TIIE SUNDAY. OKEGOXTAX. . PORTLAND, NOVEMBER . 191G. ;
ANALYTICAL VIEWS OF CURRENT TOPICS GIVEN BY READERS
IMIL WEST'S IMISITION AMAZES
. .
Championship' of Tax Limitation Mn-
lire Causes Siirpriw.
TOLEDO. Or., Nov. 3. (To the Ed
itor.) It is somewhat surprising to
'find ex-Governor Oswald West ex
'pounding the theory of the so-called
'mandatory tax limitation and cham--pioning
this proposed amendment to
-our state constitution limiting the ex
penditures of public money. The most
surprising part of his statement is the
implied assertion that the cause of all
'public extravagance is through ana on
account of1 the public officers of Ore
gon, thereby appealing to the prej
udices of the people. It is well known
to this same Oswald West that at. least
three-fourths of all public expendi
tures originate with and are demanded
by the people and not through, nor by.
-the public officers. Of this he Is fully
Informed.
Seventy-five per cent of all money
now collected by direct taxation in the
state is by the will of the people
vthrough initiative or direct vote for
some specific purpose; the remaining
25 per cent is made necessary largely
on account of the past and present ac
tions of the voters of Oregon. Every
taxpayer should stand for economy in
-public expenditures, not only because
it is good business, but because the
rule of right and the law o'f justice
-demand it of a" self-governed people.
This proposed constitutional amend-
"menl will brmg very little, if any, re
lief and that, little is obtained at the
.expense of the citizenship of our state
It proposes economy by adding further
-expense. It Tiays to the extravagant
ttaxing district Or subdivision, "You are
"Tight and the law is with you"; at the
same time it says to the economical
taxing district or subdivision, "Since
you have heretofore been careful and
'.conservative, you must continue to be
bo." That alone should defeat this
measure. By its provisions it induces
the extravagant and forces the con
'ervative taxing districts or subdivis
ions to keep their levies up to the
limit each year, because if they do not,
the " law will' not permit an increase
beyond 6 per cent. Also they must
..levy each year, because, if they should
fail to levy just -one year lor any
.cause; .according to this proposed con
stitutional amendment, they have lost
the ability to do business as other tax
ing districts absolutely and forever.
"They may cajl a special election'and
through that means levy and collect
40 times the amount needed, under this
proposed amendment, and, this may be
done each year, but never, can they be
reinstated as 'a regular organized tax
ing district; they are. outlawed. Sounds
ridiculousvand is so, but such, in prac
tice, will be this propo'sed measure.
Suppose some taxing district or sub
division failed to make a levy in 1915
.or in any subsequent year;' how could
.that district or subdivision raise any
money thereafter except by calling a
special election each year?
-. Some . constructive legislation Is
needed. which will obtain results
.-through a sane and practicable method,
'-bringing every department of state,
county, district-and municipal govern
.ment to the same level. The following
plan is given, not purporting to be
evenly balanced or correct as to
amounts, but to illustrate a method
-that will bring results without detract
ing from or lowering our standard of
citizenship:
... 1. State purposes,- an amount not ex
ceeding 2 mills on the dollar of the
actual value f tire assessable property
of the state as 1 determined by the
.proper process.
2. County jnurposes, an amount not
exceeding 6 mills on the dollar on the
assessed value of the county.
3. School purposes, an amount not
exceeding 6 mills on the dollar on the
assessed value of the district.
. i 4. Road purposes.- an amount not ex-
.-eeuing o nuns on ine ionar on tne
gissesssed valuation of the district.
5. Cities, an amount not exceeding
.10 mills on the dollar on the assessed
alue of the city.
- The above plan, together with the
."budget system now in actual practice,
will furnish a safe method of levying
-ind collecting public funds. While the
levies for any purpose in any year may
be below the amount stated, it cannot
in any case be higher, and a lower levy
would not disrupt the future business
of such taxing district. The law per
taining to bond issues and extraordi
nary expanses is now taken care of by
providing special elections. This law
need not be disturbed. Also, in any
.emergency, our State Legislature can
aneet it as an extraordinary condition.
This is a part of the fundamental law
of self-preservation and cannot be re
pealed. Should the voters distrust our
Legislature, which I do not believe is
true except in rare cases, they have the
"referendum, which will cost a great
.fleal less than calling a special elec
tion. Our Legislature could meet an
extraordinary condition. in one w-eek's
"lime, costing not to exceed $10,000,
while the calling of the special election
as provided under this proposed amend
ment would take three months and cost
$130,000.
. This effort is made in .the interest of
f ooa government, an appeal to the
'common fairness and'' conion sense of
the voters of Oregon. ' While at this
time I am one of the public officers of
Oregon, yet on January T, 1917, my
term will end.- and, so tnr as now
known, never again will I be anything
"lut a private citizen, which, after all,
is the most desirable and the most
honorable title to hold.
.V W". E. BALL.
.,. Assessor of Lincoln County.
WALL STREET AGAI.KST Hl-GIIES
Republican Leaders Preclude Influence
of Interests.
DALLAS, Or., Nov. S. (To the
Jltor.) The result most feared from th
split in the Republican party in 1912.
"thai automatically let the Democrats
'Into power, and that seemed certain
until the outbreak of the war in Eu
rope, was that the deplorable condi
tion of the country would make it pos
sible for "Wall street" to dictate the
-nominee of the Republicans in 1916.'
-. The war, however, had the effect of
sl protective tariff and of so greatly
increasing our exports of food, cloth
ing and ammunition to the nations at
(war that business in many lines be
came active and prosperous.
' This prosperity strengthened the
hand of the people as a whole and the
Democratic party in particular. And
instead of "Wall street" being in a po
sition to name the rules under which
-they would play at the June conven--tion,
the masses of the party were able
to and did force the nomination of Mr.
