The Sunday Oregonian., October 21, 1917, SECTION FOUR, Page 11, Image 63

THE SUNDAY OREG Q IAX, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 21, 1917,
11
SOLDIER BOYS AND CIVILIANS CONTRIBUTE TO LETTER PAGE
Monterey Is Busy Camp for
Medical Corps. .
Portland Boy Says Coarse Is Most
Thorough, W 1th Einptloi of
"" Having- Real Wounded Men With
. Whom to Deal In Training Work.
A RECENT letter from a Portland
XX boy at the Presidio of "Monterey.
Cal.t says: - - -
"I reached- Frisco on the 10th, as you
know I had to by my - furlough, and
was there only four days when I re
ceived orders to go to Monterey for
uty, where I am now.
"Here I found we had 293 medical
corps men in training, just completing
tneir second week of progressive in
struction. They were housed in three
barracks, each about 175 feet Ions.
"This week practically ends the
course of instruction, making the sixth
week the men have been at it. Reveille
here la at 5 o'clock, breakfast at 6,
drill starts at 7 and continues until 12.
Dinner at 12. Then instruction again
at i, wnicn lasts until :3u. faupper at
Jf 6 and retreat, at 6 o'clock, which com
pletes the day s work for the private.
The officers and non-commissioned of
ficers have been having a class on of
fice paper work from 7 to 9, so as to
get us used to Army methods of han
dling; office work.
"The course for the men has been
most thorough, and by having a new
schedule every week everything that
a, sanitary corps man must knew in the
field has been covered here, with the
exception of having real wounded men
"With ..which to deal.
"They have been taught how to con
struct various field appliances that
make for sanitation. They have learned
several methods of building inciner
ators for the disposal of garbage, how
company kitchens can be prevented
from being contaminated, 'the various
diseases that have to be guarded
against in the field, and several meth
ods of sterilizing water. . !
"Last week the men. received their
field pouches that they will wear in j
the field. It is a compact little canvas
case, containing bandages, iodine, stim
ulants and everything necessary for
first aid in the field. The week has
been spent in using the kits in applying
bandages, the use of splints, how to
set dislocations and stop hemorrhages.
Likewise they have learned the use of
diagnoses tags, which are fastened to
the patient as soon as he is treated,
and are the means of telling the doctor
what has been done for the man by the
Jirst-ald men in the field.
"Litter drill forms, another part of
the work that occupies considerable
time. Since the men have learned to
drill with open and closed' litters they
have been taken on several hikes, car
rying the litters with them, these hikes
lasting all afternoon, and giving the
men some appetite for supper,
"But the men don't mind the work.
They- enter into it with a good spirit
and the hikes, while hard for men not
accustomed to it, are enjoyed, for it
varies the monotony of camp life.
"All the men, even including the non
commissioned officers, are given their
turn in the post hospital here, so that
all may become familiar with ward
management, the operating-room, the
X-ray-room and the dispensary. So
much for the medical corps. :
"There are in the- post, besides us,
two battalions of signal corps men,
the Eighth telegraph and the Eighth
field battalion. Those men have com
pleted their course of training and
have received their equipment of mo
torcycles with side cars and trucks,
and are expecting to go most any time.
These are the-only men here, as this
Is only a small post, and one of the old
est ones on this Coast."
ri'BUC MARKfl' IS CRITICISED
Correspondent Wants Householder to
Derive Some Benefit.
PORTLAND, Oct. 20. (To the Edl
Itor.) Public discussion about prices
In the public market seems to have
ended in smoke, as have many other
euch discussions. It snould be renewed
and should continue until the public
market has become what it pretends to
be and what its name implies. As it is.
It sails under false colors and is a
fraud. :
When the public market was estab
lished we heard much of the saving
made by the housewife at Indianapolis
and Ies Moines through being able to
buy direct from the farmer and of the
profit to the farmer through escaping
the extortion of the commission man
and through selling much produce
which would otherwise have gone to
waste. As the l'ortland public market
Is run the only gainer is the farmer.
The main idea of a public market is
to bring producer and consumer to
gether and thus to save the profit and
expenses of the -middlemen, namely, the
commission man and the retailer. It
was expected that this saving would
be divided between the two. so that
the farmer would sell dearer and the
consumer buy cheaper than when mid
dlemen intervene. A bargain between
each individual buyer and seller was to
decide the division.
In fact, prices in the public market
are almost invariably the same os
those charged by the grocer, so that
the farmer takes all of the saving.
This practice receives official sanction
through the fixing of maximum prices
by the market master, and prices rare
ly fall below the maximum. There is
evidently an understanding among the
dealers to maintain these prices, though
that is a violation of the common law
principle which forbids such combina
tions. We have no state anti-trust
law and the city ordinance against
trusts has been a dead letter from the
day of its passage. It was a piece of
rank demagogy, never intended to be
enforced.
There is abundant reason why prices
in the market should be materially
lower than those charged by grocers.
The grocer pays rent and taxes, gives
credit and delivers his goods. The
market dealer pays a nominal rent for
his stall, but he pays no city taxes and
he sells for cash and makes no deliv
eries. His only extra expense as com
pared with dealing with commission
men is his rent and the additional time
employed in selling by retail as against
selling by wholesale. The grocer must
add a percentage to his prices for bad
debts and for the cost of delivery. The
farmer's prices should be as much
lower than the grocer's as would cover
these percentages and also his gen
erally lower cost of doing business.
