THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JULY 20, 1919.
ESTABLISHED BI HEXBI L. PITT OCR.
Publlsn-sd by The Oregonian Publishing Co..
135 Sixth Street. Portland. Oregon.
C. A. iIOR.Ii EN. B. B. f IPER.
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Conklin, Steger building. Chicago: Verree &
Conklin, Free Press building, Detroit. Mich.
Ban Krancisco representative. R. J. BIdwelL
TRYING TO FOOL THE FARMERS.
In the Portland rate case, as in any
litigation, one can judge of the
strength, or weakness of a person's
case by the character of the state
ments and arguments which he puts
forward. That being so, the state
ments made by an attorney for the
Seattle chamber of commerce in an
interview in the Seattle Times give
Portland good grounds for confidence.
While Seattle is conducting an in
dustrious propaganda among the pro
ducers of the Columbia basin, this
attorney says that Portland is doing
precisely the same thing and is lead
ing the wheat growers "to believe
that this is a fight for lower freight
rates." He says 'that is not the issue
at all," but that "what Portland wants
is not rates which are lower in and
of themselves, but which are lower
than the rates to Puget Sound, and
she would regard this case as having
been won if this were brought about
by raising the rates to Puget Sound."
He proceeds to contend that a dif
ferential in rates "would undoubtedly
be very detrimental to the people of
the inland empire," for "in most in
stances the wheat dealers and jobbers
in Portland would simply meet the
prices of their competitors in the
Sound cities and pocket the differ
ence in freight rates."
Portland does not ask that the rates
from the inland empire to the sound
be raised, and the railroads are de
barred from making that request, for
their officials admitted in testifying
in former rate cases that existing
rates to the Sound were calculated on
the basis of cost of service over the
mountain roads. Portland asks that
the rates to Portland be based on the
cost of service by the Columbia river
roads, which can be proved beyond
dispute to be lower than that by the
mountain roads.
In saying that this adjustment
would not benefit the wheat grower
because the Portland dealer would
pocket the difference between Port
land and Seattle rates, the attorney
assumes that the farmer of the inland
empire is ignorant of the elementary
facts about the market for his own
products. The price of wheat is fixed
at Liverpool, not at Portland, and the
farmer is paid that price less the cost
of getting it from the farm or the local
elevator to Liverpool. That cost in
cludes rail freight to Portland, cost
of handling here, ocean freight and
insurance to Liverpool. As these
items of cost are known factors, the
dealer has no chance to "knock
down" the difference in rail freight,
and he would pay the farmer the bal
ance after deducting those items. In
order to compete with him, the Se
attle dUer would pay the same price,
whicfl would be the net price of wheat
on the farm or at the country ele
vator. The farmer pays the freight,
and he .would receive any saving of
freight that would be effected by
lower rates down the Columbia river.
"The people of this state" (Wash
ington) are told by this attorney that
they "have had good reason for being
proud of the enterprise shown by the
railroads which operate between the
inland empire and Puget sound." The
people of the Puget sound cities have
much cause for pride, but they are
by no means all of the people of
Washington.
The people of the inland empire
have no cause for pride at receiving
a low price for their products in con
sideration of shipping them to Puget
sound ports rather than to Portland.
Vancouver feels no pride at seeing
products of eastern Washington hauled
over the North Bank road right past
its docks to the sound at the same
rates as would be paid if they were
unloaded at Vancouver.
There is no perceptible cause for
pride in the fact that the public serv
ice commission of Washington has
taken up the fight to perpetuate the
present rate adjustment for the profit
of Puget sound ports and to the loss
xf the eastern Washington producers
and the. port of Vancouver.
The Northern Pacific and Great
Northern roads may take pride in
having made the O.-W. R. & N. road
party to an arrangement by which
large proportion of the latter road's
traffic is diverted to its competitors
end from its own deep water terminus
to Puget sound ports, but the O.-W.
K. & N. can surely take no pride in
having been inveigled into such an
arrangement.
In fact, the feeling of pride among
the people of Washington and among
the railroads concerned must be mixed
with anger tn the ratio of about 50-50.
When the hearing begins, we shall
see which are proud and which are
angry.
RECLAIMING CRIPrLED CHILDREN.
