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TITE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, APRIL '128, 1918.
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J"0TLAD. blNDAT. AflUt. ZS. U1S.
ONE WOM.UI-8 WORK.
The reading public, if it chances to
rc across the latest Issue of the New.
berg Graphic, will find the Interesting
announcement that Miss Margaret So-aad-fo
(true name given), daughter
of the Hon. and Mrs. John So-and-So
(true names given), "who signed up
for a liberty bond, went to Portland
the first of the week to earn the
money to pay for It by doing domestic
work In the home of a well-to-do
family. Young men who are 'looking
around might do well to put this
tlown In their note books.
Ail hall to the patriotic and prac
ticable young woman of Yamhill
County who sees her duty and is doing
It In her own useful way. Let us not
esty that the kitchen Is the place for
all daughters of prosperous families
rxit let os say that the kitchen Is
av vital part of every well-regulated
home, and the young lady who la a
stranger to its function Is not prop
cirly reared. We are coming to the
time, quite obviously, when the girl
who can cook a mrul or make a bed.
for herself or for others, will be more
htrhly valued than the one who can
Ii't a gulf-ball with unerring aim. or
pour tea, at a function, or play a
llano, or drive an automobile, though
there are slrns that the chauffeuse
nay bo Indispensable. Wo might
luallfy the latter remark by adding
that It depends on why and where the
car la driven.
The guess may be ventured that the
enterprising young cltlxen of Yamhill
Jiad been reading the "Help Wanted
Female columns of The Oregonlan.
The women of I'ortland and Oregon
are making the classified pages -of
this paper vocal with their cries for
)ilp. Tako the Issue of Sunday. April
Z I. There were four columns of
cloaely set type, containing four or
five hundred separate advertisements.
Vsuolly the demand Is for "compe
tent girl for general housework, or
"rook. or "chambermaid." or "ste
nographer." or "waitress." One de
partment store wants "twenty-five ex
pertrm-cd salespeople, all depart
ments." and "ten young ladles be
tween 1C and II to act as cashiers
and wrappers.
An out-of-town concern is evidently
after a female Admirable Crlchton.
for It a.iks for a combined clerk for
"express, railroad, postoffice and tele
phone agency accounts: telegraphing
ability as well preferred; must have
hat some bookkeeping experience
and be able to operate typewriter:
necessary keep house In comfortable
home." We suppose the paragon
mlcht be permitted to put In her
para time In running the sawmill,
which makes up the chief Industry of
that particular town. However, the
employer is no piker, though some
what particular, for he offers $100 per
month.
Let us not run the entire gamut of
the frantic calls, from chorus girls
lo "all-around lady compositors."
There it Is. all of it. a universal cry
for tho service of women In a hun
dred or more employments, some of
which have not before known the
presence of the sex as workers. It Is
an Interesting part of The Oregonlan.
In Its perfect reflection of a condition
which has grown acute as the war
progressed, and men have either gone
to the trenches, or have become ship
builders at wares heretofore unheard
of. or have gone into other occupa
tions more remunerative than they
have been follomlng.
The first result Is a rapid depiction
of workers in many employments, and
the second result is a sudden and gen
eral rte In wares. There Is no ex
cuse now for Idleness, except age or
sickness, no excuse whatever. Lack of
fktlt or experience, even, does not
avail. Awkward hands are better
than none at all. for they may be used
as substitutes. In a thousand ways, for
thorough competence.
It Is no longer fashionable or credit
able to be idle, for either sex. The
drone is more than ever an Incum
brance, and he or she Is being made
to know It either through a definite
demand upon Mm or her for service,
or through tho more or less gentle
compulsion of general opinion. Men
who have fortunes, and other men
who have nothing, have responded to
tho call to tho colors, or to tho other
call to public duty: and women who
have riven little or no thought to
anything but their families, their
friends and private charities, are re
sponding nobly to the Innumerable de
mands on them. There Is a woman In
I'ortland who was a stenographer, and
she married well, and she has a
f:im!ly. and no servant: yet she Is so
competent in her home that she con
tinues to do all her household work,
ond send her children to school, and
then to appear at a certain headquar
ters for whatever she may do. usually
work at the typewriter, all for her
country's good. It makes a long day:
but who is so harpy she There
are thousands and millions like her.
at least In willingness. They are
ready to do anything to aid the great.
caus or almost anything. Too few
Tnave seen their opportunity, as the
keen-eyed and nimble-Angered young
woman of Yamhill sees it. and kitch
ens are vacant, and restaurants are
full.
