THE SUNDAY OREG OMAN, PORTLAND, JULY 21. 1918.
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PORTLAND, 6CKDAT. JULY tU 11.
WORK OF THE WAR CONGRESS.
In the session which has been In
terrupted by the recess, Congress has
enacted a rreat code of war legisla
tion for which the work of the preced
ing session was in many respects only
preparatory, and In so doing It has
added enormously to the power of the
President and to the military effective
ness of the United States. It has well
nigh completed the legislation neces
sary to devote all the manpower and
all the material resources of the Na
tion to the single task of crushing Ger
man militarism.
The session began with a declara
tion of war on Austria-Hungary at the
call of the President. Congress was
ready to include Turkey and Bulgaria
also in this declaration, but withheld
action In deference to the wishes of
the President. War with the dual
monarchy has been followed by a
great increase In the financial and
material aid given to Italy, In the
sending of a first contingent of Amer
ican troops to that country and in an
Improvement of the morale of the Ital
ian army, all of which contributed to
the victory of Italy on the Plave and
in the Alps. We may expect that the
field of American operations will
widen to include the Balkan peninsula',
which would involve war with Tur
key and Bulgaria. . Only preoccupa
tion with the deliverance of France,
Italy and Belgium from the invaders
delays American participation in . the
Balkan campaign, with a view to the
emancipation of Serbia and Roumanla
and the isolation of Turkey from Ger
man aid. -
A revolution has been effected In
the economic life of the United States
by the law placing the railroads in
the hands of the Government for op
eration, and. by the one recently en
acted which makes like disposition of
telegraph, telephone, cable and radio
lines. Government price-fixing has
also been authorized and a large meas
ure of control has been established
over the ereat basic industries. The
Government has become the largest
buyer of steel, coal, oil, lumber, cop
per, zinc, textiles, it has taken a mo
nopoly of shipbuilding and it has for
bidden sale of ships to other nations.
An economical proportion of the popu
lation is employed directly or indirect
ly by the Government.
Laws to prevent and punish resist
ance or opposition to war activity fill
a large place in the work of the ses
sion. Penalties have been provided
for destruction of war material and
munition plants, for disloyal acts or
words, especially those designed to
obstruct enlistment and " the draft.
The espionage act has been extended
to women, and German women have
been registered. Lawless organizations
like the I. W. W. have been declared
unlawful, the German-American Alli
ance has been dissolved, teaching of
the German language In the "schools of
the District of Columbia has been for-
bidden, the . sale of German-owned
property has been ordered and en-
trance to and exit from the United
States has been restricted by revision
of the passport law. i
Constant expansion of the armed
forces has been provided by decision
that young men shall register for the
draft on attaining the age of twenty
one. The draft quota of each state
has been changed to the basis of class
I, instead of population. Organization
of a Slavic Legion, training of Latin
American troops In the United States,
Increase of the Navy to 131,486 and of
the Marine Corps to 76,500 men have
been authorized. There is general
agreement that age limits for the draft
should be extended, but action on that
subject has been postponed until after
the recess, when the Secretary of War
Is to present recommendations. Pro
vision has been made by treaty for
draft by this country and Great Britain
of their citizens in each other's ter
ritory, and measures have been taken
against alien slackers. - Civil rights of
soldiers and sailors have been protect
ed by establishment of a moratorium,
and provision, has been made for re
habilitation of those who return crip
pled. Money for war purposes has been
appropriated So liberally that any sum
smaller than a billion dollars seems
Insignificant. During the fiscal year
which opened on July 1 more than
$12,000,000,000 Is to be spent on the
Army, a billion and a half on the
Navy, eight . billions for artillery and
small arms, a second billion for air
planes, two and a half billions for
ships, in addition to fifty millions for
concrete ships, and a hundred millions
for housing Government employes, to
say nothing of such little matters as
twelve millions for the Food Admin
istration and eleven millions to stim
ulate food production.
All discussion and controversy In re
gard to the efficiency of our war prep
arations has ended In further addition
to executive power. Delay In produc
tion of arms, ammunition and aircraft
and deficfencles and defects in Army
cantonments were attributed by Sena
tor Chamberlain to lack of co-ordina
tion among departments and bureaus.
which could be secured only by estab
lishment of a War Cabinet exercising
supreme authority under direction of
the President. Mr. Wilson replied to
this criticism by co-ordinating func
tions and centralizing power under
his own direction without the inter
ventlon of a War Cabinet, so far as
the law permitted, and by asking for
unlimited authority to rearrange the
war agencies of the Government. He
was given It by passage of the Over
man law and was also given two addi
tional assistant Secretaries of War. He
skilfully countered on the Senate's
move to investigate the aircraft fail
ure by appointing his former rival for
the Presidency, Charles E. Hughes, to
conduct a full inquiry. Congress has
become thoroughly complaisant to
ward him.