Dr. Abraham Jacob!, who died in
New York recently at the age of 89,
deserves more than a passing eulogy
because of the pioneer work he did
for children. He was the first man
in the United States to hold a chair
of pediatrics in a medical college, and
one of the first to interest himself in
a large way in the reclamation of
deformed little ones. Practically all
that" has been accomplished in this
direction has been done since he es
tablished this important branch of
medical science in New York Medical
college in I860.
Probably there is a not remote con
nection between the setting up nearly
sixty years ago of a special depart
ment for the study of children's needs
and the Oregon law which provides
for state aid for sick and deformed
-children whose parents are unable to
pay for treatment. This law. which
was enacted by the 1917 legislature,
and is recorded in chapter 145 of the
general laws of that year, provides
the method by which any school offi
cer or teacher or any physician by
filing a petition with the county judge
may initiate proceedings under which
a physician designated by the court
shall report on the probability of
affording relief. If reasonable hope
is held out. the child may be sent to
a hospital under the direction of the
medical college of the University of
Oregon. It is provided that no com
pensation shall be allowed for medical
or surgical services, and that neces
sary hospital expenses shall be paid
for by the county. Experimentation
is expressly forbidden.
Results from operation of similar
laws in other states indicate that more
than 90 per cent of children treated
have been made self-supporting. Ex
istence of the law, which is not as
widely known as it ought to be, inci
dentally also illustrates the situation
of a large middle clas" with respect
to medical attention. Those who are
well able to pay do not need the law
to help them, and the indigent are
generously provided for. But the attorney-general
has held that there is
no warrant for payment. of part of the
cost by parents or guardians who are
able to do so. The humanitarian re
sult achieved probably would warrant
parents unable to pay the entire bill
in availing themselves of the privilege
bestowed on the indigent. But there
are considerations of pride, which are
reluctantly overcome, that make this
difficult. But every crippled child is
entitled to its chance, and it is to be
hoped that this chapter of the law
will not be suffered to go unnoticed
by any who need its benefits.
A REAL FATHERS' DAT.
Representative Snell of New Tork
has encountered opposition to his
resolution calling on the president to
designate the third Sunday in June as
Fathers' day." Protests are chiefly
directed, however, at selection of
Sunday rather than a week day, there
being a large body of opinion to the
effect that father deserves a holiday
of his own, and that Sunday would
be chiefly observed by him in his
usual occupation of bathing, fixing
the furnace and cleaning up the back
yard.
If he. is to be signally honored, as
all will agree he deserves to be.
something distinctive in days is de
manded. The resolution, which also
nominates "roses of any color as em
blematical of the day and thought,"
has gone to the library committee,
which bodes ill for it. The library
committees of congress are notorious
for inaction and as repositories of
measures that the members wish to
lose sight of without the formality of
negative votes.
VACATION LAND.
The federal forest service, in calling
official- attention to the "ideal vacation
land" which exists in the national
forests of the country discloses a fact
not as widely known as it ought to
be, that these great spaces are not
only not fenced against the public,
but invite the presence of all who can
use them. "The only signs you will
find," says a recent forestry announce
ment, "are those which point you on
your way or ask your co-operation in
preserving the beauty and value of
these recreation grounds and their re
sources." Firearms are not barred
and hunting and fishing are restricted
only to the requirements of state game
laws.
Necessary firewood and forage are
made available and the government
seeks in every possible way to
make camping popular and inexpen
sive. This is part of the national
movement for better health, and it
fits nicely into the see-America-first
scheme. The forests of the Pacific
northwest are particularly accessible,
and when their beauties are known
they ought to attract not only the
people at home but many tourists from
other states.
AMERICAN PHYSICAL STANDARDS.
The first adequate physical survey
of the people of the United States was
made possible by the recent draft, and
the report of the surgeon-general of
the army presents some illuminating
data on this topic. Exaggerated state
ments as to the unfitness of Americans
as a whole for military duty -are cor
rected by the report. Thus it is shown
that of the 2,510,000 men between the
ages of 21 and 31 who were examined
by local boards, 730,000, or 29.1 per
cent, were rejected on physical grounds.
But the showing is not so bad as many
had supposed it would be, and it is not
particularly serious in the case of a
people bent chiefly on the practice of
the peaceful arts.