One Is led to wonder whether the
service In domestic science performed
by the rublic schools has yielded the
desired results. Where are the gradu
atei of those Institutions? Teaching
others the art of serving and cooking
many of them, which Is all right: but.
nevertheless, we should like to see a
census of the graduates In domestic
science, so as to learn Just what they
are doing;. It is quite certain that the
short-cut method of many housewives
in outbidding other women for house
hold workers is not going to effect any
permanent cure in the growing; short
age. It la also quite certain that the
work roust be done somehow. The
solution lies In part in an understand
ing that all honest work, by men and
women. Is dignified employment, and
that service at home by young women
is quite aa helpful and patriotic as
service abroad, or downtown.
P. S. There are two thousand ap
plications, mostly from women, to the
I'ortland School Board for positions
as teachers and Instructors. There
are about thirty vacancies to fill. The
total surplus Is thus shown to be
about nineteen hundred and seventy
(170). They must seek employment
in the schools elsewhere, or find other
work here. Who will explain why It
la that the school jobs are enormously
overcrowded, while other occupations
are suffering from lack of help? Is it
the wagesT Or the hours T Or the
congeniality of the task?
Here Is room for the service of
some public, or seml-publlc, organiza
tion, that will divert nearly two
thousand women from places where
they are not wanted to places where
they are wanted.
CERMAXT-a XEED Or OFFICERS,
Evidence accumulates that the Ger
man army is beginning to feel the
drain upon Hs officer personnel. In
thla respect Prussian militarism ts
seen to have Its defects, as well as its
elements of strength. For the differ
ence between the system under which
officers are made in Germany and in
the countries of the entente Is a wide
one. and In a long war the democratic
Idea ts being proved to be the better.
There Is a chasm between the com
mon- soldier of Germany the mere
"cannon fodder and his commis
sioned superiors that is almost In
capable of being bridged. The aris
tocracy of rank does not encourage
promotion from the ranks. The Ger
man private does not carry a mar
shal' baton In his knapsack. He Is
lucky to get decent treatment and to
come out alive. He knows better than
even to cherish ambition to become a
great military leader.
It Is different In France, England
and the United States, and even In
Italy. When the final battles are
fought, this may prove a decisive fac
tor. The recent offensive of the Ger
mans la proving especially disastrous
to Its officers, who cannot be replaced.
In the armies of the allies, on the
other hand, there Is no lack of poten
tial leadership. Men are rising from
the ranks as rapidly as they prove
themselves worthy.
democracy's way Is the better way,
even In the conduct of a great war.
WHO I BOSS?
The unanimity with which county
Granges In Oregon are repudiating the
Non-Partisan League Is no less Indic
ative of patriotic public sentiment
than the expulsion from Wlnlock.
Wash., of two organisers. Washing
ton County rejected the league a day
or two ago. and previously Multnomah,
Yamhill. Marion. Cofumbla and others
had done likewise.
It Is not alone the earlier fault
finding with the war by league leader
ship and the transparent reason for
belated words of patriotism that cause
Grange action. Law-making, which
attracts farmers to the organization
elsewhere. Is either independent of
partisanship or class prejudice in
Oregon, or ran be made so by applying
the referendum or the Initiative. Why
should Orange members pay heavy
dues to another organization when
they have a capable machinery of
their own for obtaining new legisla
tioa If any be needed?
The boasted achievements of the
Non-Partlsan Legislature of North
Dakota are thirty-three In number.
Oregon -already has enacted many of
them. Others pertain to sectional
Issues meaningless to Oregon voters.
Importance of others may be judged
by one which provides for compensa
tion of persons found to have been
Innocent after having served a term
In prison. Just enough, it Is true, but
It Is a law that will apply about once
In one hundred years.
Another stunning measure gives the
vote to women except as to state offi
cers. Shall equal suffrage Oregon
open Its arms to an organization that
will go no further than that?
There Is. however, a law In the list
guaranteeing bank deposits. This the
people of Oregon. If they want It, can
obtain by a much simpler process
than by working through a foreign
organization, and there Is a tax-shifting
law which recalls some of the
numerous measures the farmers and
other taxpayers of Oregon have voted
down.
In the Interests of this unpromising
organization the master of the State
Grange Is working. While Mr. Spence
gives color of Grange approval, tho
separate bodies repudiate. Will the
members disctojp who Is running the
Grange? We think they will at the
state meeting In June.
NO CHANCE FOR THE PRO FIT MR.
Charges of profiteering, which are
made by persons who are at heart dis
loyal as a plausible pretext for not
supporting the war, have received a
severe blow from a recent decision
of the Supreme Court and from sctlor
of the Navy Department founded on
that decision.
It has been alleged that contractors
have padded costs In "cost-plus" con
tracts, but the court held that, in a
suit under such a contract, a contrac
tor could not recover when the con
tract was tainted with fraud and had
been rescinded on that ground. The
burden of proof as to actual cost of
producing goods and as to a reason
able price Is then placed on the con
tractor, and the price named In the
contract cannot be used as an admis
sion by the Government of what is
reasonable. The court also denounced
the procurement of contracts by
agents on a contingent fee basis as on
a par with the fees of legislative lob
byists and as suggesting an attempt
to use sinister and corrupt means.