As usual. Congress has not done as
well In raising money as in spending
It, and that is the reason for the long
session with a recess in the middle. It
authorized the third Liberty loan, also
the fourth with a maximum of $8,000,-
000,000. but shrank from the distaste
ful task of revising the miserable
patchwork of a war revenue law
which it passed last year, and it con
templated, an early adjournment. It
was sternly summoned to duty by the
President, and has set Its committees
to work during the recess to find
means of raising eight billion dollars a
year by taxation and of eliminating
profiteering, which the Federal TVade
Commission has exposed. It shows no
disposition to establish a budget,
though the President has called for it
and though the huge financial respon
sibilities of the war urgently require it.
War revenue, extension of the draft
age and water power will be the prin
cipal subjects of legislation after the
recess, with diversions in the Senate
to discuss and vote on woman suf
frage and immediate National prohi
bition. Even without these additions
the achievements, of the session haw
been so many and notable as to bear
witness to the industry and patriotism
of Congress.
A TIME FOR STRONG MEN.
The speech of Colonel Roosevelt at
Saratoga, from which liberal excerpts
are published in another column, is
the more worthy of attention because
on the day when it was delivered he
had received news that one of his
sons had been either killed or taken
prisoner in France and becanse all of
his sons are In the fighting forces.
Those facts are the best proof that he
is a 100 per cent American and that
his words come from his heart.
From the long hesitation which
preceded our entrance Into the war
and from our utter unreadiness when
we did enter, the American people
need to pay heed to certain things.
One is study of the records of men
who seek office and election only of
100 per cent Americans. The men
whom they send to Congress need to
be men of such sterling loyalty and
at the same time of such independent
character that, without regard to
party, they will stand by the Adminis
tration on every measure when It is
right and will speak out boldly and
set it right when it is wrong. They
should Insist that the war be continued
vigorously until Germany is over
whelmingly beaten and is forced to
liberate every nation which the Kaiser
has enslaved and to make full repara
tion for every wrong he has done.
.They should stand firmly . against an
inconclusive peace, which would but
be a breathing spell before another
war.
When Germany begins to realize
that she is being beaten and that the
longer the war continues the more
crushing will be her defeat, another
peace offensive will surely be started
and will find a response among the
fifty-fifty Americans and the camou
flaged Germans who have for the time
been silenced. That will be the time
when this Nation will need men of
unbending patriotism, clear foresight
and strong will in places of power to
Insure that this war shall so end that,
so far as Is., humanly possible, it shall
be the end of war. ' -.
We need also men who will make
sure that never again shall this Nation
be so utterly unprepared to defend its
liberty, and, with that, the liberty of
the world as was the case in April
1917. We have had a lesson in this
war which should be burned into our
hearts' and should be handed down in
full force to -our children. There
have been moments in the last few
months when the fate of democracy
the world over seemed to hang on a
hair, chiefly because this Nation was
unready, though warning had been
plainly given by the events of the last
few years.- Never again should this
Nation risk Its life and the life of
democracy in the world at large by
such heedlessness of danger. Now,
when the cloud seems to be lifting, is
the time to take that lesson home.
One of the greatest of the many
great services which Colonel Roose
velt has rendered to his country is
that he has never rested from lifting
up his voice in exhortation and warn
ing. Now, when all recognize the
truth of what he has said during the
last four years, the people again in
cline to him and heed him.
GERMAN A DEAD LANGUAGE.
Nothing short of profound contempt
for all the Institutions of a nation
which has placed itself without the
pale of civilization could have accom
plished the sweeping results noted in
the movement to discontinue the
teaching of the German language in
the schools of- the United States. A
recent survey made by John Walker
Harrington, the results o'f which arc
recorded In the New York -Times,
shows that instruction In the German
tongue has fallen off between 50 and
65 per cent in America since the war
began, and that by the opening of
school in September It will be near the
vanishing point.
Official action hostile to teaching
German has been taken either by state
or local authorities in thirty-six of
the forty-eight states of the Union
This is a three-fourths vote, but it
does not adequately measure popular
disapproved, because In the other
states the language Is disappearing
from currlculums through failure of
pupils to elect it. There Is already a
practically total absence of German
study In the elementary schools of
all the states. It is being dropped from
high schools except where students
are completing work for college
credits, and normal courses In the
Sumnfer schools this season were gen
erally abandoned for lack of applica
tions.
Efforts to Induce colleges and uni
versitles to withdraw credits for- Ger
man for entrance to the freshmen
classes have not been altogether suc
cessful, but it is plain that the Ger
man classes in institutions of higher
learning will be depleted by natural
methods within a few years. The
"language of Schiller and Goethe" is
being eclipsed by French and Spanish
in the cultural field and by these and
Russian and the Oriental languages
where the ruling motive of the stu
dent Is utilitarian. When Germany
elected to substitute "kultur" for cul
ture, It forfeited its right to a place
among the moral and Intellectual
leaders of the world.