The major cause of rejection was
flat feet, an affliction that strikes one
man in every five. The significance
of this in civil life may be small. Men
with flat feet make exceedingly useful
members of society, although their
presence among combatant troops de
pedent for their efficiency upon a high
degree of mobility, may be embar
rassing. The same thing is true as
to defects of the sense organs, and, as
the surgeon-general says, "the stress
of struggle, work and excitement on
the battlefield requires a degree of
perfection of heart action and inner
vation that is rarely demanded in civil
life." On the other hand, the nervous
and ..mental group, and also tuber
culosis and the symptoms of the so
called social diseases are a handicap
to the everyday citizen. These do not
constitute a large proportion of the
total causes for which drafted men
were rejected.
The relative healthfulness of city
and rural life is not conclusively deter
mined by the report. It will surprise
most persons to learn that the social
diseases are more common among re
cruits from the rural districts. Drug
addiction is much more prevalent in
the cities. Defects of vision are
much more common in the large
cities. This is accounted for on the
theory that the races having con
genitally weak eyes are much more
likely to settle in the large centers.
A revelation is that tuberculosis was
strikingly uncommon among recruits
from New York city, notwithstanding
overcrowded conditions of housing.
Nature works in its own way to save
the race. The report suggests that the
small amount of tuberculosis and ton
silitis among recruits from the con
gested districts indicates a highly
resistant population. probably ren
dered immune through crowding
either in preceding generations or the
present one.
Nevertheless, the charts accompany
ing the report indicate that country
life upon the whole tends to greater
physical fitness. The states which
appear in white, indicating that they
sent the largest percentage of fit men,
are all mainly farming states, except
Pennsylvania, with its mines and
manufactures, but this state has a
large American population. It will not
be easy to understand why the moun
tain states of Montana and Idaho
shouBd, with Maine, in the extreme
northeast, and Florida in the extreme
southeast, be printed in black, denot
ing the largest percentages of rejec
tions. Clearly there is something yet
to be done in the way of analysis of
the figures. The proportion of men
with defective vision is six times as
large in Massachusetts as in Oregon.
Arkansas leads the list of states in
prevalence of tuberculosis, and Ar
kansas is commonly regarded as a
state where people lead an outdoor
life. Drug addiction Is commonest in
Florida, with New York second, and
It is least common in Pennsylvania.
Oregon, as has been told before, stands
at the head of the honor roll as re
gards venereal infection.
We are by no means a decadent
people. The statistics, though they
point to certain precautions, are heart
ening as a whole. We shall not worry
much, for example, over the number
of rejections for "underweight." Small
men sometimes even have the advan
tage in civil employment. About 48
per cent of all those rejected for every
cause were practically unhandicapped
in their ordinary work. We know, of
course, that those who were accepted
were a fine body of men. The stand
ard for the people as a whole is higher
than the early pessimists would have
had us believe.
MAKING WORLD SMALLER.
The ultimate meaning of the pro
jected tunnels under the English chan
nel and the strait of Gibraltar is in
dicated by a trade map recently
printed which shows that they will
reduce the distance between London
and Rio de Janeiro to 519 6 miles, by
comparison with 5621 miles from New
York to the same Brazilian port. The
obstacles are chiefly political, as cost
of the Gibraltar tunnel, estimated at
J3S. 000.000, is not prohibitive.
From Ceuta, Morocco, to Dakar,
which would be made the steam
ship terminal, is 1800 miles, and
the railway would traverse 750 miles
of Spanish zone, which is a task to
which diplomats rather than engineers
must address themselves. Spain, how
ever, has profited immenselj by her
neutrality and is expected to finance
the construction of the entire line
through her own territory. Since the
line would also lay the foundation for
a short route to the Congo and the
Cape of Good Hope, the entire cost,
$160,000,000, would not 'be excessive
In comparison with benefits obtained.
WHAT WOULD 'WASHINGTON DO?
Opponents of a league of nations
never weary of quoting warnings by
Presidents Washington, Jefferson and
Monroe against alliances with Euro
pean nations and against meddling
in the affairs of Europe, as though
they applied to the present situation
and should be conclusive against the
league. It is no reflection on the
wisdom of these early American
statesmen to say that what was true
of the America and Europe of a cen
tury ago Is not true today or that
the policy which was wise then would
not be wise today.