The maximum price shouid be abol
ished and the maintenance of uniform
prices should be taken as proof of un
lawful combination. If market prices
Should not be reduced in accordance
with conditions, the market should be
abolished, but an honest effort should
first be made to bring about this re
duction. It can be done on this Coast,
for Seattle has a public market where
prices are below those charged at the
stores. Portland can do what Seattle
can do. if our people set about it with
determination.
It may be objected that Injury would
"be done to the business of grocers and
thereby to the owners of property they
occupy, who would be obliged to re
duce rents, and then to the city and
ptate. which would be called upon to
reduce taxes." There is a measure of
truth in this objection, but It is the
duty of the Government, both .state and
city, to set the rights and interest of
all the people above those of any part
01 the people. ivo government is jus
tified in continuing an unjust system
for the purpose of collecting part of
th-e- proceeds. .That means taking a
dollar from a man. that the city may
get 50 cents.
- But the injury to the grocer's busi
ness would not be as great as may
seem. He can approach the market
man's prices by giving a discount on
cash purchases and by giving another
discount to those who carry their pur
chases home. The present practice is
unjust, for the cash customer pays part
of the cost of giving credit to others
and Mrs. Jones pays part of the cost of
delivery to Mrs. Smith. The discount
system would make each one pay for
the service he gets.
Many a woman buying goods from
the neighborhood grocer would rather
pay a little more for fruit and vegeta
bles at the same place than spend time
and carfare tn going down town to the
public market.
If the discount system which I have
suggested were generally adopted by
retailers it would automatically stop
most of the waste arising from the
credft and delivery systems. If a per
son knows he must pay for credit he
will pay cash when he can and will be
careful not to buy more than he needs
or can afford. If he knows he must
pay for delivery he will carry home
any parcels which are easily portable.
War economy can be enforced by an
appeal to selfishness, which, after all,
is the dominant trait.
But, whatever the retail storekeepers
do. the city should set about remedying
the abuses of the public market, for I
repeat that, as now operated, it is a
fraud. T. W. PATTERSON.
Member of Marines Praises
Work rf Y. M. C. A.
Station Operated fop Use of Men In
Service at Mare Inland Described
as Single Bright Spot.
KLAMATH FALLS, Or.. Oct. 17.
(Special.) A fine recommendation
of the work being done for the en
listed men of the Army and Navy by
the Y. M. C. A. has been -received here
from Virgil De Lap. a Klamath Falls
boy now with the Marines at San
Diego, Cal. He writes as follows, in
part:
"While I was at Mare Island I vis
ited the naval Y" nearly every time
I went to Vallejo, and I think that all
the sailors and marines will agree with
me that it is one of the very few bright
spots in that town for the enlisted
men. I have also received many ac
commodations from the Navy "Y" on the
exposition grounds in San Diego and
the Army and Navy "Y" at North Island,
which is serving aviators, infantry and
marines. I find the same spirit in all
these places and believe that the pri
mary interest of the management is
for the comfort of the boys. I cer
tainly believe that, with the exception
of the home, the Y. M. C. A. holds first
place as an inducement to clean living
among the boys at the front and those
who will soon be there."
"FOREGO GIFTS" IS SUGGESTION
Receive o Christmas Presents; Give
All to Soldiers," Urged.
GARDEN HOME, Or., Oct. 18. (To the
Editor.) Let thts De a sordiers" Christ
mas! Cannot all of us who are left be
hind forego gift-receiving? Why not
make this a time of out-pouring of
hearts, presents, kindnesses and - all
good -wishes on our soldier boys the
million - of 'em under arms today be
neath American skies and in foreign
lands? Remember that many of the
skies will be clouded . not only with
cold and wet on the Noel morning, but
with gas shells, with liquid fire, with
all the terribleness that means Attila
Wilhelm's unbelievable warfare. And
we, at home, can do what? Place a
Christmas gift of cheery goodly things
in each boy's arms. Let each homesick
American boy in far lands on Christ
mas Eve, or morning, hold fast a pack
age from home. Many households left
behind, a wage-earner gone to war,
have little money to spare for present
giving even to their own. They sent
their heart-blood, their first-born, their
best-loved, and it' is hard to scrape to
gether enough to supply him with an
added comfort, or pleasure, or an oc
casional luxury. The home folks don't
want him to send back much of his
savings from his $33 a month pay he
must keep that for the time when he
may be wounded and will need some
thing the the Government, with all its
generosity, cannot give him. Oh, yes,
he must save against that time, the
mother says with a far-away, intent
look in her eyes, which unaccountably
have grown larger, and deeper and a
little nearer tear-land since her brave
boy went away.
Think of it it is the poor who give
most freely of their sons, give gener
ously their all with throbbing hearts,
and, yes, count full the cost of every
drop of precious blood as it shall drip
from wounds on the battle-field. The
rich, the able, those in proportion who
have profited most by the abundance
of our great country's newness and
prodigality of-resources, are more often
the laggards, the slackers of soul in
sacrifice. It is easy to cite examples in
our own city, in every city and state,
of well-known families who have one,
two and even three or more sons be
tween the ages of 20 and 31, and have
not offered one to the greatest cause
ever fought for. Is one son better loved
by his parents than is the son of oth
ers? The world knows he is not, but
it is impossible for the selfish to com
prehend this.