-Hughes, whose public record and con
duct on the supreme bench commanded
Ittie approyal of both factions of the
party and the active support of such
eminently patriotic statesmen as
Roosevelt. Taft, Lodge; Root. Borah,
Burton. Beverjdge, Cummins and Rob
ins, who are leading the party today.
I want to urge upon you that it was
the patriotism of these men while the
country is approaching a crisis that
led them to join hands In an effort to
-defeat the forces at work. s
- Disregarding the facts surrounding
-the nomination of Mr. Hughes and that
the only state in the Union (Oregon)
"placing his name on the Presidential
'ballot gave him (Hughes) five votes
to one over Wilson, the President of
these United States is daily making
the obviously false statement that Mr.
Hughes was nominated and is con
trolled by "Wall street" interests. On
the same pages of the press publishing
these statements the. Democratic pa
pers are parading the news that the
.president of the Harriman railroads-,
the president of the Erie Railroad and
the president of the Wabash have come
out for Wilson and that their cam
paign contributions have amounted to
1150.000 in live days and that Shadow
Lawn is bursting with optimism Jrnd
joy.
Now it is perfectly clear to all who
have kept themselves informed that
"Wall street" is and has been opposed
to Hughes and that the names first
and always associated with the term
are Rockefeller. Morgan and Harriman.
They ecntrol that group of railroads
headed by R. S. Lovett since Mr. Har
riman's death. Jt is the leaders now
in control of the Pe"tublican party who
preclude any possibility of Wall street
dictating tke policies of that party. If
Mr. Wilson would lend the entire sup
port and power of the Administration to
force a law through' Congress, regard
less of the merit ami Justice of the law.
for'a possible 300.000 votes, what would
he not barter for the electoral vote of
New York, without which it is impos
sible for him to be re-elected? That
state is decidedly close and the one
most susceptible to the influence of
"Wall . street." ..
E. E. ELLSWORTH.
l'OST-WAR
PERIOD
riCTl'REU
T. T. Gnr Points Oat Difficulties That
"Will Fare Industry.
PORTLAND, Nov. 4. (To the Editor.)
"Some sweet day. bye and bye," the
European war will come to a close
possibly . and probably within a year.
On that very day every factory in the
United State3 now engaged in produc
ing munitions of war for the fighting
fcnations will close down. There are ap
proximately two millions of men em
ployed in such factories and the ques
tion is, what will we do with that vast
army of unemployed men thrown
toward new. channels now already
filled?
That is one phase of the situation.
Another is that there will be several
millions In Europe., now on the battle
fields, who A'ill be returning home,
seeking employment, and when they get
it the products of their labor will be
hunting a market, a foreign market,
and since we have, by enacting the
Underwood tariff law. invited the im
portation of foreign-made goods, we
will presont the most attractive field
to be found anywhere.
It is weil to bear in mind that the
plea for a lower tajpiff is based on the
other plea that we want cheaper goods
we lower the tariff in order that foreign-made
goods may come Into t"he
United States in larger quantities. Even
the Democrats admit this. Then what?
This is no fanciful picture, drawn for
political effect. Any 10-year-old school
boy can understand this state of facts.
With Mr. Wilson and the Democratic
party continued in power for another
four years, with" the Underwood tariff
law unrepealed or unmodified, condi
tions in store for this country will be
appalling. The year of bread lines and
free soup houses, which were the por
tion of our people under that law until
the European war gave us a blood-red
foreign market for bur foodstuffs and
guns and bullets, was but a feeble fore
cast of what we may expect under an
other term of. Democracy and free
trade.
A "tariff for' revenue only" always
produces just this .result. And why not?
Besides. 1he most disastrous effect of
such a tariff law is that while it is a
bid for the products of foreign labor
ers, it doesn't produce any revenue.
With this condition inevitably facing
us, together with the fact that Wilson
has intermeddled and intervened in
Mexican affairs; has kept us at war
with that country for three years in a
much worse condition today than when
he first decided not to butt in with no
American lives or property in that
country, or any other, protected in the
slightest degree; with the promise to
exempt American vesse'ls from tolls
while going through our own canal at
Panama thrown to the winds. with
presidential primaries sent to the same
junk , heap w here the one-term plank
lies in mangled decomposition, with not
a single trust" busted during the past
three years end the cost of living ad
vanced fully 25 per cent and class leg
islation illustrated, in its most flagrant
form in the passage of a law, under the
direst threats and timed by- a stop
watch, which gave additional pay to a
few who were already the highest paid,
while a proposition to make its pro
visions general in order to include all
working men was voted down with
everything in a mess that Wilson has
touched, the plea that he should be re
elected "on his record" is so utterly
devoid of rational support, is so barren
of even the faintest semblance of sin
cerity on the part of those who pre
sented it that one wonders at the gul
libility of a part of mankind.
Such a - plea Is so transparently
diaphandus, is so hazy in its composi
tion and its covering is so amusingly
inadequate that the word "thin." if ap
plied to it. would convey the idea of a
steel armor plate. T. T., GEER.
SUFFRAGE
Ql ESTIONS
ASKED
Mr.
tons Asks If Republican Attitude
I Conditional.
PORTLAND, Nov. 4. (To the Ed
itor.) I desire -to thank you for the
space given my letter of October 23 and
for your, editorial in answer thereto.
Your reply suggests other thoughts in
connection with the present suffrage
discussion and I trust you will allow
me to mention them through your col
umns. 1 neither had. nor have, any intention
of taking up the cudgel on behalf of
Dr. Pohl-Lovejoy nor of having a "dis
pute" with anybody. Your editorial of
October 23 merely suggested certain
questions, which I have asked and
which you have very kindly answered.