Action of the Bureau of Supplies
and Accounts of the Navy Is founded
on this decision. The bureau holds
that the contractor Is entitled to a
reasonable profit, and must fix prices
on that basis, not on the market con
ditions. The bureau also holds that
It must take pains to ascertain the
cost of production and must thus de
termine a reasonable price. If the
contractor Is not satisfied with the
prlco offered he may show by his
books that the bureau Is In error. The
result Is that a basis of fair dealing
has been established, and profiteering
has been cut out. The same rules
have been adopted by other bureaus
in making war contracts.
Socialists, Nou-rarUsau Leaguers, J.
W. W. and all others who hide pro-
Germanism behind the pretense that
they only oppose profiteering, or that
the war was Instigated by men seek
ing exorbitant profits, are thus left
without a leg to stand on. Their ar
guments are exposed as a lying pre
text for setting class against class in
order to weaken the Nation for war.
They are the most contemptible kind
of traitors, compared with whom the
man who frankly proclaims sympathy
with Germany is to be admired, for
the latter braves public wrath, while
the former covers his treason with
the pretense of a patriotic motive.
TRAINING CAMP ENTERTAINMENT.
The commission on .training camp
activities of the War Department Is
beginning to find out that the Ameri
can soldier has rather definite ideas
as to what he want In the form of
theatrical entertainment, and that If
cantonment theaters hope to receive
his patronage taey must cater to his
taste. The tired soldier. It seems. Is
even more discriminating than the
tired business man. for whose edifica
tion so large a proportion of our en
tertainments has been devised in the
past. It Is an Indication of the earn
estness of those who have this detail
In charge that a study of the kind of
theatrical performance a soldier likes
Is being made with as much care as
recently characterized the analysis of
his predilections In the matter of
books.
Musical comedy and vaudeville have
the lead In popular favor. Drama has
Its devotees, but not the "problem
play." There Is not much demand for
tragedy. But the Interesting feature
of the disclosures of the Investigators
is that the tante of the new National
Army Is highly discriminating. Even
though the camp theater is an inno
vation, and despite the fact that a
fair proportion of the men have had
little opportunity to attend theaters
in the past, critics have been surprised
by the high standard that Is uni
versally demanded.
"Thousands of men have had their
first opportunity to see a legitimate
show," says Chairman Fosdick, of the
commission, "and it Is an actual fact
that In one of the Southern states
scores of mountaineers visited the
theater manager after the show was
over and asked his permission to come
again." Nevertheless, a comparatively
poor performance would fail to obtain
patronage. The conclusion is Justi
fied that the instinctive tastes of
Americans, despite any lack of critical
experience. Is sound.
The "Liberty Theater," aa the can
tonment playhouse Is called, repre
sents an interesting experiment in de
veloping the entertainment side of
camp life. While other Governments
have encouraged camp shows, none
ever has gone so far as to build the
aters and organize companies for
their production. But Uncle Sam, in
his capacity as theatrical producer.
has found his problem no less perplex
ing than that of the metropolitan
manager. The soldier retuses to per
mit himself to be bored when off
duty and mediocrity bores him. It
takes entertainment of good quality
to Induce him even to tear off the
coupons of a "smileage book," which
hus been a gift to him. Ho refrains
from doing violence to the inept per
former who is "doing the best he can,
but he stays away from the per
formance.
Although the cantonment theaters
are not money-making Institutions, it
has been found necessary to Increase
the price of admission to pay the bare
cost of the class of entertainment
which alone will arouse interest. But
the Increased price is paid cheerfully
hen the show Is worth it. There Is
to be no "playing down" to these cos
mopolitan audiences from every part
of the country and from every division
of the social body. In Its own modest
way. indeed. It would seem that the
training camp theater Is doing its part
in the elevation of the stage.
A CONFESSION OF OCILT.
No document published since the
first year of the war is likely to have
such momentous effects on the future
attitude of the German people as the
secret memorandum of Prince Lich
nowsky, German ex-Ambassador to
London, which has become public
through a breach of confidence on the
part of a personal friend and is
printed in part In The Oregonian to
day. It Is nothing less than a con
fession of guilt on the part of Ger
many by a man who was an official
participant In the negotiations leading
up to the war, and who, therefore,
has the best means of knowing the
facts. The writer's statements Ut in
so exactly with the story of events at
that time as related by the allied gov
ernments and as revealed in the dis
patches that each may be said to cor
roborate the other. There Is no fur
ther room for doubt that the German
government, in collusion with that of
Austria, secretly and deliberately
planned the war and fixed "the day"
which had been toasted by officers of
the German army and navy for years.