Virtual abolition of the study of
German is not a mere ebullition of
chauvinism. A certain amount of
animosity toward all things Teutonic
was to have been expected as a result
'of German conduct, but the language
movement has a deeper foundation. It
is now realized that we have been
playing Into the hands of German
propagandists for a long while. For
illustration, the following passage
from the official quarterly of the
League for , Germanism in Foreign
Lands: . -. -
Work rendered. In the Interest or the
German school Is a noble service rendered
to the German nation, for the most effective
means of perpetuating Germanism in for
eign lands Is the school. Within its sacred
walls the strarrge land is transformed for
children and teachers and parents Into- a
fatherland.
It has required a National crisis to
awaken us to the fact that an attempt
was being made systematically to de
nationalize us. That is at the bottom
of the whole anti-German language
movement. We do not want to "per
petuate Germanism," since we have
discovered Just 'what Germanism
really is.
WHERE IS HE?
It would be interesting to discover
what has become of the dyed-in-the-wool
hobo who was so numerous only
few years ago. It is not probable
that he has been shamed into going
to work, for he has usually been im
pervious to moral suasion, and his
numbers have not been appreciably
changed by industrial conditions. - In
busy season and slack, he -used to keep
on the move, proud in his boast that
he never had worked and never would
work. -, -
But It is now clear that he has gone
somewhere for he no longer knocks
at back doors, he is missing from the
railroads and travel on the turnpikes
does not account for him. , For years,
particularly In the West, he was a
type, always lazy, always roving, but
not often criminal. His wants were
few, constant change of scene being
chief among them. Small communi
ties used to temporize, with him, be
cause it was cheaper to pass. him along
than to feed - him at. the public ex
pense.
But now he . has practically dlsap
peared, without leaving a trace behind
him.
TTTTrN'G MISFITS.
The new undertaking of the Young
Men's Christian Association, which
proposes to get at the bottom of the
problem of the human misfit, to read
Just the life of the man who is living
a "practically useless and non-efflclent
existence, as the news story expresses
It, and to equip him for a definite task
in the world, recognizes one of the
defects In the present educational
system and seeks to repair the damage
done before It is too late. One of the
world's sad sights, especially lit these
times when there are so many calls
to service, is the man who has failed
to find his niche. Not all such men
are lazy, and some even possess ambl
tion of a kind, but for one reason or
another they are out of Joint with the
times. They are employed in uncon
genial or unprofitable occupations,
they look bitterly upon those who
have succeeded where they have
failed, and .they attribute their own
shortcomings to every cause but the
right one.
In this effort the service depart
ment of the Y. M. C. A., of which Mr,
Acheson is the head, will not be much
guided by a standard literature. There
Is overproduction of books purporting
to tell mAi "how to succeed," and a
dearth of practical formulas offering
any definite promise of a cure. Effi
ciency seems to be a favorite topic
for the inefficient to write upon. The
how-to-succeed" books fail to help
the unfortunate to understand himself,
which they should do first of all; they
do not aid him In taking hold of a
tangible reality; they furnish no start
ing point. When a man with no par
ticular vocation, or a vocation for
which he is entirely unsuited, has
read one of them he is as much be
wlldered as before.
It is not uncommon to come upon
an advertisement in the Situations
Wanted" column of any newspaper,
In which the advertiser betrays lack
of aim in every line. There is often
a real tragedy in such a phrase as.
"Will some one give employment of
any kind to a willing young man?
Can do anything: is handy with tools.'
For the fact is, as any employer
knows, that "can do anything" means
can do nothing well enough to count.
and willingness alone does not atone
for utter lack of ability to do some
one thing well. Not many replies arc
received by advertisers of this class.
The employer who reads the column
usually has definite Ideas of what he
wants. He is not impressed. The
willing young man goes jobless, and
if he is tempted sometimes falls Into
a career of crime.
The world in normal times Is filled
with the type of young man who, if
he were thrown out of his present em
ployment, would not know what kind
of a Job to look for. When he left
school he took the first work that was
offered to him. It may have been
washing bottles, or driving a Jitney,
or wrapping parcels. His immediate
superiors have troubles of their own
and no pains Is taken with his further
training. He lacks initiative, and In
the first dull season he is laid off.
Subsequent experiences are repetitions
of the first. There comes a time when
he is a man with the working capacity
of a boy. Unemployment Is not al
ways the' gravest phase of his exist
ence. Sometimes he falls into a rut
in uncongenial work which he is
afraid to leave for fear that he will
starve,
The problem Is highly individual
and the first necessity is a eoncrete
system of self-analysis' under the dl
rection of vocation experts. It is pos
sible to learn more about a man than
he knows himself by some of the
modern methods in vogue. He will be
asked a series of questions seemingly
unimportant in themselves, but which
taken together will furnish a clew to
where the trouble lies. The experts
will want to know, if he had oppor
tunity to attend a prizefight, a lecture
on psychology or a minstrel show,
.which he would choose, and why. - It
will not necessarily be to his discredit
that he does not prefer the lecture.