In your answer to one question you
ask why would not the members of
Ed-(.Congress from a given state support
an amendment when the majority of
the people of that state were opposed
to it, and then call attention to the
vote of Oregon's Senators on the Un
derwood tariff bill. In this you are
misleading, since these are not paral
lel cases. A tariff bill -does' not have
to be ratified by the state after pass
age, as does a . constitutional amend
ment, and further, the Oregon Senators
had every reason to believe that the
majority of their constituents did fa
vor the Underwood act, .since all par
ties in 1912 were demanding a revision
of the Payne-Aldrich law. That tliey
were justified in such belief was shown
in the re-election of Mr. Chamberlain
in 1914$. after the Underwood law had
become effective.
In answering another question you
say, "We think there is no more rea
son for basing voting qualifications
upon sex than upon color." Most cer
tainly there is not. but permit me to
ask Why the Republican party allowed
the bar to stand against the intelligent
white women of the United States w hen
it was enfranchising a few million ig
norant negroes?
In another answer you say: "The
point is this: No Republican Northern
state not now having woman suffrage
is likely to give the cause any aid if
it should happen that the women's vote
,putii normally Republican states like
Oregon, California and Washington
into the Democratic column. And the
South is so hidebound that no Demo
cratic victory due to woman will now
change its course of opposition." I
was not prepared for, and I regret to
find, such evidence of partisan bias in
the mind of the editor of a great news
paper. One naturally wonders if this
is the sentiment of the Republican
party and its candidate for President.
The suffrage question is in no sense
a partisan one and any attempt to
make it so should be, and ultimately
will be, rebuked. A woman has the
same Inherent right to vote that a man
has, regardless of her political opin-
ions, and the law should recognize the
fact. But your words would appar
ently give us to understand that in tne
event the women of normally Repub
lican suffrage states should, in the ex
ercise of their political opinions, place
those states in the Democratic column,
that fact will be seized upon by Re
publicans in non-suffrage states as an
excucse to withhold the ballot there.
In other words, the result of wom
an's political emancipation in one state
will be used as a weapon to defeat her
in another state. That simply amounts
to a warning that if her political con
victions run counter to the interests of
the Republican party, and normally
Republican states are thereby reversed,
she may expect no aid or sympathy in
states where that party is dominant.
Under such conditions political liberty'
becomes a hollow- mockery.
The days of political coercion -are
over in this country and if political
vassalage must be the price of suffrage
I am inclined to think that most self
respecting Women will prefer not to
have it.
It appears that one party is as
strongly pledged to the suffrage cause
as the other and that it has become
largely a question of how best to pro
ceed to secure its adoption by the
states. After it has been adopted by
three-fourths of the states no Presi
dent or Congress would dare defeat a
constitutional amendment. The moral
effect or educational value of the pass
ace of an amendment by Congress at
this time would amount "to little or
nothing and the effort to secure such
passage would better be directed to
ward placing the question squarely be
fore the people of each state, since that
will have to be done in any event.
Woman suffrage is right and it will
ultimately prevail, but it should be
presented and considered on its merits
and not ever be made a partisan ques
tion, 'as has been attempted in this
campaign. R. M. ROSS.
I.SIXTS
TO
FLAG
iieioam;d
Conditions Alone Border Compared to
Thome in Cuba Year Ago.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To the Edi
tor.) A decade and eight years ago
there was at Montauk Point, on the
eastern extremity of Long Island, a
camp of United States troops, as you
see alont? our southern border today.
It was a camp for recuperation and
convalescing of the men who had been
in Cuba and finished their work. The
waves were beating on the rock-bound
coast in response to the wind, whisper
ing softly, as if it were a requiem for
tre dead on a nearby hillside, and in
cidentally a requiem of Malhew Ar
nold's lines of "Westward the course
of Empire takes Its way." They ap
peared to b? feHjing. "Westward! West
ward, and westward!" trying to push,
as it were, this country of ours ever
forward. Ear across the Pacific were
the comrades of these men echoing the
whispers of nature's sweet voice and
doing the work from which the men
were now resting on that far eastern
projection of the United States. The
flag had been hauled up "anew In Ha
waii, where it has been hauled down'
by Commissioner Blount in Cleveland's
Administration. They were now in
the Philippines, bringing liberty to the
far ends of the earth.
Far to the south on the Cuban hills,
from which a hundred camp fires were
burning, were other comrades of the
men in the States and the Ear East.
You cfuld hear the regimntl bands
playing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
at "retreat" on those hills. Ah, I tell
you it meant something to be an Amer
ican then! There was a something
about the air which I never felt before
or since. Cuba Libre was an accom
plished fact, while Porto Rico had passed
under the Stars and Stripes.
I was there on those Long Island
hills. I watched those men with those
haggard and wan faces. Aye. I was
one of them myself. The President
was in camp that morning. No review
was siven him. Mr. McKinley was too
much of a man to ask It. as liesdrove
down the main street of that camp and
saw the earner faces of those men, saw
them rush to the ends of those com
pany streets. 1 saw him remove his
hat and bow to those men. To me' it
appeared a benediction. I can hear the
cheers of those war-worn men echo
over those hills yet, as they removed
those ragged campaign hats and waved
them with that characteristic snap and
vim a soldier only knows.
Mr. McKinley saw his duty, and
much as he dreaded It, he did not shlrK
it. War came. We left some of our
dead behind. More because of illness
than enemy's fire." The Medical De
partment, the Quartermasters' Depart
ment and Commissary Department had
all fallen down, a result of our poor
and mistaken military policy, and for
whicli the Army was not tublame. The
watch dogs of the country have to be
content with what is given them. They
saw, as necessities went from year to
year, into the pork barrel, where they
are still going under the policy of our
Congressmen, which is "I tlJe you
and you tickle me." But Mr. .McKinley
saw his duty and we honored him for
it. We, had done .ours and had ac
complished much for the country. The
prestige of the Nation was at its
height. Destiny had brought new op
portunities and responsibilities, which
some of our. people would shirk. But
destiny w ill not down. Truth crushed
to earth will rise again. Aye, to haunt
those who would crush her!