To go back an even century, in
1819 the United States was a republic
of lees than 10,000,000 people, and
the other American republics were
Just struggling into life by rebellion.
This nation was engrossed in settling
and developing Its own territory, and
had neitfcer energy nor power to take
a leading part in the affairs of the
world in general. There was no cause
for it to do so, for Europe was as
willing to let it alone as it was to let
Europe alone. The only serious sign
of a different disposition on the part
of Europe was given by the holy
alliance when it threatened to recon
quer Spain's rebellious colonies, but it
drew back when Monroe proclaimed
his doctrine and Great Britain ex
pressed readiness to back him.
In 1819 Europe had nothing In
common with this country politically.
Switzerland was then the only repub
lic. Great Britain was a constitutional
monarchy but with so narrow a fran
chise that it was practically an oil
garchy. and all other countries were
ruled more or less absolutely by kings
and emperors. When they did inter
vene on behalf of people struggling
for freedom, like the Greeks, motives
of imperialist policy governed and re'
stricted the area set free. The theory
that might was right prevailed, there
fore Americans did not care which
party won a war.
In every respect the conditions
which prevail in 1919 are in direct
contrast to those of 1819. Autocracy
has been extinguished in Europe, and
the monarchies which survive are so
in name only, for in them the people
rule as fully- as in a republic. In
order to find any, surviving autocra
cies, we must go to remote parts of
Asia and Africa. Our participation
In the war has been largely instru
mental in bringing to life the new
republics of Poland and Czecho
slovakia, and Poles and Czechs re
turned from this country have taken
the leading part In organizing them.
This country wfes forced into the war
by a direct attack of the worst autoc
racy, has poured out blood and money
in helping Europe to win or preserve
its freedom, and Europe looks to it
as the great power which will protect
democracy from revival of autocracy.
Europe's position toward America
has changed, but 'so has America's
position toward Europe. Our popu
lation has grown in a century from
ten to one hundred millions, and our
national wealth exceeds that of all
the European allies combined. Al
though the war was fast becoming
world-wide we tried to hold aloof,
but failed, for the head of the leagued
autocracies directly attacked us and
plainly intimated that, if he should
crush his other enemies, it would be
America's turn next. The conclusion
from those facts is plain. European
quarrels and the forms of government
adopted by the peoples of Europe are
no longer matters of Indifference to
us, for an autocrat reached across
the ocean and dragged us Into his
quarrel and in defeating him we
brought into being republics and
united severed nations which we can
not In honor desert. Our own inter
est points the same way, for it these
nations fell under the sway of a
despot, we should face the same dan
ger as in 1917.
Europe did not and will not let
America alone. The mailed fist of
autocracy struck at us; democracy
called on us for help. Our best se
curity against autocracy Is to help
democracy to live and grow strong.
Though autocracy is ostensibly de
stroyed, its revival is still possible.
We are confronted by two enemies
unbroken, unrepentant Germany with
its militarists pulling the strings of
its republican government, and bol
shevism. which after tearing the Vitals
out of Russia has fastened its clutch
on Hungary and . reaches out after
Italy and other countries.
Who can doubt that If Washington
lived . today, he would see that the
one way to make America safe would
be to make Europe safe against these
twin foes? He would see that the best
assurance of safety would be to league
American democracy with the free
nations of Europe in establishing the
reign of justice and reason in place
of the reign of brute force and hate.
He stood aloof from a Europe ruled
by despots, but he would reach out
his hand to help the Europe of to
day, which has won its freedom at
the cost almost of its life.
LIBRARY SERVICE.
The annual report of the librarian
of the Portland public library is a re
minder of the complete revolution of
the attitude of the librarian toward
the public which has taken place In
a generation. The time is well within
the memory of the middle-aged when
books were treated as precious docu
ments, so carefully guarded as to be
almost Inaccessible except to persons
possessing inexhaustible patience.