The families of little or no wealth
then supply most of the sons to build
the mammoth engine that the President
plans to project into the enemy's lines
with purpose to free the world. Let
us cheer each of these fighting boys
with a Christmas gift. Let each house
hold send one package at least, let
most send many more, a good many can
well afford time and work and money
to give 25: a few could pour out a
generous gift of 50, and a handful can
do even better than that. All this in
the homes; outside the work is executed
gloriously by associations of women,
and men. too, notably the Red Cross,
and in many other clubs, auxiliaries
and charitable units: and give not in
charity God .)ity such ignoble tribute!
but with gifts of great gratitude to
the stalwart young men who guard
your and my threshold.
Who has imagination so dull he does
not realize that the boy will be com
forted to open the package from "back
home in the states," his heart throb
bing with love and pride that some
body remembered for whom he was
fighting what soldier fights for him
self? With mind returned to the beau
tiful land of hits birth and his dear ones
there, he will sample the candy, eat the
delicious fruit cake, look over his book,
his puzzle or game, try the new pipe,
ripple out a low tune on the mouth-organ,
extract the playing cards from
their case, stuff a package or two of
chewing gum in his pockets, begin a
letter home to try the new stationery,
and re-read still again the note found
tucked under the bright bow of Christ
mas ribbon, the note written by some
American girl he never saw. And next
morning, at dawn, when he goes over
the top, who does not understand that
he will fight better, harder, with bolder
spirit, and if need be die more bravely
because in the pocket over his heart is
the letter from the girl he never saw,
who wishes him well with all her loyal
soul, and because in his billet, or dug
out, or bit of trench where is his bed,
there Is the precious package of good
ies and little luxuries from loved Amer
ica. ELIZABETH LAMBERT WOOD.
Life in Training Camp Is
Described in Verse.
"Ted" Crouch's Poem Indicates Little.
Desire to Spend Rest of Years
Anions Rattlesnakes and Centi
pedes In Texas
EO. (TED) CROUCH, Portland boy
now with the 112th Aero Supply
Squadron, stationed at South San An
tonio, Texas, describes in the following
poem the surrounding country In which
he is training.
Mr. Crouch is a graduate of the
Kerns School and was a student of the
Washington High School, Portland,
prior to his enlistment. He Is the son
of Mrs. Ella M. Crouch, 15 East Twenty-sixth
street:
Hell In Texas.
I'm sitting here thinking of the things
I left behind.
And I hate to put on paper what is
running through my mind:
We've dug a million trenches and
cleared ten miles of ground.
And a meaner place this side of hell I
know Is still unfound.
But there is still one consolation
gather closely while 1 tell:
When we die we're bound for heaven.
for we've done our hitch in hell.
We've built a hundred kitchens, for
the cooks to stew our beans;
We've stood a hundred guard mounts,
and then cleaned the camp lat
rines; We've washed a million mess kits and
peeled a million spuds;
We've rolled a million blanket rolls
and washed a million duds;
The number of parades we've made
would be hard to tell.
But we'll not parade in heaven, for
we've done our hitch in hell.
We've killed a million rattlesnakes that
tried to take our cots.
And shook a million centipedes from
out our Army socks;
We've marched a hundred thousand
miles and made a thousand
camps.
And pulled a million cactus thorns from
out our Army pants;
And when our work on earth is done
our friends behind will tell:
"When they died they went to heaven,
for they did their hitch in hell."
When final laps are sounded and we
lay aside life's cares.
And we do our last parade up the shin
ing golden stairs.
And the angels bid us welcome, and
the harps begin to play.
And we draw a million canteen checks
and spend them in a day,
It is then we'll hear St. Peter tell us
loudly with a yell:
"Take a front seat, soldiers, for you've
done your hitch in hell."
Y. M. C. A. IS BIG BOON TO SAILORS
Real Recreation Offered Recruits at
Ilremerton aTy Yard.
BREMERTON, WTash., Oct. 11. (To
the Editor.) Being a life resident of
Portland and of a home where the Ore
gonian has been a daily visitor for
many years. I am taking this oppor
tunity of informing you first hand of
some of the work the Y. M. C. A. is
doing to make the life 6f the sailor a
little more pleasant, and hope you will
find opportunity to use the information
in your work of informing the parents
of Portland the real conditions under
which- their boys are serving their
country.
The Y. M. C. A. has had a permanent
building at this place for many years,
but on account of the greater number
of boys here now has erected two large
tents within the Navy-yard until such
time as proper space can be found for
the erection of the standard building
as found in all Army and Navy Posts.
At this permanent building there are
four large pool tables, which are sel
dom out of use, a reading room and
library containing all the latest maga
zines, and papers and a small but good
collection of books.
Reading is one of the sailor's main
resorts to take his mind from the rou
tine of the day's work. Four checker
tables are continuously in use and
many are the hours of enjoyment spent
in the game that is always popular. A
large fireplace, with large , rockers
surrounding it. forms a splendid place
for an hour of relaxation. Writing ta
bles can be found around the room, and
paper and envelopes can be had for the
asking. As no personal effects, such
as kodaks, can be taken into the yard,
it became necessary for the sailors to
find some place for the temporary dis
position of these, to which emergency
the Y. M. C. A. installed a large check
ing system, where such articles can be
left for a nominal charge..