So much for the "then "; a word for
the "now." I was "somewhere on the
Mexican border" this Summer. Some of
my comrades were men who were, with
me in the days of '98. We have a larger
Army down there now than we had at
any time in Cuba or in the Philippines.
It is a fence, as it were, a grandstand
if you please, with the 'whole country
for an audience looking on the Mexican
show, with the ushers our troops and
those who would venture a little too
close getting a pot shot now and then.
A word -from an old regular will not be
out of plac. "We have been." said he,
"down here ever since President Taft
went out of otiice. In that time we
never slept under a roof except what
a tent furnished. Never a comfortable
bed. We have been jeered, laughed at,
spit at, shot at from across the lin-.
and haven't been allowed to lire back,
let alone to talk back." Ah. this Is a
tine show our Democratic friends are
giving, us.
It is the same show which continued
in the Island of Cuba for three years
and of which President McKinley said,
when he replied to the European diplo
mats, that this country could not re
main insensible to a situation at our
very doors which had become insuffer
able. I have listened . to the men in the
ranks as they talked and expressed
i their opinions: I have talked with the
I men of the fleet when it lay at an
chor in the bay at San Diego. It is not
a far cry from McKinley the beloved,
for he was loved by the men in the
service, to Woodrow. I must refrain
from a title, for the attitude of the
services-is but contempt. But, oht the
change!
Mr. T. T. Geer. unintentionally per
haps, slanders the men when -he says
Pershing and his men are afraid to
move in Chihuahua. If the truth were
known, and I know the men of the
service, they are like a nervous steed
which has to be held in check. If the
truth were known, they are not held
because -they are afraid to move, but
held under orders from Washington.
Ah, it is a grand show! Thus we
have Vkept the country out of war."
Have they? Ask the men on the Kit
Grande. Ask them what they think of
our Democratic friends' conception oi
honor. They would compare Woodrow
Wilson wfth Lincoln the sorrowful and
McKinley the beloved! We know what
duty meant to these men. That they
paid the cost in suffering-, grief and
sorrow. And you have the gall to ask
the men who answered the call of duty
of these leaders for their vote. You
slander the intelligence of brave men.
Woodrow the hesitating has no place in
our hearts. Go on and tell it to the
marines! SOLDIER
LABOR ATTITUDE IS DOUBTED
Action by Mr. Wilaon I Declared Un
friendly to Cause.
AIRLIE. Or.. Nov. 3. (To the Edi
tor.) How often we hear our Demo
cratic friends claiming a victory on
November 7 for various reasons. One
of their claims for sufficient gain in
votes to offset tne usual - number of
Republican votes Ut . Wilson's attitude
toward labor. Are you on? Well, let's
take a Joy ride. Wilson's attitude to
ward labor. Now, Just what is this at
titude, anyway? We infer that it is
favorable, but let us look. Would an
officer of Mr. Wilson's rank be assisting
the cause of labor if he robbed- labor
of an opportunity to labor? Hardly.
Did he do it? Let us look at the first
year of the present Administration dur
ing normal conditions of peace, which
Democracy claims itself to be the
creator and perpetuator of. Some dandy
year for labor, we should agree.
Chucked full of hollow days, of course,
but precious few paydays.
But it is said these "bad times" are
caused by Republican money men. who
were going to punish the people for
making their honest choice; punish the
people by shutting down their factories.
In fact, lose heavily financially just to
punish ignorant voters. Looks reason
able, doesn't it? Let us suppose you
worked in a sawmill. Just to bring It
within range of your feelings. Would
you bubble over with enthusiasm at
the mention of a man's name who
helped your cause by making it pos
sible for Brrtish Columbia lumber to
undersell Oregon lumber to the extent
that your boss started in to lose orders
so fast that he had to shut down his
mill, just for the sake of revenge on
Democratic doctrines? There should be
a law compelling Republican employ
ers to continue the operation of their
plants during a Democratic Adminis
tration. That would be democratic.
Wonder why Democratic employers
don't shut down their mills during Re
publican Administrations and show
people that the rule works both ways?
Are they too kind-hearted? No, not by
a great deal. They haven't any mills,
simply because they manogejtheir own
business as badly as they would like
to manage ours.
If Democracy favors labor, then they
must ravor capital, because tne two
work better together than apart. Then
why don't they protect American cap
ital instead of blindfolding, hobbling
and hogtyingf it until It Is afraid to
invest in 10 cents' worth of labor for
fear the mule will break out and tram
ple all under foot? If labor wants to
be favored it hnd better vote for a
party that will guarantee protection to
Americans.
If any single class of voters-should
not favor Wilson it is the laboring
class. And. fortunately, the majority
of this class is intelligent enough to
know that Wilson's attitude toward la
bor was tbe prime cause of that awful
year before, the war. Now. they say.
the golden tide of prosperity is flow
ing our way. Is it possible that there
is anyone who doesn't want to recog
nize the fact that it is caused by the
very thing that Wilson folks claim
thev abhor, and that is. war? What
Democracy needs is to keep war abroad
and peace at home to insure prosperity.
If peace is good, it is good all over
the world, and with universal peace and
Democratic rule in America comes pov
erty. -
I should say that "Wilson's attitude
toward labor should" be the very rea
son that every man. who works for a
living should vote against him and
guarantee his own safety.
E. B. BIRKENBEUEL.
TARIFF IS
VITAL. OREGO.N ISSlE
Lumbering. Chief Industry. Hit Hardest
by Democratic Policy.