He will be asked a good many ques
tions about his dissatisfaction with
his former employment. It may be
that he is a bookkeeper - who grows
so weary at his work that he cannot
plan ahead.after the day is done. It
may be, and it often Is, true that he
only needs physical training or spec
tacles that fit his eyes. Little things
have often proved turning points in
the lives of men. It is not enough
merely to send one to another "job,
for which he may be as unfitted as
he was for his last one. The plan
is to awaken his interest, to surprise
him into revealing the secret of hi
apathy, and then to lead him until he
has developed strength to walk alone,
A difficulty which confronts the vo
catlonal expert is the Inability of th
misfit to estimate, himself with even
approximate accuracy. Curiously
enough, the failures in life nearly al
ways think
that th0V hflVO flnntmanv AfV,, Aa-navmantm Hue I Man
everything needful to succeed; it is
hick that is against them. The scien-
tific vocational questionnaire sets traps
for such as these. "Would you rather
lead or follow In" an adventure?" Is
asked. The answer always is, "Lead."
Are you Intensely energetic?" Nine
answers out of ten are "Yes." Away
down on the list comes the question.
What do you do when you have
lelsVre time?" More than one "ener
getic" young man, who thinks he was
born to lead in Important affairs.
quite betrays himself by such an an
swer as "Rest." Self-candor, as dis
tinguished from morbid Introspection,
requires the element of surprise. But
It is believed that a set of questions
can be devised which at least will
furnish a working basis . for further
examination.
The self-analysis chart is an at
tempt to "seek back through a man's
life to a point where he made choices
naturally." The next step In the plan
is to enlist the aid of men of reason
able success and genuinely sympa
thetic nature In the vocation which It
is thought the "patient" should con
sider. All the data available are put
at the disposal of the selected friend.
At this point the scheme becomes a
kind of "big brother" movement, with
the practical advantage that a scien
tific diagnosis has been made before
the cure Is attempted.
Much will be accomplished if the
new department succeeds in awaken
ing in the misfit the spirit of the
emigrant, the confidence of the pio
neer. The emigrant one time in his
life cut loose from everything to which
he was accustomed and struck out Into
newi strange world. The misfit Is
asked to emigrate in a slightly differ
ent sense. If the spirit- of adventure
can be aroused in him, and the Inhi
bitions of the past removed, he will
have been in a sense reborn. It is not
altogether because the new is a land
of special opportunities that the eml
grant so often succeeds, but partly
because of changes . within himself.
The movement is fascinating In its
possibilities highly promising In the
hands of men, not too much given to
theorizing, and particularly interest
ing at this time because of the prob
lem which will confront the country
when the men of our Army return to
civil life. It would be a fine thing for
the country if demobilization could be
accomplished without adding to the
number of vocational misfits already
demanding consideration.
ARMY CHAPLAINS.
News that the second term of the
training school for Army chaplains Is
now drawing to a close at Louisville
will convey to a good many persons
for the first time the information thai
there is in the Army an educational
Institution devoted exclusively to fit
ting men for the peculiarly exacting
duties of this branch of the service.
Those who have had a vague notion
that the chaplain was chiefly a
preacher while In the Army, as he
may have been out of It, and that his
principal duties consist of holding per
functory services on Sundays and con
ducting burial rites for the dead, will
revise their opinions upon contact with
the facts. Not only the increase of
our regiments In numerical strength,
but growing realization of the value
of moral farces' in the making of a
good soldier,' has made the chaplain's
office Increasingly important.
As to the kind of man likely to
make an efficient chaniam, experience
has shown that he ought to be in gen
eral such a one as would' make a good
officer In another branch, with a cer
tain understanding of the mental and
spiritual needs of men substituted for
the other's technical military skill.
The indefinable quality which we call
"leadership" he must possess, as a
matter of course, and It is essential
that he shall be courageous and shall
inspire the confidence of his men. It
is rather necessary that he shall be
physically fit in the highest degree,
for he will be called upon to share
hardships common to the command.
He must be practically indefatigable,
for with our regiments of three thou
sand men and never more than two
chaplains to a regiment, there is al
ways a call upon his time and energy,
It is unnecessary that he shall be
either an eloquent pulpit orator or a
preacher of the evangelist type, but
he must possess the "solid virtues and
carry them in a way that arouses the
spirit of emulation. The right kind
of chaplain will have opportunities for
doing good such as are given to few
men in a lifetime. The perfunctory
one might better have remained at
home.