Membership cards were wound up in
red tape and strange visitors to the
library viewed with suspicion. The
open shelf system, which marked the
beginning of popular usefulness of a
public library, is a comparatively re
cent innovation. It had a good deal
of resistance to overcome at first. Ex
tended loans of books to readers en
gaged in study of especial subjects
have been made for only a few years.
An authority on library administra
tion, writing ten years ago. said that
"many libraries allow a second book
to be lent, not fiction." This was a
radical departure from the estab
lished rule at that time.
Now the application of a discharged
soldter with his right arm missing
for a book of left-handed piano mu
sic, which Miss Isom has chosen as
typifying the wide variety of service
which is expected of a public library.
is illustrative also of the increasing j
confidence of the people in an insti
tution which they are rightfully com
ing to regard as their own. We may
hope that the one-armed soldier was
not sent away empty-handed, and we
think that it would not have occurred
to him to go to a public library for
help twenty-five years ago. "A lend
ing library," said a writer on libraries
a decade ago, "is ceasing to be a mere
storehouse for books, but alms to In
duce its readers to borrow better
books by restricting the supply of the
less desirable and inciting Interest n
the best by annotated lists, by illus
trated bulletins, by personal sugges
tions and by shelves open freely for
all to browse among tempting books."
A large net gain In circulation of
books is significant even without de
tails as to the kind of books circu
lated. It is an accepted rule that the
habit of reading feeds upon itself,
and that It Is largely In the interests
of education. It is known also that In
the case of the well-managed library
the public taste as to reading advances
progressively. What may be called
the "extension service" in connection
with public library work is one of Its
most important recent additions. We
not only make-the library Itself less
forbidding, but we carry its work
and its message to the outer world.
The shelf of .books in the restroom of
a laundry, the proposal to keep up
to date the loans made to the library
of a local jail, the movement to fos
ter reading clubs, are- a few of the
signs of the time which points to the
library's educational possibilities. Now
the Americanization of foreigners,
which looms large in the scheme of
the future, suggests still other ways In
which the library can be made useful.
Future support of public libraries Is
a subject of public concern. In the
matter of personnel the situation is
similar to that which confronts the
public schools, except that it is not
quite so close to the public heart. Pre
paration required of the efficient
librarian Is analagous to that of the
teacher, and salaries, it must be ad
mitted, are not advancing in propor
tion to the declining value of the dol
lar. But there are many other factors
of cost In the maintenance of a good
library and its ambitious new depart
ments, and these too must be provided
for unless there Is to be frank aban
donment or at least -limitation of the
library as an educational agency. Not
many who know what the public
libraries are doing would be willing to
go back to the old days of mere book
warehouses, but those who desire to
see them continue to grow must be
prepared to foot the bill.
AN OLD-TIME BEST-SELLER,
To have achieved a sale of half a
million copies was so noteworthy for
a, book printed in the middle of the
last century, when book publishing
was not the fine art that it is now,
that it would be supposed that a work
that could have so held our grand
fathers would be known today. Yet
how many are there who recall "The
Wide, Wide World." which made
Taine wonder what the American
people found in a "three-volume
novel devoted to the moral progress
of a girl of thirteen," or who remem
ber that the author was Susan Warner,
who was born a hundred years ago
this month. "The Wide, Wide World"
was the literary phenomenon of its
time Published in 1849 (In two vol.
times, not three) it not only took the
country by storm but was translated
Into French and German, and had an
extended vogue in England.
Susan Warner and her sister, Anna,
were noted figures in their time.
Susan adopted the pen name "Eliza
beth Wetherall." Anna that or "Amy
Lothrop." Susan's first book was
scorned by the critics, after having
been all but rejected by the pub
lishers. It was read in competition
with Charles Dickens' "Dombey and
Son." which was published In 184S,
and with the tatter's Incomparable
"David Copperfleld." first printed in
1850. Thackeray had just assumed
his place of eminence In English lit
erature by publication of "Vanity
Fair" in 1S46-48 as a monthly serial,
and wrote his other great novels.
"Pendennls" (1849-50). "Henry Es
mond" (185!) and "The Newcomes'
(1854-55). while The Wide., Wide
World" was before the public. The
generation did not want for good read
ing, and the literary work of the
Misses Warner hardly Justifies com
parison with that of Dickens and
Thackeray and some others of that
day. The critics were right and the
public was wrong, but It was the
publlo that bought the books and the
venture as to "The Wide. Wide World"
justified Itself from the commercial
viewpoint.