PORTLAND, Nov. 4. (To the Edr
itor.) There are certain factors in the
coming political crisis which are of
paramount local importance and which
it appears to me are not given due con
sideration by the average voter.
The most important probably Is tha
matter of the tariff. Those who have
lived a long time in this part of the
United States know that it is hit harder
during a Democratic administration
than any other part of the country, and
the depressions are longer continued,
the reason being that the Democratic
party appears to lack interest In the
welfare of the district and on the other
hand pursues a. ( tenacious policy of
hampering our struggling Industries.
In the Eastern states there are many
varied industries and during Demo
cratic times these industries are more
or less disturbed by the partial reduc
tions made in the tariffs, but on the
whole business goes along with a limp
and the InJuYy wrought Is not to be
compared with that in this section.
In this section, however, the Demo
cratic policy has been to strike at the
roots of our principal Industries by cut
ting out the tariff altogether and the
result is widespread and long-continued
demoralization.
All of our principal products, lumber,
wool, wheat, etc., are sold on a free
trade basis and our purchases are paid
for on a protected basis.
By reason of this peculiar policy we
are made to suffer financially for the
benefit of Eastern manufacturing in
terests whose products we consume and
lhe question arises, would it not be
manifestly to the betterment ot our
local Interests if the whole country was
put on a free trade basis during Demo
cratic times? We would realize the
same amount for our products as at
present and our money would buy a far
greater amount of Eastern manufac
tured goods. . . .
Naturally as.it result of the good
times which have come to the East by
reason of the war we shall expect a
sympathetic Improvement in our local
conditions while the Influence of the
war last but If -we elect Mr. Hughes
we know- that the Republican party
wilt look after us as it always has and
restore to us our tariffs. AVe.wlll then
prosper by reason, of the. added value of
our products with a re.-niltanl Increase
in our payrolls and an assured confi
dence in continued prosperity alter the
close of the war. E. H. COLL1S.
5UVDAV REST LAW HELD EKD
Writer Declares Unrestrained Competi
tion Eventually Will" Destroy Trade.
PORTLAND, Nov. 4. (To the Edi
tor.) I read an article in a daily
paper rejoicing over the prospect of
the repeal of the Sunday closing law,
telling how delightful it will be when
all business is wide open on Sunday.
I also road the statement of the sec
retary of the Oregon Retail Grocers'
Association in which he laments the
opening of grocery stores on Sunday,
truly urging the need of a rest day
for the overworked grocers and their
assistants.' 1 also heard a woman, a
church member, too. say that it would
not make any difference whether the
present law was repealed or upheld
as to stores being open on Sunday. It
seems from these two first quoted
sources that It will make a great
change in business. , that the rest day
will be destroyed. Do we want this
to occur? Laying aside all religious
views, let us look at it solely from
an econorrric standpoint. In this busy
age we need a rest day. If it is not
protected by law business interests
will completely destroy the opportunity
for such a day. If part of the stores
are open, all must be, or be Injured
in trade. ."
The supposition that each grocery
or other business can be open as he
pleases will not be possible. All that
anyone desires is that . all be closed
on Sundays. If all are open, competi
tion will require no rest any time.
The profits which now accrue to those
keeping open on Sunday will be done
away with. ' It will be a ceaseless
grind. Employes will, of course, be
required to work Sundays. They can
neither gro to church or. to a moving
picture show or have a rest in the
country. There will be' no general
rest day in which families and neigh
bors can carry on any religious or
other change from employment. In
the excitement of a strenuous political
campaign I fear we are overlooking
the far-reaching consequences of an
open Sunday. Can we afford to make
such a change? The present law is
not in the interest of any religious
sect or organization. It is solely for
a rest day for man and beast and ma
chinery. It is a physical necessity,
without which everything will suffer
and decay. Socially and morally, this
Is also true. Let us retain the present
law. It can perhaps be improved in
some particulars. Do not forget to
vote 313 No next Tuesday.
S. L LYMAN.
ORIGINAL,
SABBATH ' DISCUSSED
Correspondent Tells of Rnrly Church
and Its Observances.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To the Ed
itor.) The spirit that animates those
Oregonians who seek by legal enact
ment to coerce people's consciences is
the reincarnation of the spirit that
kindled the tires of Smithfleld, that lit
the fagots for Savonarola, for Servetus.
His life might have been spared had
Servetus been willing to say. as the
lames consumed his body. "Jesus, thou
eternal Son of God. have mercy on
me." instead of "'Jesus, thou Son of the
eternal God"! And Servetus' death, his
tory luys at the ooor of John Calvin.
. Today public libraries abound, books
of reference and history are plentiful
and easil accessible: there Is no ex
cuse for bigotry and Intolerance, the
horrid fruits of superstitious ignor
ance. In the Bible and in secular histories
of ancient Oriental peoples we learn
that our first flay of the week was a
weekly pagan festival dedicated to the
worship of the sun. hence the name
Sunuay, while Saturday, our seventh
day of the week, was the weekly festi
val day of the Israelites, dedicated to
the worship of their God. Yaliweh (Je
hovah). Surrounded on alk sides ty
sun-worshiping nations, the seventh
day Sabbath of the Israelites was not
only the sacred badge of their religion,
but the distinctive mark of their na
tionality as well an invisible barrier
hedging them about, a "peculiar peo
ple." and at the ame time serving to
keep them from participation in the
worship of Baal and Ashtaroth. Thus
the Israelites had good, cause to take
their SabbaOi seriously and death was
the penalty for its infraction. In New
Testament times the Romans had de
prived the Jews of the right to Inflict
the death penalty. But in Mark's gos
pel, third chapter, is dramatically told
how the church leaders resolved upon
the Master's deifruction as a danger
ous revolutionary because he healed a
man on the Sabbath day.