Following up the usutl Y. M. C. A.
practice, non-sectarian religious serv
ices are held every Sunday afternoon,
to which good speakers are invited to
speak, and the attendance at these
services speaks well for the enlisted
personnel of the Navy. A mid-week
Bible class Is also held for those who
wish to further continue the studies
along scriptural lines.
Much the same programme is fol
lowed out in the tent buildings with
the addition of instruction in French,
to which many are availing themselves,
looking forward to the possible service
on foreign soil. The Government is
also furnishing moving-picture films
and a machine with which shows are
given four nights of the week. The
physical exercise of the men is well
attended to by setting aside of at least
one night a week for the wrestling
and boxing matches of the men. and
tossing of the medicine ball. Volley
ball nets can be found at convenient
places, and schedules are arranged for
matched games between different teams
of the yard in football. Basketball is
played out of doors each evening until
darkness makes it impossible to see
the ball.
As many Portland people have con
tributed to the maintenance of this
work and In the neighborhood of 100
Portland boys are in the service at this
point, I hope you will be able to give
publicity to at least some of this infor
mation. LEE N. BEACH.
Portland address, 731 East Ash street.
OFFICERS OF ARMIES COMPARED
World-Wandering Sammy Says Port
land Resembles Stuttgart.
VANCOUVER BARRACKS, Oct. 19.
(To the Editor.) My home town the
old one lies on the northernmost
point of Denmark. I wrote already
several days ago to thai: town and its
daily paper 'and told them about all
the good the Young Men's Christian
Association is doing here.
But I have another home town
Portland and another home paper
The Oregonian. Although I have
walked the sidewalks of most of the
principal cities of the Northern Hemis
phere, here and in Europe, I have seen
but one city which in beauty could be
compared with Portland, and that city
is Stuttgart, Wurtemberg. In fact, the
two cities are so much alike that I
have often happened to substitute the
name of Portland for that of Stutt
gart. But in Stuttgart I did not find
an Oregonian, nor any substitute for
our champion spokesman of the North
west. Therefore, when I write a let
ter to my new home town. Portland.
I do this In the spirit of writing to
the most beautiful town in the world,
and when I --write to my home paper.
The Oregonian. I have, as a Sammy,
the. confident feeling of a Sammy send
ing: a. communication to the most pa
triotic and powerful "Sammy-backer"
in the United States.
I feel confident that The Oregonian,
as well as other Portland papers, will
receive a large number of letters from
Sammies, praising the activities of the
Y. M. C A, and 1 will, for this reason,
confine myself to indorse everything
good said about ' this organization,
adding the fact that If It wasn't for
the free paper which always lies very
handy and Inviting, and the conveni
ences In the Y. M. C. A. building, many
an old mother would walk sorrowful
and disappointed from the mail box
back to the bouse, without that letter
from the boy.
We had a speaker here the other
night, one of the Y. M. C. A., who,
among other things, urged us strongly
not to forget the newspaper day, and
not only tell about the Y. M. C. A. but
also about life in camp, and especially
how we like our officers.
1 This last question would, I presume,
be a delicate one for the majority of
the soldiers to answer; for me, how
ever, the matter is easy. I have seen
the Danish, the Swedish and the Nor
wegian officers drill their recruits un
til they dropped, one after another, on
the drilling grounds, and if they were
unable to recover in a few minutes
they would receive a k-k In the back
from the officers. I have heard French
and English commanders give their
soldiers names which an American
tramp would be ashamed to repeat. I
have seen the German officers spit the
soldiers in the face and hit thera over
their back with the saber, and more
than one of my best friends have been
driven to suicide when they were un
able any longer to stand the atrocities
of their officers. When the question
is asked me: How do you like your
officer?" then I have but one answer:
Picture in your mind those officers
whom I have described and compare
them with our cool-headed, dignified
officers, whose every movement of body
express the highest degree of noble
ness and self-control, and whose words
and actions are only designed to pro
mote the great work of building up
an efficient Army, for the success of
which they alone are responsible.
SAMMY.
PEOPLE THOUGHT IX TORPOR
Correspondent Saya Audience at Thea
ters Fail to Show Loyalty.
PORTLAND, Oct. 20. (To the Edl
or.) In reference to the letter by a
soldier in the Oregonian, In which he
calls attention to disregard of the Na
tional anthem, I would add a word on
the same subject.
I was in the Majestic yesterday and
saw the pictures of the American Field
Service and the Somme pictures. I
wondered if I was In a nest of Germans
or if they in the audience were merely
dull or indifferent.
Our American boys were shown serv
ing the wounded; General Joffre. who
stood between the Huns and civiliza
tion; English boys who are today sav
ing our lives at the expense of their
own even a group of those heroic
French about whom I cannot even
think without a gasp of pride and rev
erence and in all that theater there
was not a hand clap. A regiment of
Irish were shown and received ap
plause, but none of these others.
What is the answer?
We call upon the laborers in the
shipbuilding plants to show patriotism
by sacrificing what they consider their
interests, when the comfortable people
can't come out of their torpor long
enough to salute their saviors.
A comfortable woman in my neigh
borhood told me the other day that the
war- was : the least, of her troubles
she "never gave it a thought."
Another one, whom I asked If she
was going to register, replied that she
could not pledge even an hour a week,
because she felt her place was at
home with her children, and in the
same breath said goodbye, and was off
to a matinee!
How can we expect people who are
ever near the bread line, who have
neither nice homes nor safe invest
ments between them and suffering, to
be moved by self-sacrifice and patriot
ism when from these comfortable
homes come such sentiments?