We were perhaps mora orthodox In
our religious views then, and Susan
Warner commended herself to a large
clientele by her deep religious feel
ing. She did not confine herself to
novel writing. One of the popular
works of her pen, after she had
basked a while In the fame which her
first novel brought hert was The
Law and the Testimony." This used
to be found on nearly every bookshelf,
and it probably survives now in a
good many garrets In the older-settled
country. In It were grouped, under
appropriate headings, biblical texts
establishing the cardinal doctrines of
Christianity. This was followed by a
story full of scenlo descriptions, "The
Hills of the Shatemuc," and she also
wrote a second success, which almost
but not quite reached the selling
record of "The Wide. Wide World."
It was "Queechy," which had a tear
ful heroine named Fleda, in whom
tender memories were always stirring
and whom she presented with such
sympathy that emotional readers could
always find a parallel between her
sufferings and their own commonplace
tribulations. For in nothing that Miss
Warner ever wrote did the extraordi
nary appear. Her characters were
quite commonplace people, doing quite
ordinary things in a simple way. They
would be called "goody-goody" nowa
days.
In any event, Susan Warner took
herself seriously enough to prepare
tn all possible ways for the career of
authorship: Anna Warner wrote her
biography only a few years ago In
which she showed that at an exceed
ingly early age Susan began to chafe
over every moment of wasted time,
At 17 she had, decided to read some
Of the works of the French theolo
gians, conceiving this to be necessary
to her spiritual education-. The quef
tion was whether It should be Bossuet,
Bourdaloue or Fenelon. "More than
one consultation I held with myself.
she wrote in a letter, "before I pitched
upon Bossuet." Young women of 17
Of the present generation who long
for a literary career may find It
advantageous as a kind of discipline
to try to read Bossuet. But Susan did
read some of him, as she afterwards
recorded:
I have read part of one sermon, which I
hope to finish today: but how e-f y It is to
trifle away whole days doing nothing, and
how hard to one not accustomed to
ular and useful employment to spend, one
hour In appllcatior to something worth
while. For some months past 1 have been
rather at a standstill; let us hop that the
months to come will be turned to better
account. I am almost 17. How much may
Justly be expected of me, and how am I pre
pared to met these expectations? I oncht
to exert myself; but I think far too little of
what I ought to dof it Is always what I
would like to do. One thins I ought never
to do, at least for some time, and that la
to read novels. I know they have dona mis
chief enough already.
It Is a singular view, that one ought
not to read novels who Is destined to
become & novelist. Yet much allow,
ance win be made when one considers
that she was then only 17. an age
when few girls nowadays are giving
much thought to the great things
which may be justly expected of them.
Only a few days later she wrote:
I have been amused by a little book. "An
Excursion to the Monssteries of Alcobada
and Batallla." by Mr. Beckford. The ac
count of the dinners and suppers Is enough
to make one's mouth water. 1 Jove to read
about good eaUng.
Presently she was to like to write
about good eating. Her sister says
that she was beset for years wltD
letters from strangers asking for
recipes for the biscuit on which
Captain Parry" set his paw; and ror
'splitters' and for "the cake that
Desire made."
It may have been the deep sincerity
Impressed upon all that .she wrote
that made her books popular. The
Warner sisters collaborated in several
juvenile books, one of which. "Say and
Seal," had a wide circle of readers.
But It Is a curious commentary on
the fickleness of literary taste that
the second-best seller in American
fiction "Uncle Tom's Cabin" still
holding first place was a book that
Is seldom heard of by the present
generation.
Now the- purists are Jumping all
over Vice-President Marsnau tor
saying that opposition to the league of
nations is melting like a snowball in
July. They want to know where n
ever saw a snowball melt in July
No one ever saw a snowball in the
circumstances which are more com
monly depicted in the metaphor, but
everybody knows precisely what is
meant.
The forest fires In Idaho and Mon
tana suggest the need of aerial fire
engines. If a dirigible balloon carry
ing a water tank could fly over an
Incipient firs and accurately drop its
load, the land fire-fighters' Job would
be easy.