After the ascension, in addition to
the observance of the seventh day Sab
bath, the early Christians met on the
first day (Sunday), either late in the
evening or early in the morning. Work
was not suspended; the early Chris
tians were too poor to afford two iiys
of cessation from labor. As p:igan
converts increased we find observance
of the first day (Sunday) becoming
more accentuated, causing controversy
between the pagan Christians and the
Jewish Christians, hence Paul's admo
nition, "Let no man judge you in re
spect of . an holy day. or of the new
moon, or the Sabbath days." And so
matters stood until 321 A. D.. when the
Emperor Constanlin by legal enact
ment ordered his subjects to embrace
Christianity and commanded the ob
servance of sun's day as the Christian
Sabbath. Of Constuntine history re
cords' neither his intellectual nor his
moral qualities were such as to earn
the title "Qreat." His claim to great
ness rests mainly on the fact that he
divined the future which lay before
Christianity and determined to enlist
It In the service of his empire."
At the time of the Reformation some
question arose as to whether Sunday
was a divine or a human institution.
To prove Its divinity severe laws were-
enacted to force its observance. The
clergy of the Reformation may have
had some grounds for their Ignorance
regarding the origin and history of
sun's day; but our clergy of today have
no excuse for Ignorance of the fact that
from time immemorial the day of
which Viey seek to make a "divine in
stitution" by legal enactment was a
day dedicated to the orgiastic rites oi
the debased cults of the gods of "the
Canaanites; they have no excuse for
not knowing that sun's day was enact
ed' the Christian. Sabbath by a t-lever,
sun-worshiping", pagan politician.
"Your new moons and your Sabbaths
I cannot away with Ihey are a wea
riness unto me. Is not this the fast
that I have chosen, to undo the heavy
burdens, to deal thy bread to the hun
gry, to bring the poor that are cast out
into thy house, when thou scest the
naked that thou cover him. Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto the least of
these, my brethren, ye have done it
unto me." -
MARION B. CLEVELAND.
PEACH PROPHETS ARK GRILLED
Writer Points Ont Wobblers Shown l"p
by Catmpaia-n.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To the Ed
itor.) There is one great blessing that
stands out so prominently in the local
and National life that even the dullest
must profit by It. seeing It towering
over the manifold curses of the pres
ent political campaign, and that is the
revealing of the false peace prophets
who have la the past sought to guide
us into the paths leading to freedom
from war.
It was my privilege to listen a few
months ago to Colonel C. E. S. Wood In
Library Hall. 'wTiere he scored In bit
terest terms the monster militarism
and its forerunner, preparedness; he
denounced these as instruments for
the oppression of the workers, and was
vociferously applauded. It was such
an exact voicing of my belief that 1
pinched myself to see If I were not
dreaming, for here was an Ideal cham
pion for an ideal cause. But once out
side the demon doubt, assailed me and
whispered, "Beware! This Is an ac
knowledged genius, and genius is pro
verbially erratic and unreliable."
Then another genius and idealist.
Henry KordJ also voiced exactly simi
lar sentiments by buying whole pages
of the press, wherein he exhorted us
that the preparedness brand advocated
meant "prepare to meet thy God
through an early deatrr in battle" to
the workers, and he breathed peace and
plenty, minus preparedness.
About the same time another genius
and idealist. President Wilson, who at
one time declared against "making this
country Into an armed camp," had as
sumed the. privilege of a genius and
was touring the peaceful State of Kan
sas, whose citizens had almost unani
mously declared against preparedness,
striving to scare the. Kansas farmers
into the "armed camp" of preparedness
he once denounced.
'And now prepare to laugh! Colonel
Wood has been touring Oregon implor
ing the people to vote for Wilson, who
"gave us peace, prosperity and pre
paredness." And Mr. Ford will for the
first tune In years exercise his right
of franchise by voting for Wilson and
"-tu again bless the press of the coun
try by buying pages of advertising im
ploring us to save the country by elect
ing Wilson, who gave, us ditto Mr.
Wood's arguments. The moral seems
to be, give a false prophet a little time
and he will expos himself.
Neither of these ardent -peace pro
phets remind us that Mr. Wilson signed
the Army bill that empowers the Pres
ident to draft the citizen of this coun
try into the Army in time of war: a
power never possessed by any Presi
dent except Lincoln, and who refused
to again use it on account of the riots
and bloodshed it provoked during the
Civil War; a law that even England
during the present war -had the great
est difficulty in fastening upon her
citizens, and "which Australia will de
feat in the coming . referendum vote
on that measure.
Yet here are two anti-mtlltarists and
erstwhile peace angels espousing the
cause of Mr. Wilson, who failed to keep
us ouc of war in Haiti, Santo Domin
go, Vera Cruz; these -being helpless
countries, there was no need to keep
the sword sheathed. But happily the
Kaiser kept us out of war with Ger
many, in spite of Mr. Wilson, for ob
vious reasons of his own. Hence con
sistency demands we vote for the Kai
ser. But Mr. Wilson failed to keep us out
of w ar at Ludlow. Colo., where the
workers were shot by the Rockefeller
militia, nor in Virginia. Calumet, and.
above all. in Wilson's own state, where,
at Bayonne. N. J., the authorities gave
Standard Oil the right to use machine
guns, and two women and several men
were killed for striking, victims of the
Wllsonlan peace, plenty and "prepared
ness that has devastated homes and
embittered the workers. Did Mr. Wil
son condemn, this as an outrage
against humanity?
Sad to say. both Colonel Wood and
Ford have flirted with the growing
maiden. Socialism. But when, through
to assume the functions of maturity,
and calls all anti-militarists to help
her create a true and lasting peace
based on the co-operative common
wealth, by incidentally voting tpr Mr.