Frantic as have been the efforts of
the militarists to prevent revelation
of this denunciation of the Kaiser's
policy by one of his highest diplo
mats, they have failed. Publication
was Btopped In Sweden only to be re
newed In Germany, and the Pan-
Germans take refuge from their em
barrassment in a flood of invective.
But the Prince's Indictment is
strengthened by publication of a let
ter written by Dr. Muehlon. a former
director of the Krupp company, which
gives Independent confirmation of the
charge that a great war conspiracy
came to a head In Berlin during July,
1914.
Thus disappears the pretense to the
German people that they were plunged
Into a "defensive war against a com
bination of nations which aimed to
destroy them. They might have for
given the deception If the expectation
of "a short and merry war," ending
In overwhelming victory at slight cost
in life and paid for with a huge in
demnity, had been realized. That
dream has already vanished. In Its
place the German people have lost
millions of men. have become physic
ally and morally decadent, can escape
bankruptcy only by a victory which
can never be won, raise up a new
enemy to replace each one that they
overpower and have earned the ex
ecration of the world.
Germans may be buoyed up for a
time with the exaggeration of gains
which consist of mere patches of
ground won at extravagant cost in life
and In trainloads of wounded who
glut the hospitals. But they must al
ready begin to doubt whether the
boasted victories are worth the price.
The allies are already holding them,
and as America throws more of her
weight Into the battle, the tide must
turn against them, never to change.
Then, when to the bitterness of de
feat is added the realization that they
have been duped, even the docile Ger
man people must turn against the men
who have committed this colossal
crime. The writings of IJctujo wsky (
may yet prove to be the most effective
piece of propaganda which has ap
peared during the war. excelling in its
consequences the laborious and world
wide product of the German organiza
tion. No less Influential than the docu
ments themselves . is their source.
These new denunciations of the welt
macht policy do not come from hum
ble Socialists or from brilliant editors
sprung from the people like Harden.
One comes from a member of the aris
tocracy, the other from a leader of the
new German plutocracy. That fact
indicates that -evulsion against the
degradation of Germany to the posi
tion of an outlaw nation is extending
upwards from the suffering masses
to the titled and wealthy classes. It
shows that the anti-war party In Ger
many is finding able and Influential
leaders.
But we should not delude ourselves
with the hope that the men who now
denounce the crime of 1914 would
consent to release the Poles, Alsatians
and Danes from thraldom or to make
reparation to the nations which Ger
many has wrecked until defeat com
pelled them. Force must help con
viction of guilt to drive Germany to
undo the wrongs of the past as well
as those of this war. A combined
military and psychological offensive
will hasten the end, and these latest
exposures will prove a most valuable
weapon.
PEACE ON THE NORTHERN BORDER.
One hundred years ago today, on
April 28. 1818, President Monroe pub
lished a proclamation giving force to
the Rush-Bagot agreement, which
provided In substance for disarmament
by Great Britain and the United States
on the Great Lakes. It Is a curious
fact that this compact, one of the
most momentous in our history, should
have been completed by a method
that was. for diplomacy, the height of
Informality. It was ratified by th
unanimous vote of thirty United States
Senators, but there is no record that
it ever was formally ratified by the
British government. It was assumed
that Mr. Bagot had formal authority
to bind his government, and, indeed
although slight misunderstandings
arose subsequently, the action of the
British minister never was repudiated
There grew out of the Rush-Bagot
convention also the "understanding.
which has always prevailed, that there
should be no additional fortification
of the boundary between the United
States and Canada. ,
The Rush-Bagot compact, with all
its far-reaching consequences, was the
outcome of events which immediately
followed the war of 1812. Both coun
tries in 1815 had considerable naval
forces on the lakes. All the vessels
were of wood, for steel ships had not
been invented, and steam had not then
been used In ships of war. The lakes
had not been counected by canals
and they were cut off from the ocean
No ono could foresee that a time
would come when vessels greater than
;the then-existing capital ships of the
world's navies would pass freely from
the ocean to the head of inland navi
gation. But Monroe, then Secretary
of State under President Madison,
realized that the contemplated pro
gramme of the British leaders, to
build more war vessels on the lakes,
would involve both countries in an
endless competition. He therefore
wrote to John Quincy Adams, then
our minister to Great Britain, outlin
ing a proposal for mutual disarma
ment. He reminded Mr. Adams that
unless this were done, a vast expense
would be incurred by both countries,
that the "danger of collision" would
be increased, and that the resulting
condition would be a constant stimu
lus to suspicion and ill-will." Ho sug
gested that both countries abstain al
together from maintaining an armed
force, except that used for the pur
pose of guarding against Infractions
of the revenue laws.
The offer was not accepted without
considerable delay. Adams In one of
his letters on the subject said that
after talking to Lord Castlereagh, the
British Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, he had concluded that ac
ceptance appeared "almost hopeless.