The list of virtues which are not
only desirable but essential would
seem to constitute a rather large
order to fill, but, fortunately, there
seems to be no lack of material. The
call" Is still heard, and the spirit of
consecration exists In Increasing abun
dance. It is so plain by this time
that this war Is a .deadly serious busi
ness that no man who is looking for
an easy berth is likely to offer him
self. Even the chaplain's Job is no
place for a non-reslstlng pacifist, and
more than one chaplain has already
given his life on the battle front. It
is not expected that he shall fight with
gun and sword, but he must be of the
type who the boys believe would
brave any peril for their sakes. The
kind, of chaplain whom the soldiers
like to shield from danger is the one
who does not ask them to do it.
The school for chaplains is sugges
tive in the respect that it points to
the need of special training for every
branch of service these days. There is
a technical Bide to pretty nearly every
thing, even a chaplaincy. And another
thought which obtrudes itself is that
the benefit is far from being onesided.
The -training and experience will
greatly Increase the capacity for use
fulness of the minister after peace is
restored. It will be a privilege to be
able, in the years to come, to address
some millions of men as comrades of
the great war, and these men will be
no more than human if some of them
do not listen Just a little more respect
fully to the preacher who has been
one of them. The chaplaincy in the
Army is not only an opportunity for
present service, but the open doorway
to a permanent career.
Until recently we associated the use
of the tractor In farming , with such
grains as wheat, oats, rye and barley,
but recent demonstrations In the corn
belt have shown that It Is valuable
there. - The fact tht the tractor Is not
regarded as profitable upon plantings
of less' than 130 acres, and that its
economies are most apparent where
the acreage exceeds 200, has had a
desirable tendency to cause increase
of planted areas. It is not difficult
to Induce a farmer to increase his
planting, where he owns the land,
where it can be shown that not only
his gross Income but also his profits
per acre will be considerably in
creased. One o the chief advantages
of the tractor In- the corn belt lies in
its superior ability to work in heavy
ground. It cannot supplant horses in
I greatly reduce the number required
J for the farm. It Is particularly en-
couraging to know that farmers gen
erally are mastering the mechanical
problems involved.
. . ; WAK TRAFSHOOTIXO.
Those German newspapers which
think American soldiers are using
shotguns In their raids because they
lack skill with the rifle will be unde
ceived when our wing shots get to the
front. An enthusiastic sportsman who
writes in the Scientific American says
that a shotgun in the hands of an ex
perienced quail hunter would "nail
every hjtnd grenade rising from a Ger
man trench and kick it back."
The grenade would be struck within
five yards of the throwing trench every
time and probably would explode to
the great discomfiture of the thrower.
Even the adept at clay pigeons, un
known angles, would find it a sport
ing 'proposition either hit the bomb
or be killed by It. And there are trap
shooters in nearly every community
who could make a hit nearly every
time.
The fly In the ointment Is the
"nearly." It would be a kind of sport
in which it would be fatal to miss.
JAMES BCCHANAJf AXD THE TJNIOX
A proposal to erect a statue to
James Buchanan, fifteenth President
of the United States, in Washington,
led to a sharp discussion In the Senate
recently on the motives and services
of Buchanan to his country, in, the
ante-bellum period, and provoked out
right assault on his loyalty by Senator
Lodge of Massachusetts, although the
scholarly representative of the New
England state later sought to modify
the gravity of his accusation by the
statement that the disloyalty was in
his acts and not In his intent, dis
tinction which he did not make entirely
clear, possibly because it does not
exist. An able and thorough, if not
entirely convincing, defense of -Bu
chanan was undertaken by Senator
Knox.. of Pennsylvania the state from
which Lincoln's predecessor came.
It is curious and instructive to note
that the debate was confined entirely
to Republican Senators. Just as many
of whom arrayed themselves on Bu
chanan's side as assailed him. The
Democratic Senators remained silent;
but It must have been a source of sat
isfaction to them that to the President
who closed the long era of National
control by the Democratic party be
fore the continuous Republican Inter
regnum which ended only with the
election of Cleveland in 1S84 there
was an attempt to do historic Justice)
by many members of a party opposed
to him. The resolution " to perml:
placing of the statue, from funds be
queathed by Harriet Lane, a niece of
Buchanan, was adopted by a vote of
51 to 11, of whom all the latter were
Republicans but one Hitchcock of
Nebraska.
The controversy over Buchanan at
another time would have excited great
Interest, and probably have revived
something of the rancorous dispute
throughout the Nation which has al
ways attended consideration of his
record. But the newspapers, owing
doubtless to press of war news, gave
it but little space and the decision of
the Senate was accepted quietly, prob
ably with the thought by the public
that it is well to bury forever all per
sonal and political resentments 'over
the civil" war and Its causes. Yet It
may be doubted if a plan to memo
riallze In Congress the life and career
of Jefferson Davis, conspicuous as
they were even before the great Na
tional breach, would now be so
piaciaiy received; nor is there any
sign that it will be attempted.