Benson, these erratic gentlemen . em
brace the Democratic donkey, as his
voice Is more penetrating, his shape
comelicr and his ears longer and fur
rier. They have learned the obvious
precept that if you would tickle the
popular ear. select those with the most
hair therein. Yet Mr. Benson's argu
ments are the suiii and substance ot
the earlier utterances of both thesc
gentlemen, and Mr. Benson's voting
strength will be an exact numbering
of tho anti-military population; but
;hey as geniuses consistently refuse to
support this peace prophet who re
mains true to his convictions in time
of stress. LOUIS IIONSTEIN.
CAPITALISM RISE IS DISCUSSED
Soclallt-L.abor Partr la Declared Only
Way to Emancipation of Labor.
PORTLAND, Nov. 4. (To the Edi
tor.) When capitalism first stepped
upon the stage of history it did so in
the interest of the matority and In
the interests of right and morality.
Capitalism smashed the Iron and en
slaving grip of feudalism upon the
minds and bodies of the people: It pro
tected science, opened up wide fields
for education, and gave abundant op
portunities to all. Capitalism shuttered
the power of kings, princes, lords and
barons. The new. social actor lajighed
In the face of "Divine Right" and went
dramatically on with its revolutionary
performances with a speed and a dar
ing unparalleled in the aunals of man.
Feudalism was soon put down and
capitalism had the floor. The social
change was necessary. Capitalism was
progressive and constructive and an in
dispensable link in the chain of evolu
tion. But the new social system, owing to
Its very nature and to the fact that It
was able enormously to increase the
volume of production for sale, had no
alternative but to keep full speed
ahead with the result that enormous
wealth concentrated in the hands of a
few. while opportunities receded out of
the reach of the many.
The belief arose that this competi
tive system was. not final but merely
a stepping-stone to the next system,
the co-operative commonwealth. This
belief was based upon facts, for capi
talism has already, in AYnerica at least,
fulfilled its historical mission. It has
brought about education, political lib
erty and has developed that wonder
ful engine of production, the trust, the
collective ownership of which ends
camtalism.
The capture of the trust for the
people .Is the next g-eat rvolutlonary
step forward. The Socialist party, an
organization composed of "sentimental
ists who imagine themselves Socialists,
is attempting to capture the trust with
tue vote aloue ' backed up only by
revolutionary utterances. The Socialist
parry denies the necessity for the
economic organization, the only con
ceivable force with which the ballot
can be backed up. and the only think
able means by- which production can
be administered when capitalism Is
abolished. This economic organization
(industrial union) Is the embryo of
future society: it is the permanent
thiiig. while the political organization
though Indispensable is. contrary to
the Socialist party's idea, merely a
mean s-to-an -end thing. It is therefore
obvious that the Socialist party,
gulriel only by sentiment. Is trying to
lead the workers Into the blind alley
of right without might, which would
mean defeat and disaster for labor.
The anarchists on the other hand
rush to the other extreme and re
pudiating political action advocate the
capture of the trust by physical force
alone. This is the advocacy of might
without right, which is not only foolish
and useless, but also soclaTIy criminal.
While the Socialist party and the
I. W. W. are thus acting as Ilghtnlng
rqds to run labor's revolutionary forces
Into the ground, the capitalist class
(plutocracy) Is adroitly marshalling Its
forces preparatory to reaching out for
absolutism In government.
Of all the parties in the field the Socialist-Labor
party In the only one
that lights the path to the emancipa
tion of labor. The Socialist-Labor
party Is organising industrially and
politically to take over the trust for
the people knowing that the Industrial
organization (union) is the unde
veloped form of future society and fore
shadows its administrative powers.
PATRICK O' HALLO RAN.
REPUBLICANS
A It K
CAI.TIONED
Voters Ursed Not to Be Misled by De
ceptive IsHUCa.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To the Ed
itor.) There Is a well-defined and
marked dtlnctlon between the poli
cies and principles of the Republican
party and the policies and principles
of the Democratic party.
Charles E. Hughes Is the nominee of
the Republican party and Wocairow
Wilson f the Democratic party and
each stands for and represents the pol
icies and principles of his own party.
Both were fairly and honorably nomi
nated and one of them will be elected.
Be not misled or deceived. Any per
son voting for Mr. Wilson is voting
for the policies and .principles of the
Democratic party and any person vot
ing for Mr. Hughes is voting for the
policies and principles of the Repub
lican party. There is no valid or in
telligent reason why anyone who
claims to be a Republican should not
vote for Mr. Hughes and any person
claiming to be a Republican who votes
for Mr. Wilson thereby becomes a
Democrat and a supporter of the poli
cies and principles of the Democratic
party.
If you are a Republican you will
vote for-Mr. Hughes and If you do not
vote for Mr. Hashes you have nc rlhi
to claim that you are a Republican.
Your Presidential vole is the tru test
of your political faith.
People who have registered as. Re
publicans and who live in the City ot
Portland in particular -should not for
get there has been a material change
in business conditions in this city
since 1912. President Wilson's most
ardent supporter must admit that busi-
ness conditions In Portland were much
better under either Taft or Roosevelt
than they have been under Wilson.
I want again to see business condi
tions and values in Portland the same
as they were in 1912. when Wilson was
elected. It is said the money in tho
banks Is an evidence of prosperity, but
that does not Jielp the poor devil who
is in debt and cannot sell his property
or who has a mortgage on his homo
and cannot pay the- interest.
Do not be fooled or led astray by
false or deceptive Issues. Portland
grew and prospered under both .Roose
velt and Taft and will do it again un
der Hughes.
Why should any registered Repub
lican vote for Wilson?
CHARLES A. JOHNS.
( 2
DEMOCRATIC RULE IS 'ASSAILED
StatUtlCH Are Cited to Prove That
Prosperity Is Doc to War.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To the Editor)
A table of statistics based upon in
formation furnished by the United
States Department of Commerce haa
jut been issued by the school of com
merce of the University of Oregon.