Monroe was persistent, and eventually
prevailed. He reminded the British
ministry that the tendency of the
European system must be toward war
and not peace. In July, 1816. Bagot
received authority to enter Into nego
tiations, and on April 28, 1817, pre
cisely a year before the convention
was proclaimed, he wrote to Richard
Rush setting forth in detail the terms
of the ogreement. Rush was then
Acting Secretary of -State, Monroe
meanwhile having become President.
The whole thing was simple enough.
The nations agreed that there should
be on Lake Ontario only one vessel
of not to exceed 100 tons burden for
each country, each vessel to be armed
with one eighteen-pound cannon; on
the upper lakes not to exceed two
like vessels: and on Lake Champlaln
only one. The ships then on the lakes
were promptly dismantled, and the
victorious ships of Commodore Perry
were among those promptly put out
of action.
It is not difficult to Imagine how
different might have been the rela
tions between the two countries now
fighting side by side in the European
war if the ideas of Monroo had not
prevailed. The war pt 1S12 had left
Its scars. Canadians and Americans
along the border were far from neigh
borly. Existence of fleets or botn
sides, or even the efforts to construct
them, would have delayed or alto
gether prevented re-establishment of
friendly commercial relations. Subse
quent development of the lake district
would have been mightily hindered
and with It the entire shipbuilding
Industry, for simultaneously with the
growth of the use of steel in ships
has come the opening of the Great
Lakes ore deposits, which surpass in
richness those of any other part of the
country. This and construction of
the Interior canals, which would not
have been possible under a condition
of competitive armament, has been
an Important factor in the building
up of American foreign trade. The
Western states owe a debt to the
Rush-Bagot agreement that will be
obvious when the value of lake-and-rail
transportation is considered. Deep
water transportation from the head
of the lakes to the ocean, with all
which that implies, would hardly have
been possible today if there had been
a race for armament such as the
Rush-Bagot agreement forestalled.
The agreement has shown remark
able vitality, which gives it added in
terest. During the Canadian revolu
tion of 1838 the British increased
their armament beyond the original
limits, for the purpose of defending
Canada against the incursions of the
so-called "patriots" from the Ameri
can side. Washington protested, and
in 1841 Congress authorized the con
struction of the side-wheeler Michi
gan, of 498 tons, carrying two eight
inch guns and four thirty-two-pounder
carronades. The Michigan was com
pleted in 1844, and Great J3ritain then J
protested. Meanwhile the danger of
uprising in Canada had passed. Desul
tory correspondence ensued and the
subject finally was dropped.
At the time of our Civil War condi
tions of 1838 were reversed. Secre
tary Seward early in 1865 gave Great
Britain six months' notice of the ab
rogation of the agreement, acting
without authority of Congress. Con
gress a month later, treating the con
vention as a treaty, formally repealed
it. But when the triumph of the
Union arms became certain. Secretary
Seward let it be known that Wash
ington was "willing that the conven
tion should remain practically In
force." He later wrote that his In
structions were "Intended as a with
drawal of the previous notice," and
that "It is so held by this Govern
ment." Thus an act of Congress was
set aside by the instructions issued by
our Secretary of State to a foreign
minister, and the spirit of the Rush
Bagot convention continues In force,
although conditions have vastly
changed. With the coming of steam
craft, our revenue cutters on the lakes
have grown both in tonnage and arma
ment far beyond the original limits,
and we now maintain a naval training
station on the lakes that would have
opened the eyes of President Monroe.
But the "tacit understanding" has sur
vived all the strain put upon it. The
border does not bristle with forts and
the people on either side dwell in
amity as neighbors and friends. The
centenary of this remarkable docu
ment Is worthy of observance because
of the singular vitality of its underly
ing spirit, and for the substantial re
sults which have flowed from it, far
beyond the intentions, or even the ex
pectations, of its framers.
RELIGION ON THE FIRING LINE.
While evidence accumulates that
experience on the firing line has not
created the intense spiritual exaltation
of the men which was predicted by
some at the beginning of the war, the
observations of a Presbyterian minis
ter who recently returned to his home
in Canada after long service as chap
Iain give comforting indications that
the effect of war upon the men has
not been unfavorable. His report is
reassuring because it contains no word
of sympathy for statements that vice,
intemperance ahd brutality are com
monplace, or even noticeable. He finds
compensations, from the churchman's
viewpoint, for the absence of the ex
pected great religious revival. He sees,
however, an almost boundless increase
in reverence, a sweeping away of the
lines of sectarianism and a growing
seriousness of mind and purpose which
bode ill for demagogues and petty
politicians at home after the war is
over. "Every public question and
every public man" says this ex-chap
lain, quoted in the Boston Transcript,
"will have to reckon with these young
men who have been thinking while
they fought."