Do you think a race can evolve very
much higher than the women from
whom it springs?
These people may be more loyal than
they sound. The Majestic audience
may be but who is to know it if they
don't show it. Their seeming indiffer
ence may not detract from their own
loyalty, but it does from those who are
half-hearted or on the fence. As long
as we seem indifferent we are giving
aid and comfort to the Kaiser we are
fostering dissension we are support
ing German propaganda. When the
German people once find out that all
America, down to its last woman and
child, has risen against them, their
freedom will be brought instantly
nearer. MRS. M. A. N.
MUSEUMS
ARE
NECESSITY
A. W. Miller Remarks on Educational
Influence Exerted.
PORTLAND, Oct. 20. (To the Edi
tor.) As our city's free museum is
about to be installed in its new home
in the Auditorium, as one being in
terested in that class of work I will
ask the use of your columns to make
a few suggestions.
For at this age museums have be
come a necessity in every civilized
community, as an extension of their
educational system, for we are living
In a world that is moving onward
more rapidly than ever before, and the
conditions of modern life demand that
we acquaint ourselves with the most
recent results of investigation along
all lines of human progress so as to
be abreast with modern ideas in the
quest after new knowledge, as present
day civilization depends far more upon
the development of intelligence than
upon brute force. -
That our city should have a museum
worthy of its dignity is self-evident,
and with the unlimited natural re
sources lying at our door to draw upon
we should be able to build up an edu
cational natural science museum sec
ond to none on the continent. And in
order to make any museum valuable
three important ideas must be kept in
view: First, record: second, research;
the third and most Important being its
educational features.
The primary object of all public mu
seums is to collect and preserve such
objects as are passing away, that best
illustrate nature and the works of
man, by classifying and proper labeling
as well as safely guarding all mate
rial confided to its care, so as to facil
itate their study. Museums do their
teaching practically from objects
drawn from nature's rich storehouse,
illustrating every phase of natural his
tory, by specimens accompanied with
descriptive labels adapted to the pop
ular mind. A visitor to a properly ar
ranged museum may travel around the
world and not go outside of Its walls,
for there we come in direct contact
with the planet we inherit, learn its
ancient conditions and. life history of
Its former inhabitants, the forms of
animal and vegetable life existing in
the past, when, where and how they
lived; also learn of what our earth is
made and what can be made of. it.
With such a museum in our city, visit
ors would receive a favorable and last
ing impression, while those from
abroad would naturally base their
judgment as to the nature and degree
of the Intelligence and civilization of
our people and upon the nature of our
educational facilities, as centers of sci
entific and industrial activity and the
manner by which they are maintained.
A. W. MILLER,
Oregon Soldiers Satisfied
With New Camp.
Lincoln W. Wheeler, Former O. A. C.
Man, Tells Charlotte Reporter
What Oreg-ontana- Think; of Town.
LINCOLN W. WHEELER, former O.
A. C man, now a sergeant with
Company C Oregon Engineers, at Camp
Greene, Charlotte, N. C, expresses him
self in the Charlotte Observer of recent
date as" being pleased with the situa
tion there. He says the Oregon men
are satisfied with it and have found
it a splendid place to stay.
He is quoted as follows:
"The Oregon engineers, the red and
white hat band boys, are products of
the Northwest. The crack Company C
Is made up of a personnel represen
tative of some of the best and most
Influential families of the Beaver state.
"Captain Stanley Borleske is a capa
ble engineer, as well as a nathlete of
National reputation. The company's
large roster of athletes is accounted
for by the great percentage of college
men In its ranks.
"Every man felt Camp Lewis, Wash
ington, where the boys were stationed
before leaving for the south, was a
perfect cantonment, but now all that
can be heard is 'Camp Greene," 'Camp
Greene.' The tent life here appeals to
the boys much more than did the bar
racks life at their former camp.
- "Five things appear most prominent
among various opinions expressed by
the boys relative to Charlotte:
"The up-to-dateness of the city, its
cleanliness, splendid civic buildings,
beautiful churches and homes.
"Frogressiveness is the keynote of
the West and yet when it comes to
civic buildings and churches the boys
admit Charlotte their strongest rival.
The atmosphere of the towns seems
wholesome and friendly. The boys
feel themselves capable judges, as they
came more or less in touch with many
towns in their trip across the conti
nent. "It is the old homes around Char
lotte that especially appeal to the boys;
the big trees In the yards, the flowers
so bright in the Carolina sun and the
true, real comfortable look of these
homes is interesting to them.
"One of the boys expressed the senti
ments of all when he said: "We will
stay at Camp Greene, but we will live
at Chorlotte.' One fellow was heard
rambling through a song of his own
offhand composition. In which ran the
sentiment:
Thanks to the man ---who -sent us here,-
The South to us Is full of cheer.
"The boys were enthusiastic in their
belief that the citizens of Charlotte
were going to be their friends. In fact
they said they knew they would, yes.
they said: Ve have already been
shown the proverbial Southern hos
pitality, yet until now we have not
really understood just how much that
terms means.'
"In some sections of the country sol
diers have made themselves distrusted
because of the acts of a few of them.
"The boys of Company C feel them
selves worthy of your confidence."
TOBACCO RAISING HERE EASY.
Lorane Man Writes of Advantages of
Oregon Climate for Crop.
