my desk, and
toil.
But. woe for the Industry I have
vaunted!
The sprites of the forest and sprites
of the soil
Have ringed tne around the office) la
haunted!
They float through the window en
vagrant breeze.
They blur o'er my typewriter's Idle
keys, .
They perch o'er my desk on the or
dered shelves.
Wild little, weird little, woodland elves.
The Chamber of Commerce," I write It
surely,
"Is contemplating a new campaign;
A bureau for lumber Interests purely.
A thing long wanted . In vain, in
vain.
For the sprites of the trees that reach
to the cloud
Perch on my shoulders and laugh aloud.
Like the gusts of breeze from the open
range
And how should I write of a lumber
exchange?
A fairy stream from my pipe flows out
Winding through shadowy shores of
air.
A wandering river of dreams and
doubt.
But wondrously clear and wondrous
fair;
And down that shimmering stream I
sea
boat of fancy a-comlng for me.
And the desk and shelves and the walls
of gray
Fade from my sight as I drift away. '
I lie on my back In the gliding boat
And gaze through the tops of the
plumy trees.
Where far-off clouds at their anchors
float
The vagrant ships of the upper seas;
I hear the rush like a distant stream
Tis the breeze through the boughs of ".
the trees as I dream;
And far and sweet through the branches
fall . .
xne cmpmunKS cnatter ana Dinejav-s -
call. , .' '
The moss is so soft on the banks I pass
And the smell of the woods so sweet -and
keen;
And the hills so velvety 'neath the
mass
Of huddle on huddle of forest' green ;f
And the stream so clear and so moun
tain cool, v
And the fish so huge In the shadowy-
pool;
And the sky so deep and so sharply
blue
That it chokes up your throat aa you
gaze through
I drift and drift on the streamlet fair
And dream and dream on the waters
clear
Till my boat is wrecked on the office
chair.
And the voice of the boss assails my
ear.
I struggle back to my desk and task.
But the wood sprites grin through their
smoky mask.
And woe for the industry I have
vaunted.
I cannot work, for the place is haunted.
"Sir," said the Courteous Office Boy.
bursting Into the office with the wild
HflrHt In hl. noft ev T hnrn jinn. It
again."
from my meditations on the - open.
cnarma ui wuuiui j 111,3 in aiuc -
"Written a pome." said the C. O..B.
"Read It before I cast thee out of
my life. I said sternly, for I have
been trj-ing to discourage Ms metrical
efforts, believing that the pome market
should ne be overstocked.
The C." O. B. cleared his throat and
read:
"Title. "Why. O Why!'
"Pome:
'The poet Pope
Uncorked the dope
About whatever is. is right;
But Providence,
By this here gent's
Philosophy, don't suit me quite.
"Oh. Mr. Pope,
I truly hope
You'll try them words out that you've
poke.
On beaches bright
Where crabs do bite.
And sylvan dells with poison oak.
TOl'RlSrS FRO'Ol'XCIXG GAZGTEEH
"Bou. B." having run our submarine
blockade with a cargo of shortest
pomes, which we promptly burned in
the public square with halters about
their necks, has also unloaded a study
in the variant pronunciations of that
justly famous Oregon stream, the Tual
atin. Take care, don't drop your wallet in.
When boating on Tualatin. ,
You dig a well, you wall it in.
If you live near Tualatin.
Who knocks, or goes to raalletln.
Shall drown In the Tualatin.
Ho, knockers all! Take warning:
If we should catch you malletin.
You'll hang some pleasant morning.
Or drown in the Tualatin.
One who signs his name "J. A. M."
sends us a little lyric, from the text
of which we are unable to determine
whether he is a salesman of crayon
enlargements, a palmist or a follower
of Billy Sunday.
"The study of mankind is man,"
I like it;
The women, too. are quite a sham,
- I like them:
In ev'ry town you'll And the same.
Just people, with another name;
To "land" them is my daily game; .
. I like it.
On second thought. "J. A. M." might
be a real estate agent;
Or a mining stock salesman;
Or a professor of the elusive pea and
the three walnut sheila;
Or maybe he sells stereopticons and
views.
'Squite a mystery. Isn'tlt? ..-
IX THE GARBKV.
The gnats buzz over the grass to see -Where
the wasp has finished his
deadly work;
The spider that spun in the red rose
tree -
The wasp has stabbed with his shin
ing dirk.
And the little gray gnats, they laugh,
ho-ho!
For now they can fly where the roses
grow.
And bathe In the pollen dust drifted
there.
And have no fear of the spider's, snare.
' 1 A .-