Failure to attain the state of "spir
itual exaltation," however, does not
mean that religion has not gained in
its fundamentals. It has only ex
plained some things which the prophets
did not take into account. It is now
seen that working in the presence of
death "does not necessarily make men
change their ways, or even incline
them to forsake the habits of a life
time." The presence of death is not
of necessity an effective agency In
conversion. On the other hand, army
conditions do not militate against the
religious spirit. Those who were re
ligious when they joined the Army
carry their, religion right up to the
front-line trenches. They encounter
no scoffing on the part of their com
rades. Tolerance is being developed
in a high degree.
The two phases of the report of this
Canadian chaplain which stand cut
are the decline of sectarianism in the
narrow sense and the effect the sol
diers' experience is going to have on
the future political life of the country.
Of the first he says:
I have known the men- of an almost en
tirely Protestant battalion to object strenu
ously when they heard that their chaplain.
Roman Catholic priest, was llKeiy to no
removed. He had been with them In bat
tle, he bad knelt beside them when wound
ed, and when there waa no Protestant chap
lain Immediately available, ha had buried
their dead as tenderly aa their own. For
the same reason I have known a Roman
Catholic soldier to challenge any man of
another battalion to single combat because
some of them had spoken slightingly of their
chaplain, who was a Protestant.
And as to the consideration of do
mestic questions by these young men
who some day will be returning home:
The war is making them serious. They
have seen their comrades slain. They have
been face to face with death many a time.
To them the tinsel and gilding have been
stripped off many a hoary face which we
have borne with because our fathers bore
with It before us. . . . Many a laughing,
heedless boy Is coming back a aerloua-mlnd-
ed. Independent, self-reliant man, with more
Independence and self-reliance than per
haps hla father has attained at middle age.
These two facts, even to one who
considers the question from a church
man's viewpoint, promise definite com
pensation. Summed up, they mean
that there will be an all-around dis
carding of non-essentials, both as to
religion and politics. Much has been
gained when people have been taught
to regard serious questions seriously.
Their innate capacity to find a solu
tion can be trusted. It is only the
attitude of careless disregard, of ac
cepting the leadership of self-seeking
political and religious demagogues,
which can be regarded as dangerous.
This will be changed, so far as the
returning veterans of this war are con
cerned. And the home folks of the
coming generation will be compelled
to take them seriously or accept the
consequences.
MEN WHO GET ACTION.
An example of what can be achieved
by a big business executive in war
activities is to be found in the ease
with which Charles M. Schwab set
tled a question which had long vexed
the Emergency Fleet Corporation. In
one day he arranged for a supply of
steel ship plates which had been held
up for three weeks by inability of
other men to reach a decision. It Is
precisely in such things that the big
ness of a big business man consists.
He can see quickly the essentials of
problem which puzzles a smaller
man. He can see tne solution as
quickly, and he has the courage to
make a decision as soon as his mind
has worked It out, then to announce
It and to put it through, over other
men's arguments and objections. For
the sake of this promptness he is not
afraid to make an occasional mistake.
but when he makes one he is as
prompt to recognize and repair it.
The politician and tne mediocrity
are continually hampered by ulterior
considerations which have no connec
tion with the end in view. The poli
tician thinks how this friend or that
enemy will be affected, and his judg
ment Is, accordingly, clouded. Being
of smaller mental caliber, he does not
think quickly or accurately. His guide
being selfish expediency, not convic
tion and desire to do the job well
and promptly, his decisions are slowly
reached and easily changed. The bu
reaucratic . mediocrity, being subject
to similar influences and a creature
of rules and precedents, is equally slow
and irresolute, for he fears to decide
lest he decide wrong. He tries to
shirk the responsibility of decision by
passing it on.
For these reasons we may expect
a great speeding up of shipbuilding
with Mr. Schwab in charge. These
are the reasons why such men make
millions with no more expenditure of
time and effort than others expend in
making hundreds. They can make a
million-dollar deal with more ease
than others can buy a sack of peanuts.
Such men are wanted in Washington,
for the war is a gigantic manufactur
ing enterprise, without the products
of which our soldiers would be as
helpless as savages with bows and
arrows.
Another such man is John D. Ryan,
the new manager of the aircraft pro
gramme. He runs the great mines
and smelters at Butte, Anaconda and
Great Falls, also the great power
plants which supply them and the
Milwaukee railroad. The same quali
ties which enable him to manage those
enterprises can be applied with magic
effect to production of aircraft. He
would not commit the folly of stop
ping the manufacture of any machines
at all because he had learned how
they might be Improved. He would
go ahead with what he had in hand
until he was ready to substitute the
improved machine without material
loss of output.
With such men on the Job Von Hin
denburg does well to strike for a quick
decision, for by supplying the Ameri
can Army with all the implements
which will smother the Germans they
will soon destroy his last hope of win
ning. The Germans owe their success
and their long endurance largely to
the fact that they put Dr. Walter
Rathenau, who is that type of man, on
the job in the first month of the war.