LORANE. Or., Oct. 18. (To the Edi
ltor.) I have read always with great
interest in the Sunday Oregonian Frank
G. Carpenter's articles about the Sunny
South. He has talked about several
grand objects: Rice, cotton, tobacco,
etc., but what has become of the cele
brated Southern moonshine whisky?
Is it a forbidden theme to write about?
By reading over carefully his last con
tribution about tobacco I found some
sentences which make me almost be
lieve that Mr. Camenter before he
wrote that article had come across !
some old-fashioned North Carolina
mountain jug and "helped himself," be
cause he writes: "We smoke 900,000
cigars every hour. I believe that all
right, but he says further: We smoke
15,000 cigars a minute, and over 250 a
second." What a grand performance!
We beat the Dutch. They can't smoke
a single cigar in twice that time!
But I didn't start out to criticise
Mr. Carpenter and I hope he will ex
cuse my gentle dab at him 'the pur
pose of this letter is to draw the read
er's attention to the fact that we can
raise some nice tobacco here in West
ern Oregon, too.
For the last 25 years I raised my
own tobacco. "Connecticut leaf" is the
best growing kind for our climate. The
I trouble with us Is the cold weather in
the Spring. So long as I have planted
tobacco, it took the seed always from
30 to 80 days to sprout and- I never
could get my plants big enough to set
out before the middle of June. But In
raising tobacco here, we have one big
advantage over the South effd East;
we are never bothered by the horn, or
tobacco worm. No kind of insects ever
molested my plants, and I raise Just as
big leaves as tobacco anywhere will
grow 29 inches long and 14 inches
broad some of the biggest. It doesn't
take much work to grow a small patch
of 50 to 100 plants; the suckers must
be taken off regularly every five days
during the month of September. I gen
erally only let 10 or 12 leaves grow on
a stalk and break the rest off. To
cure tobacco Is no trick. 1 never cut
the whole plant off. but take the
leaves as they get ripe. This way, I
have raised some Falls a second crop.
Then with help of a darning needle and
cotton twine. I put 50 to 60 leaves on
a string and hang them up in the house
or barn, on two nails, between the raft
ers. If the leaves hang close together
on the stflng, it will give them a beau
tiful brown color. In January, on some
rainy day, when the stem is perfectly
dried, I put the tobacco in a box and
put a heavy weight on top to press It
down. The tobacco has to sweat now
for four to six weeks. It has to be ex
amined once in a while, that it doesn't
heat up too much. After the sweating
process, the weed is taken out and
hung up to the rafters as before. It is
now ready for use. but it is almost too
strong yet for the average smoker.
Time will make it milder. It will take
from one to five years before it gets
first-claBs just as good tobacco as one
gets In a 5-cent cigar. Of course, this
method of curing tobacco wouldn't do
If a man would raise much of it. I
have no tobacco for sale, but anybody
Who calls on me is welcome to a pipe.
HENRY SCHMEISSER.
LOW RENTALS ARE CONDEMNED
Property Owner Entitled to Fair Re
turn, One of Them Says.
PORTLAND, Oct. 20. (To the Edi
itor.) In a letter in The Oregonian ap
pears this sentence: . "In Portland one
ean rent a modern-six-room house for
$9 or $10." Now, in the name of all
that is unjust and infamous, who pays
the rest? Anyone with the most ordi
nary power of calculation knows that
it is a financial Impossibility for any
thing like that amount to pay insur
ance, upkeep and Portland taxes on a
six-room modern house, to say nothing
of interest on the investment, which
is Just as necessary as Interest on any
other investment. Imagine a man bor
rowing money from a bank and then
to expect the bank to help pay his
utility bills because, forsooth, he is
paying interest on the money which he
is using. Yet that is a fair, simile.
Why, many of these modern houses
which are renting for such boastedly
low prices are not even paid for, as
they had to be mortgaged in the be-
ginning to pay the high wages de
manded by the union and to the taxes
and upkeep of property must be added
the interest on that. Then these same
mechanics will turn around and de
mand that they shall use these houses
absolutely free, inasmuch as the rent
allowed does not pay one cent on the
investment. Be it understood I do not
mean any reflection on other than those
who do this thing. It used to be a
popular idea that a landlord any land
lord was a rich man, with ill-gotten
gains that he somehow owed the pub
lic. I have in my mind not one but
many elderly people also widows
whose entire substance was invested
in rentable property and they not be
ing in demand for work, have abso
lutely no other income. And now to
the increased cost of living, already
high taxes and donations solicited on
all sides for war necessities, must be
added contributions to the support of
the tenants, many of whom are high
salaried and quite efficient in ' them
selves. Others, like "birds of passage."
flit from roost to roost, staying in one
house only until they can persuade
some other householder to distractingly
consent to a trifle lower rent. If by
any chance they require permanency
(which in many cases means only a
year), a commission is demanded for
that, in form of even lower rent.
We used to hear occasionally of a
Portland Realty Board. If still in ex
istence, why are its members not on
the Job protecting their former clients
from not only seven meatless days a
week, but a prospect of the same num
ber of breadless ones in the near fu
ture if taxes are raised again without
a similar advance in rents? Really the
foundation of the support of public
schools, utilities, civilization and the
Government itself is based on the pro
ceeds of the taxpayer and that much
abused person should at least be up
held in the demand that tenants pay
for what they get. Badly as fuel and
food supervision is needed, yet without
homes , these would hardly suffice to
Bustain life in the comfort that modern
man demands.