Senator Lodge's address was a cita
tion of many biographical authorities
and of official documents, with the
testimony of publlo men who had a
share in the disturbing; events of the
late days of the fifties. Buchanan
had had a long, honorable and even
distinguished public record before his
election to the Presidency In 1856. He
was born In Pennsylvania in 1791. so
that he was 65 years old when he was
made President, oldea than any other
before or since except Jackson in his
second term. In his early days he
was a federalist, but he became a
Democrat, had legislative experience,
was elected Representative In Con
gress, was minister to Russia, then
U. 8. Senator for ten years, until made
Secretary of State under Polk-
period that covered the Mexican war
and the Oregon question. fn1853 he
was nominated by Tierce minister to
Great Britain and there he signed the
Ostend manifesto, proposing the pur
chase, or if necessary the conquest, of
Cuba by the United States. It was a
project highly pleasing to the South
ern Democracy, then engrossed In its
schemes of territorial extension to
preserve the National balance in the
interest of slavery. It led to his
nomination and election as President.
During peaceful times, James Bu
chanan might have been a capable
President. But in the storm that
broke over slavery, his hand at the
tifler was too feeble to steer the ship
of state Into calm waters. No one
indeed could have done it by concilia
tion or negotiation; but the thought,
training and affiliation of Buchanan
identified him with the Southern De
mocracy, and in the development of
the National consciousness against
slavery and the National will for the
Union, he was not able to maintain
either himself or sustain his party in
power. Buchanan, a lawyer, and
very able one, was a strict constitu
tionalist; and his interpretation was
in accord with the great body of le&al
opinion of the time, which found war
rant for human slavery, and for state
rights, and failed to regard the Fed
eral power and interest as supreme
The favorite theory was that the Fed
eral Government and the state gov
ernments represented co-ordinate and
harmonious sovereignties, each su
preme in its own field; but in the end
the attempt to define the separate
jurisdictions of the two necessarily
broke down. Buchanan was for the
Union, however. There is no reason
able doubt of It- He declared in his
last, annual message,- and In other
public expressions, against secession
and he had undoubtedly an earnest
conviction that the Union should be
preserved. But he took the anomalous
position strange now, but familiar
then, and shared, by a very large num
ber of publlo men and other citizen!
that while a state had no right to
secede, the Federal Union had no right
or power of coercion against secession.
This was the central thought of his
famous farewell message In 1860, af
ter Lincoln had been elected, and
while Buchanan was the Presidential
locum tenens.
"I think." said Senator Seward
"that the President has proved two
things: (1) that no state has a right
to secede unless it wishes to; and (2)
that It is the President's duty to en
force the law unless somebody op
poses him."
President Buchanan, facing the re
volt of South Carolina, had received
, from that state a demand to turn over
the National property within the star
limits, and he had declined, with some
show of firmness, and with a declara
tion of purpose to execute the laws.
It was here that Buchanan, who had
followed the general course defined
by the secession members of his Cabi
net Lloyd, Cobb, Thompson broke
away and Joined with Black, Dix,
Holt and Stanton, who were for the
Union. Meanwhile General Cass, Sec
retary of State, had resigned in sheer
disapproval of the December message,
which Indeed pleased neither North
nor South; and the Southern members,-
too, left, and the President con
tented himself with a policy of mark
ing time - until President Lincoln
should relieve him. Meanwhile, he
had suffered his disloyal Secretary of
War to divert a great part of the Na
tional properties to the South an act
which was probably without Buchan
an's knowledge, or at least without a
thorough appreciation of Its intent.
Senator Knox's defense of Bu
chanan was largely a reproduction
of the approving Judgment of various
commentators his biographer, George
Tlcknor Curtis, a New Englander,
chief among them and a showing
that the Buchanan course was pre
cisely the policy proclaimed and
adopted by -President Lincoln in the
early days of his administration. He
was anxious to avoid civil war, and
so was-Lincoln; he was willing to con
ciliate the South if possible, and so
was Lincoln: and he was determined
not to be the first to shed human
blood, but so was Lincoln. It is not
to be forgotten that so great a voice
of the Republican party as Horace
Greeley would have "let the way
ward sisters depart in peace." and
there was a powerful sentiment every
where to avoid war. Senator Knox
was able to make a remarkable case
for Buchanan, quoting many strong
expressions for the Union and even
for the assertion of the Federal power,
But Senator Lenroot countered with a
quotation from Buchanan's anomalous
December message and another from
Lincoln's Inaugural address. Said
President Buchanan:
Without descending to particulars. It mar
be safely asserted that the power to make
war against a state is at variance- with the
whole spirit and Intent of the Constltu
tlon. Suppose such a war should result in
the conquest of a state; how are we to gov
ern it afterwards? Shall we hold It as
province and govern It by despotic power?