Our Government's delay in using such
men is due to its failure to realize
that they alone could do the Job, or to
the delusion that a man could not be
a big business man and a patriot at
the same time.
The jimson weed, enemy of the
farmer of the South and the Middle
West, is achieving new dignity since
drugs became scarce In the United
States. It will be no less a nuisance
on the farm when it becomes widely
known - by its proper name, datura
stramonium, but knowledge that it Is
worth collecting for its medicinal vir
tues ought to help rid the country of its
presence. Its use in medicine is simi
lar to that of belladonna, most of
which was formerly imported from
Europe, whose markets are now closed,
and it is being employed as a substi
tute. The name "jimson" is an abbre
viation of Jamestown, and the weed
got its name because it was natural
ized in this country in Jamestown
Va., by the early settlers. Its old
habitat was Hindustan. It is said to
be profitable to collect and preserve it
for market, but not to cultivate it
under ordinary conditions of agricul
ture. Farmers would be glad to see it
exterminated.
The rule of the War Department
which prohibits the commissioning as
physicians of men who were born in
the countries with which we are now
at war, even though they may have
become naturalized citizens, presents
an anomalous situation. The same
men may be subject to draft, and thus
employed in a field of comparatively
limited usefulness, although a field in
which loyalty to the flag is equally
essential. The fact that there already
is a shortage of physicians for mili
tary service would seem to point to
the desirability of changing tne rule.
The citizen of alien birth is either fit
for service in the highest capacity of
which he is capable, or he should not
be permitted to serve at all. The
country has use for all of its highly
trained men. Physicians and soldiers
are both necessary, but it takes longer
to train the former than the latter,
and the time so'spent ought not to be
wasted.
A Michigan member of Congress has
introduced a bill to divide the year
into thirteen months of four weeks
each, but fails to take account of the
day and a few hours yet to be disposed
of. He would better leave tne caien
dar to the astronomers and use his
own time in disposing of more prac
tical affairs
Those who chafe at the restrictions
on sugar consumption should bear in
mind that Queen Elizabeth was con
tent to munch a bit of sugar cane on
gala occasions, and that only a few
hundred years ago sugar in any form
was unknown in the temperate zone.
The venture into the harbors on
the coast of Belgium makes Inspiring
reading, whether it was a complete
success or not, and contrasts strikingl
with the hit-and-run policy of the
German ships in their attacks on the
coast of England.
Turkey and Bulgaria may be ready
for peace with the entente, but appar
ently they are perfectly willing to go
on fighting among themselves. It isn't
the thought of fighting but the thought
of losing the fight that disturbs the
serenity of those Balkan belligerents.
The Summer time is a good time to
save coal for Winter use. The sug
gestion would be trite if it were not
for the fact that people do waste coal
even in warm weather. "Buy It early
and use it late" should be the motto
of the fuel consumer this year.
Among the two million men lost by
Germany, the 98,000 cripples and even
the 750,000 who have been able to
return to the front after having been
wounded, we fail to notice any one of
the name of Hohenzollern.
The farmer may not be getting any
thing out of the daylight-saving move
ment, but it ought to make him feel
less lonesome to know that his city
cousins are hearing the alarm clocks
along about sun-up nowadays.
The delay In the Austrian offensive
against Italy makes it look more and
more as if there might be something
in the stories about the war-wearinesa
of the dual monarchy.
As the liberty bond drive reaches its
close, citizens will not forget that sup
plies of thrift stamps and war savings
certificates are still to be had at the
same old stands.
The conscientious objector who ob
jects to picking up cigarette butts is
carrying his prejudice against deadly
weapons altogether too far.
A German authority estimates that
the country has lost two million men.
"Wasted" would be a better word.
There are worse things for a man's
credit than having It known that he
is paying a big income tax . . . .
The Peripterous."
Perlpterous A Structure Hatrlnrr Rrv
of Columns on All Side. Dictionary.
(Synopsis of preceding synopses.)
The Oregonlan. a great morning news
paper, employs a distinguished literary
architect to construct a perlpterous.
He does it- It has rows of columns oa
east. west, north and south.
The Peripterous becomea a Free Audito
rium for the expression of incompetent, lr,
relevent and immaterial opinion. Dew
verse and anecdotes.
DIARY OF A CONSCIENTIOUS
OBJECTOR.
April 1 The realization came to me
suddenly In the night. The thing that
has been troubling me is my con
science. I am conscientiously opposed
to war. Now I know why I did not
subscribe to the first or second lib
erty loans. I shall not subscribe for
the third.
April 2 Have resolved to aid In no
other way the prosecution of this ter
rible and wicked war.
April 3 Deliberately expressed my
opinions In the office today and was
summarily discharged. Feel better
now. The corporation I work for made
a profit on my employment and it pays
excess profits taxes for the prosecution
of the war.