Please, Oregonian, "come over and
nelp us." TAXPAYER.
O. B. Harriman Training at
Texas Aviation School.
Former Well-Known Younn- Athlete
of Portland Has Rapid Rise Since
Leaving Oregon Naval Militia to
Learn to lie an Aviator.
LOCAL amateur athletes who have
been wondering what has become
of O. B. Harriman, Jr., a popular Wash
ington High School lad who was promi
nent In independent and lnterscholastic
athletics, will be interested In the fol
lowing letter Just received from him,
from the Y. M. C. A. hut of the' Camp
Kelly, Tex.. Aviation School:
"I am now Corporal in the aviation
section of the signal corps at Camp
Kelly, Tex., and also hold championship
of 115 pounds wrestling of Pacific
Northwest for 1916, which event was
held a Multnomah Club last year on
March 3. Leon Fabre was my coach at
that time, and I represented Washing
ton High School.
"I . have just finished serving two
years In the Oregon Naval Militia, and
was on the cruise to Sitka, Alaska,
only last Summer. I asked for my dis
charge in order to get into the aviation
corps, as I am interested in flying.
"I lived with my parents at 105
Floral avenue. Laurelhurst. My father
is with the Douglas Fir Lumber Com
pany. -
"I have been stationed at this field
for nearly two months, but first en
listed at Portland. Then I was sent
to Vancouver Barracks, and finally
down here. My promotion has been
rapid, even though I am only 18 years
or age, on account of my previous serv
ice in the militia. I have a great many
friends in high school and business life
that do not know I am in the Army.
I have met a great many good wres
tlers in the Army, but have been
thrown only once. If you ever have
any spare papers left over Sundays,
our Oregon boys would be glad to get
them.
"Will send you a picture of all the
boys that enlisted In the aviation sec
tion from Oregon."
BRITISH AIR RAIDS APPLAUDED
C. B. Pye Believes Forebearance of
Any Kind Is Lost Upon Germans.
PORTLAND, Oct. 20. (To the Editor.)
The British people are clamoring for
and Lloyd George has promised repri
sals against Germany In retaliation for
the persistent air raids over England
I have said before and reiterate that
Germany lowers the moral standard of
the whole world by compelling those in
competition with or opposed to her to
resort, in self-defense, to her rotten
methods, or go to the wall, whether
commercially, diplomatically or in war
fare.
We had thought, prior to the war,
that at least ourselves and England
had reached a stage of civilization
where such things were lmpessible, and
I am sure Englishmen have given much
thought to this and hate to think of
it going into history that they finally
resorted to the barbarous methods of
the foe, for if any race possess the
spirit of fair play It is the English.
But the only things the Germans
understand are those they themselves
do. and the best way to bring the war
home to them is to give them bigger
doses of their own medicine, no matter
how administered, and as they were
the originators of poison gases. liquid
fire and bombardment of open towns
and civilian populations not to men
tion nameless atrocities that the allies
will not commit under any circum
stances they cannot complain when
treateed in like manner.
Forbearance of any kind is lost upon
them. C. B. PYE.
ROOSEVELT'S TERM NOT LIKED
"Bnboiilc Rats' Better Than "Copper
heads." Saya Writer.
VANCOUVER, Wash., Oct. 19. (To
the Editor.) Mr. Roosevelt refers to
pro-Germans and anti-Americans as
neo-copperheads. This doesn't sound
right to me.
Were he to call them bubonic rats
the . name would be more thoroughly
descriptive and implicative. We should
remember that our Ciril War was a
family misunderstanding. It was a
purely American demonstration. It In
volved two elements of opposing sense
but both these elements were Amer
ican. No foreign autocrat was dictat
ing or influencing the thought, aim or
motive of either. The Secessionists'
viewpoint differed from that of the
Unionist, but neither sense was "made
in Germany."
The American of today who Is in any
way extending aid and comfort to the
enemies of these United States is vile,
loathsome and contemptible to a de
gree out of all comparison to the cop
perhead of Civil War days.
Those of our citizens who are dis
loyal to this Union through love of
the Huns . and their mangod, through
hatred to Britain or things British,
through desire to wear a toga or pose
In our halls of Congress or through
hope of pocketing a share of Von
Barnyardstuff's plunks are all equally
traitors to this republic, and when
their names are mentioned all undi
luted Americans involuntarily think of
unprepared sausage "".sings.
J. HAROLD.
'Every Day We Have Little
War of Our Own."
R. M. Gatewood, Jr.. Tells of Bay
onet Drill at Fort Shatter.
Hawaii Masks Vile Smelling-,
He Says.
THE following interesting letter from
Robert M. Gatewood. Jr., son of
R. M. Gatewood. a real estate dealer
of this city, has been received by his
father from. Fort Shafter, T. H.. near
Honolulu, where the young man is In
training:
"Your very interesting letter at hand
and was very glad to learn you are
ail well. 1 feel a real sense of pleas
ure to know you enjoy my letters and
of the interest shown in their content.
Your letters are equally as Interesting
and enjoyed Just as thoroughly.
well, dad. everything is about the
same here. Still undergoing an inten
sive training period and am gettiner as
hard as nails. I weigh 140 stripped
and am in perfect physical condition.