It shows that under the normal con
ditions of 1914 we exported in "war
materials' J244.753.02S. and that In the
fiscal year of 1916 we have exported
$1,645,363,022. an Increase of over II.
400.000.000. Is that Democratic or war .
prosperity? In foodstuffs in 1914 wo
exported 1192.199.252. In the years 1313
and IMS we exported 1.425.SSt.3i4. Id
that Democratic or war prosperity?
In horses wa exported I3.3SS.819 In
1914 and In the two years of 1915 ami
1916 we exported H3T.5TT.6S0. Of this
amount it Is said that a half million
dollars went into aur own county of
Harney alone. Do the horseraisers call
this Democratic prosperity or war
prosperity?
In wool manufactures we exported
J4. 790.087 in 1914. In the two years of
1915 and 191 we exported 161.311.106.
Do the woolralsers of Eastern Oregon
give credit for that to the Democratic
party, or to the European wnr.that
has acted the part of a protective tariff
in this crisis?
Tn wheat we exported 5S7.953.456 in
1914. In the two years of 1915 and
and 1816 we exported $549,094,907. Are
the wheatralsers of Eastern Oregon
such consummate fools as to attribute
this excess of wheat exports and thu
present high price of wheat to Wood
row Wilson?
In oats we exported $757,527 In 1914.
In the years 1915 and 19L6 we exported
$105,463,060. Our total excess of ex
ports In 115 and 1916 over 1914 on rye
was J28.552.S96; on barley. $34,594.43;
on corn. $63,111,913; on canned beef,
$30,865,059; on fresh beef. $49.82s.y56:
on bacon. $ 100.062.6S9. and" on wheat
flour. $127,762,973. On these seven stn
ple exports and others not listed 'here
appears an excess of exports In the
last two years over 1914 of over a half
billion dollars. In the face of all this.
j Democratic campaigners are out in
r.ascern urepon h nvi running up anu
down the Willamette Valley and South
ern Oregon telling the horseraisers and
the sheepralsers and the Jiog raisers
and cattieralsers and the raisers of
corn and rye and barley and wheat and
other foodstuffs that It Is the Demo
cratic party that has made them pros
perous. Pinned down to a bill of spe- '
ctflcatlons. they cannot show any piece
of Democratic legislation that has put
a single dollar Into the pocket of tho
.American farmer'or given a single day
additional employment to American
labor. j
Meantime the business failures under
Wilson have never even been approxi
mated In any Republie;fn administra
tion. In 1913. 1914 andlSIS there were
17.456 more business failures than in
the first three years under Taft. aggro
gating In amount J3s3.-H5.oOS more
than did three years' failures under
Taft. All this in spite of the tre
mendous impulse given to business by
the European war. Will Postmaster
Myers and Collector Burke and Collec
tor Miller and Chairman Colonel Sam
White and other distinguished Demo-
cratic apologists tell us what the Dem
ocratic party has had to do with bring
ing about the existing war prosper
ity and who is respnsible. if the Dem
ocratic party is not. for the fact that
in every single year under Wilson
there have been more business failures
than In any single, year under any Re
publican administration? They can get
valuable assistance 1n this work by
consulting tbe great commercial agen
cy of R- G. Dun & Co.
CHARLES I. MOORES.
MM.Li;
TAX
BILL
ATTACKED
Many Hold Worthies Land Because
They Cannot Sell. Says Writer.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To the Editor.)
For years I have been writing farm
and labor letters to the editors and have
found them published Just as I worded
them. For years I have tried to wrltn
one on single tax. but each time when
it is finished and I look it over I hav.-
decided I can't control my wrath suf
ficiently on this subject.
un October 2 in a letter Mr. U'Ren
gives a Mrdseye view of the Jealousy
he ptssesses of the landlord who collects
$18.ooo for a bare lot. Well now. there,
are thousands of other bare lots In
f Multnomah County. No one Is forced to
rent that lot. He mav have paid a
small sum for it 50 years aso. 1 held
one 40 years because it was too value
less to sell.
Suppose Mr. U'Ren should go to
Alaska and find a valuable gold mine.
Then one of those I Won't Work gentle
men came along and Informed him that
this land belonged to the state.
.V woman on the street asked me to
sign a petition to get a Farmers' Land
and Loan bill bffore the people. I said
I did not understand It, therefore
should not sign it. but she snid it was.
a boon to the farmer and it sounded
that way.
So I signed it. I think thul Is fraud.
If a man steals or robs lie is sent to
the penitentiary.
I know of a certainty that many
wealthy Eastern farmers have passed,
up Oregon because of single tax. We
have now had nine years of chaos and
people who have toiled past the half
century mark would hail with Joy any
thing like peace.
Some people are born crying. They go
through life meddling. They crave at
tention and notoriety. We tee this from
childhood
No one believes .that every apple In
the bin is good but shall we deal un
justly with 999 good men because one
man collects ll&.OoO and we have not
yet proved that he has not been taxed
to the limit to hold it ever since Lewis
and Clark crossed over the country?
L. UNDERWOOD.
WET ADVOCATES ARE ASSAILED
)lagerl of Campaign Abstain Fran
Liquor. Declare Writer.
PORTLAND. Nov. 4. (To tree Edi
tor.) Your" witty correspondent, who
signs the name "Professor Deevcr," I
think could have gone a step farther
and claimed this explanation for the ef
ficiency of the wet campaign literature
the -one which undoubtedly is true:
That the big men who are managing
election affairs for that party are prob
ably abstainers in whole or In part,
knowing too well what's in the stuff,
and Us baleful effect-
They try it on tho "dog." Safety
first. M. E. L.
"