April 4 Would have slipped up to
day but for a premonitary twinge of
conscience. Was about to go to a
movie when I saw the notice about
war taxes on admissions. Went to the
city park Instead.
April S Have stopped smoking, be
cause of the war tax on tobacco. Will
chew gum Instead.
April 6 Can't chew gum. There Is
a war tax on it.
April 7 Have been spending time
playing golf, but will have to quit.
Lost my last ball today, and there is
a war tax on golf balls. Thought some
of advertising for second-hand balls
purchased before the war revenue law
was passed, but decided 'to buy a fish
ing outfit instead.
April 8 Drat the luck. There is a
war tax on fishing rods.
April 9 Had to use laundry soap in
my bath today. Out of toilet soap and
there is a war tax on it,
April 10 Am getting Irritable. Sup
pose it Is due to deprivation of tobac
co. Am going to get even somehow.
Conversely, suppose I might as well
eat all the wheat 1 want, aa doing
without it helps the war.
April 11 Got a letter from home to
day. Folks are anxious. Haven't
written to them because of the war
increase in postage.
April 12 Can't find any restaurant
that Is not obeying food regulations.
Have got to find some way to live
without helping this war.
April 13 Just remembered that be
fore my conscience awoke I gave in
my Income tax report. Shall not pay
the tax. May have to go to jail.
April 14. Another anxious letter
from home today. Guess I better visit
them and explain. Maybe they will
feed me on wheat bread.
April 15 Can't go home. Find there
is a war tax on railroad fares. Think
1 will turn tramp and foot It to Mexico.
Will try to sell my real estate tomor
row and get a stake to take along.
April 16 Can't sell the property
without putting war revenue stamps
on the deeds. It's a monotonous life;
no job, no movies, "no theaters, no let
ters, no golf, no fishing, no friends.
Couldn't even get drunk, if I could
find a bootleeger, without paying war
revenue on the liquor. Wish 1 had a
smoke.
April 17 Spent the day reading
"Early Christian Martyrs." They
haven't anything on me. I shall go
down In history as the one conscien
tious objector who was true to his con
science. April 18 Am completely ostracised.
It is indeed a heavy cross I bear.
April 19 Think I shall end it all,
if I can find some way of doing it
without paying a war tax. There is a
war tax on drugs. will prooaDiy
starve, anyway. Am out of money, but
have plenty of security and can't bor
row without paying a war tax on the
promissory note.
April 20 It is villianous. There Is
a war tax on inheritances, can i sen
my property without helping the war.
Can't commit suicide without helping
the war. Can't wait till June for the
Government to put me in jail for not
navine- war tax. as I would starve in
the meantime and the war would be
helped by the inheritance tax.
It is a hick of a country. tnai win
not let a conscientious objector even
die with a clean conscience.
(The foregoing is a mystery story.
Thn last entry, yet to be published.
will tell how the conscientious objector
got out of his difficulty. The person
sending in the correct solution will bo
given, absolutely free, a Government
nnhlination on eradication of vermin.
Address all communications to the Lit
erary Architect, care .of me .feripi
terous.)
AI Falfa for Congress.
PENDLETON. Or., April 21. (To the
Architect of the Peripterous and the
People of the State of Oregon.) Al
though my friends have repeatedly
urged me not to do so, philanthropic
and patriotic motives impel me to offer
myself as a candidate for Representa
tive in Congress from the Eastern Ore
gon district.
My policies ana principles arc pre
cisely the same as those of A. vv. nec
hawtery, of Portland, whom I expect to
have as colleague.
In the prosecution or this great, war
shall hold up the Administration In
all It may think of doing. The super
efficient management which I shall in
augurate will make the Kaiser's head
swim and his heart sink. From the be
ginning I nave feared of the effect of
sending our heroic boys among those
pretty French girls. I am not afraid
to go myselt, nowever. as in a icw imp
utes I shall telegraph Congress lor a
commission as Drum Major. I am a
trained soldier, having been on the de
fensive against the world's greatest
strategist during 20 years of married
life. m ,
T favor suppressing tne curse oi al
coholic drinks. Let men curse some
thing else for a while.
I believe it expedient to give women
the ballot and everything else they
The unions have nothing to fear from
me, as I have always worn a union
suit.
I promise every man, woman and
child in the United States an automo
bile. This will curtail taxes.
Having been in jail a number of
times, I can use first-hand information
on matters of prison reform, and should
have the vote of every lawbreaking cit
izen. A vote for me means an education
for your son, a trip to the seashore
with lots of pretty girls in natty bath
ing suits, everything for the household,
from sticky flypaper to physic for the
cat, a full dinnerpail and an empty
bead. .
Give me the power to save you. Give .
me back the good name and repu
Hr. which I lost long ago, and the
blessings and benefits Indicated in my
platform shall be yours, even to m
very letter. Yessir! .Tt.
aV ,
J