"The training at present is conducted
at Red Hill (so called as the soil is
very red), which is about five miles
from Fort Shafter. The entire reciment
during the last month has constructed
a 'No man's land' on this hill. It Is an
ideal location, as the terrain is rolling
and similar to conditions now existing
or. the west front In Europe. We have
constructed a complete system of dug
outs and trenches with bomb-proofs,
observation stations, machine gun em
placements and many zig-zag com
municating trenches laterally and to
the rear. Thousands of sandbags were
used In making it as realistic as pos
sible. Also hundreds of dummv
Fritzles' are installed in the trenches
and painted to resemble the likeness of
the Kaiser, Von Hindenburg. etc. Even
the mustaches on them are curved at
the proper anprle.
And. dad, every morning we march
out there and have a little war of our
own and sometimes it almost seems-
leal as one Is in the thick of it and
gets heated in a charge. I will try and
describe the taking of it line of
trenches, a daily morning performance.
"The men line up In a trench, the
starting point. The whistle shrills. We
jump the parapet and run for the wire
entanglements. We hold our rifles
above our heads, choosing our footing
in the wire. Once through, we run
hard, our rifles at point. We Jump
a shallow ditch. We plunge our bayo
nets into the dummies that lie on the
other side. Out comes the blades with
a jerk and a twist. Slam, they go into
a row of standing dummies. Two
thrusts we give these, a straight point
and a rising stroke, starting low and
ending viciously, like a boxer's upper
cut. On we go. We jump a pole and
a wide ditch. We run through. We
plunge our bayonets into another row
of dummies. We hurdle a pole and a
wide ditch. We plunge our bayonets
Into two more rows of dummies. With
a yell we run up a steep ramp. We
jump off. The drop Is six feet. The
last line of dummies is six feet out.
We land. But not on our feet. On our
rifles, our bayonets plunging through
the dummies into the earth beneath.
Line after line of men, wave after
wave, rush down this course to the
blest of the whistle.
"It is this kind of training. Dad, that
develops the fighting spirit and the de
termination to go right through, no
matter what obstacle rs the way.
There is also a principlinvolved that
we are fast absorbing, the first prin
ciple of all successful combat, which
is to hit the enemy first and hit him
hard.
"We practice using the gas masks,
which is a very unpleasant drill. The
usual gas mask is a smelly bag of flan
nelette that has been treated with
chemicals vile enough to disintegrate
chlorine. The chemicals are fixed with
an oil so they do not evaporate. The
bag Is fitted with a pair of goggles
and a mouthpiece which ends outside
the mask in a flattened tube of thin
rubber, the shape of a duck's bill. You
throw off your cap. open the tHnic, pull
the bag over your head, adjust the
goggles, take the mouthpiece in your
teeth and button the tunic tightly over
the long flaps of the helmet, which
cover your neck and shoulders. It is
about as pleasant on a hot day as slit
ting the tick of an ancient feather bed
and crawling inside. You breathe in
through your nose. The only air you
can get comes through the chemically
treated f'annelette. You breathe out
through the mouthpiece. If you try to
breathe in. the thin duck's bill of rub-'
ber automatically closes. It's a very
simple and efficient one-way valve. A
man can wear this fiannelette abomi
nation for an hour without the least
harm, after a little practice.
"We also get considerable practice
In throwing hand and rifle grenades.
It takes considerable practice to be
come proficient In this work, as they
are thrown while standing in the
trenches and are Just as dangerous to
the man who throws them as to the
man thrown at, because they explode
Immediately upon coming in contact
with anything. At present we are using
dummy grenades.
"Well, I guess this Is about enough
this time concerning the war some- "
where In Oahu and will close for now.
This leaves me in the best of health
and hope this will find you all the
same. Tell mother I received her let
ter and will answer in a few days. Love
and best regards to all."
UNIONS
NOT
OPEN
TO
ALL
Former Member 'Writes of Hla Own
Experience With Labor.
CORVALLIS, Or., Oct. 18. (To the
Editor.) I have been following The
Oregonian editorials regarding the
shipbuilders' strike for closed-shop con
ditions with much interest. Many un
informed people have the impression
that anyone may belong to the union
controlling his line of work, if he so
desires, providing that he pays his
dues and obeys the union's laws. This
is far from the truth, and I ask leave
to cite my own case as an instance
of proof. For taking part in the Elks'
parade at Portland in 1912, I was ex-,
pelled from the Musicians' Union, ab
solutely without trial, my first knowl
edge of the case being an official noti
fication from the National secretary of
the Musicians' Union at St. Louis that
I had been charged with certain vio
lations, that I had been tried and found
guilty. Now, I knew nothing of the
controversy between the Elks and Mu
sicians' Union at Portland. I arrived
while the parade was in process of for
mation, and had I been allowed to ap
pear at my own trial I could have
proved that I was given no notification
whatsoever. The facts are that during
my stay at Portland the previous Win
ter I had antagonized certain members
of the inner circle of the Musicians'
Union, and the frame-up was their '
revenge.
Although I am past the age where I
could be accepted into the Army as &
soldier, my father volunteered at the
outbreak of the Civil War and served
his country to its close. He was
wounded in action and his health was
broken for life.
My mother's brother was killed in ac-
tlon, and my services are at my coun
try's disposal in whatever capacity it
ean use them, and yet, under the closed
shop rules of a self-made clique that'
places Itself above the country and its
laws, I am absolutely disbarred from
working at my trade, insofar as they
can make their mandates effective.
F. L. HANER,
Great Wortham Shows.