In the nature of things, we could not by
puysical force control the will off the peo-
pie ana compel tnem to elect senators ana
Representatives to Congress and to perform
all the other duties depending upon their
own volition and required from the free
citizens of a free state as a constituent
member of the Confederacy, But It we
possessed this power, would It be wise to
exercise It under existing circumstances?
The object would doubtless be to preserve
the Union. War would not only present the
most effectual means of destroying It. but
would banish all hope of its peaceful re
construction. Besides, in the fraternal con
flict a vast amount of blood and treasure
would be expended, rendering future recon
dilation between the states Impossible.
Said President Lincoln:
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow
countrymen, and not In mine, la the mo
mentoui Issue of civil war. The Govern
ment will not assail you; you can have no
conflict without being yourselves the sg-
gressors.- You have no oath registered In
heaven to destroy the Government, while
1 shall have the most solemn one to "pre
serve, protect and defend it.
There can be no doubt about the
meaning and intent of Lincoln, which
was to throw the onus of war upon
the South, but to resist with force;
while the Buchanan declaration was
a plain invitation to secession.
It has been said that It is unfair to
weigh Buchanan and his administra
tion in the clouded and hostile light
of his time or by the partisan Judg
ment of his critics. It is true. It is
Just to remember, however, in any at
tempted parallel between his policies
and Lincoln's, that Lincoln was elected
In protest against the purposes and
principles of the party which elected
Buchanan, and with the avowed de
sign of defeating and reversing them.
It was inevitable that a President
elected as Buchanan was, and sur
rounded as Buchanan was by repre
sentatives of the South, should be in
harmony with the general Intent of
his party unless he was willing to
break with the leaders and confound
the democracy. He did neither. He
sought a middle course, and he failed.
Andrew Jackson rose to his full stat
ure as a President and as a loyal de
fender of the Union and supporter of
his oath when he struck nullification
dead in the designed secession of
South Carolina at the "threshold of
treason" he called It. 'Buchanan as
Senator was a firm and effective fol
lower and adviser of Jackson; yet he
profited nothing by the example of
the Illustrious Democrat.
The strength, of the Liberty motor
does not lie in adaptability to every
kind of aircraft, but in the fact that
It Is machine-made and standardized,
making quantity production possible.
It is In this field that Americans excel.
Nothing is gained by making extrava
gant claims' which cannot be Justified
by events. The truth about the Lib
erty motor Is good enough.
We can sympathize with the Rus
sians who are reported to be suffering
from a famine in shoes. At the rate
they are rising in price In this country
only shlpworkers and millionaires will
be able to buy them before long.
There will be Joy among the ban
tams over the ruling which lets men
five feet tall Into the Army. If sol
diers were measured by the Inch. Na
poleon never would have been heard
from.
Write cheerful letters to the boys In
the trenches, or else don't write. If
they can endure trench life, the people
at home have no troubles to tell them
that are worth mentioning.
It need not be forgotten that every
day Is still thrift stamp day. When
in doubt about what to do with a
quarter, buy a thrift stamp. If still in
doubt, buy another. .
The confirmed loafer is finding It
more and more difficult to keep from
working. It is a Jolt to some fellows
to find that even money will not save
them.
The long-expected "surprise blow"'
on the .western front was a surprise,
all right, but pot the kind the Crown
Prince thought it was going to be.
Turkey and Bulgaria quarreling over
the spoils of war furnish a fine ex
ample of counting chickens before
they are hatched.
Rain has been falling at various
places several hundred miles around
Portland, but the city remains an Is
land of drought.
A good way to tickle the vanity of
a middle-aged man is to -ask him for
his registration card.
"Wnale pot roast" sounds better
when we have read on to "ten cents a
pound,
The Peripterous.
Pertpterous A Structure Having R"
of Columns on All Sides. Dictionary.
(Synopsis of preceding synopses.)
The Oreconlan. a great morning news
paper, employs a distinguished literary
architect to construct a peripterous.
Ke does It- It has rows of columns on
east. west, north and south.
The Peripterous becomes a Free Auano
um for che expression of incompetent. Ir
relevant and immaterial opinion, new
verse and anecdotes.
TOO TRUE TOO TRCPi.
Oh, McAdoo, oh. McAdoo.
is there anything else that you can
do?
Liberty bonds we get from you.
For war-tax drags vou arlve the cue.
We cannot ride on the fast choo-choo
Without the consent of MoAdoo.
Oh, McAdoo, oh. McAdoo.
is mere anything else that you can
do?
Woodrow's captain, you're the crew.
All or his orders you put through.
Tou give us the pep and we kerchoo!
Oh. W. S. a McAdoo.
Ob, McAdoo. oh. McAdoo,
is mere anything else that you can
doT
When the kid waked up with a loud
boo-hoo.
Say. dldja walk the long night through?
If you ne er did that, for you, pooh-
pooh !
You don't know what work Is, McAdoo.
JOB,
e e
THAT PUZZLIXO FREXCH.
It was on the Associated Press cir-
cult and war news was on the wire:
"Elite German armies are engaged
e
"Hnw many German armlesT"
-ELITE."
"How many is that?" editor asks.
"How do I know? Send a message."
see
PAT IS PriZLED.
"Ireland Is bitterly opposed to con
scrlptlon." News Item.
A quart thing I'm seein the rr.orntn".
And faith. I can't think that Its
rolKht;
The hidlines the paypers adornln
That Irlshniln don't want to folght.
Sure. Ireland's proudest tradition
Is "ffflsrht at the dhrap of the hat";
For foightlng is is our ambition.
No schpalpeen can bate us at that.
Why.' aven the cats of kllkenny
Fought till they Intirely were gone;
You're knowln' that there wasn't any
To carry the scrlnimagih on.
Amerlky now is a nation.
The peace-lovln' wan on the map,
A country wid no reputation
For schtarting a bit of a scrap.
But dhrafted mln, lauerhln" and Jokln.
A soight that Is good for sore eyes;
Their friends, tho wld grafe they are
chokin",
A waving thim schmllin' good-byes.
They've tackled the Job, and they'll
do It
Widout any whlnln' or fuss.
And har-red as it Is they'll go through
it
Are Yankees, then, braver than us?
I'll ntver. no nlver belave it,
Whatlver the paypers they say
That bllssed old Ireland. God save it.
Is shirking her Juty today.
Addle Antrim Snook. RIdgefield.
Wash.
The Practical Mind.
A correspondent who signs the name
Equal Rights" writes to say that, as
one who has to do all his smoking in
the garage on one day of the week in
order that the color and natural odor
of the lace curtains in the house may
be preserved, he Is opposed t smoke
less Tuesdays. "If worst comes to
worst, and it couldn't be much worse."
remarks Equal Rights, "let s make It
Sunday." -
Bat tbe Flsb. AVaa Not Ssreetnei.
He worked hard and earnestly to put
Portland "over the top" in the liberty
loan. Red Cross and other drives. Em
ploys labor and encourajtes it In every
way to economise and buy war bonds
and stamps. The Government had re
quested abstemiousness In the use of
sugar, but this was two weeks before
they took the sugar bowl away from
us. His lunch consisted of:
One glass of iced tea.
One small piece of fried halibut.
One dish of rice over which had been
poured a sweetened sauce.
One large slice of layer cake with a
very sweet filling.
One section (one-quarter) of sweet
ened berry pie-
Two thin ellces of bread with one
mall pat of butter.
Four heaping teaspoonf uls of sugar
went into the tea, followed by the Juice
from a quarter section of lemon. This
was left lightly stirred and. as sugar
melts slowly in a cold liquid, most of it
remained in the glass.
Five spoonfuls of sugar went on top
of the sweetened rice and four more on
the berry pie. The cake and fish man
aged to escape. G.H.
OVIl HAIR-TRIGGER. POETS.
It was Thursday evenlnar. The news
of the great American offensive was
still hot. It was also the time of the
regular monthly meeting of the Socie
ty for the Suppression of War Poetry.
The discussion turned to the deplor
able state of unpreparedness In which
the war found this otherwise great and
glorious nation. It was freely admitted
by the few undismayed and still coura
geous members of the society encaged
In this noble undertaking that the gen
eral state of unpreparedness had not
extended to the poets. They were
ready.
Almost at the Instant that this prop
osition went to unanimous vote, a epe
clal messenger brought In the follow-.
lng from Mr. Louis C Miller. It had al
ready been endorsed and approved by
the National Board for the Suppression
of the Metric System.
PERSHING'S DRIVE.
Oh! listen to my story.
It will not take long to tell.
How the Kaiser In his glory.
Saw the lurid fires of Hell.
When Pershing bucked the
Una.
Like a peacock on its perch.
Sat the Kaiser on his throne.
He was Lord of all creation.
Claimed the universe for his own,
When Pershing bucked the line.
There was neither parley nor old guff;
The drive it started and ended
mighty quick.
Bill the Kaiser, he had to stand the
gaff;
And I'm telling you it made him aw
ful sick,
When Pershing bucked the line.
Now the Kaiser he Is happy.
In his cottage by the sea.
But he often does get snappy,,
When telling of the power h
to be,
Before Pershing bucked the line.
FUslsg aa Usual.
ABERDEEN. S. D. John P. Smull.
editor of the Summit Independent. Is a
sportsman and a lover of Nature, and
all that, but he questions If a recent
fishing expedition taken by him paid
In dollars and cents. Smtill belongs to
an organization known as "The Truth
ful Fisherman's Society," and submits
the following report: Cost of trip,
(5.50; fish caught, bass. 0; pike, 0;
pickerel, 0; croppies. 0: perch, 2;
weight of fish. 1 pound; value of fish;
10 cents; miles rowed, 800. Publishers'
Auxiliary.