The Lane County Fair association
may not Induce Governor Olcott to
jump dally from a parachute in the
clouds, but the associations press
agent deserves credit for thinking up
the scheme of inviting him to do it.
If a Bourbon is a man who refuses
to learn anything from experience,
the Turks who are proposing to set
up an Independent government are
the bourbonlst chaps that history tells
anything about.
The correspondent who wants the
kaiser tried In the United States has
overlooked the fact, perhaps, that it
would be cruel and unusual punish
ment to deprive htm of his beer.
John D. Rockefeller in his youth
wanted to become a musician, but that
was in the days before dinner music
was Invented, and he abandoned the
career as probably unprofitable
When one reads of the plight of
millions of hungry children in Eu
rope, the Inclination to sav food in
th face even of a bumper crop pros
pect Is well-nigh irresistible.
A newly discovered wheat pest has
been named "take-all" by th scten
tlsts, which is much easier to re mem
us-r than the Greek equivalent of take
all, whatever tt Is, would be.
Th fine for setting fire to a forest
Is heavier than th penalty for beating
one's wire. But It is easier to ret a
new wife than to restore a forest
after it has been burned.
We still do not hear of tramps any
more, which suggests that those who
went to work to avoid fighting have
found that work Is not th wo rax thing
in the world, after all.
Removal of trading-wlth-the-enemy
restrictions does not mean that ther
will be a sudden demand for German
made goods in the United States.
Airplane mall now takes th regular
rate of 2 cents an ounce, flying being
thus accepted as all in the day's work
of an American,
With an apple crop of 24,454.000
barrels in sight, vry loyal Oregonian
will proceed at once to do hid duty.
General Pershing will have a recep
tion by the American people, without
consideration for red tape
POLITICAL REVULSION IS CERTAIN
aatocratie Auuptlea Not Lesrse Cea-
venaat Is the Logical Isaac.
GOLD HILL. July 17. (To the Edi
tor.) I have been a reader of The Ore-
gonlaa for almost 50 years. Sinoe the
beginning of the war Just closed. I
have, perhaps, been as close a reader
and student of the muddled affairs Into
which Christendom has been plunged as
any other ordinary person. I am a re-
pub 11 can and haw always been one. 1"
was on of the Garfield electors for
Oregon and the messenger that carried
Us vote to Washington. I simply state
this fact to show that I am not moved
by partisan politics.
I have noticed all The Oregonlan's
editorials In regard to the league of
nations controversy and in the main
am In hearty agreement with you. I
am cot indifferent to the autocratic
manner In which President Wilson has
borne himself toward the senate snd
resent, as I bellevs all patriotic citi
sens ought to. his assumption that this
la his own personal affair. He talks
like a democrat, but acts like an auto
crat. He adjourned the politics of re
publicans, but admonished his demo
cratic followers to "whoop r up" for
the administration. All of which looks
absurd.
I voted for Hughes, but am Inclined
now to bellevs that his election, would
havs bean a great misfortune. Wilson
was elected on the Issue that "he kept
us out of war." He knew that war was
inevitable, but accepted this props
gsnda for political purposes. When the
war cams republicans all over the
country, voluntarily "adjourned poll
tics" and flocked to the support of
the administration. The only monkey
wrenches that were thrown into the
machinery, were those of his pacifist
friends and I. W. W. traitors. Had
Hughes been elected. Is It likely that
the country would have risen en masse
In support of the administration in the
prosecution of the war? You can c -
pend on 't that a large majority of
Mr. Wilson s supporters, who acclsim-ed
him so highly tor "keeping us out of
war" would have followed their exalted
leader In his resentment snd we should
have had a divided country. The wsr
would havs been charged to republi
can success and the result. It Is likely,
would have been a world disaster.
I do not believe that our government
Is In any great dsngsr from the lessrue
or nations covenant. The whole world
is hungry for peace and it looks ss
though a method therefor has been
provided. If hot-headed statesmen with
political chips on their shoulders would
continue the patriotic attitude which
they evinced all along until the school
master from Princeton. In his self-con
stituted mightiness, rose above the
constitution tn his autocratic ambition
to dominate the world. It Is not ex
pected that this league of nstons will
prove to be perfect. Even our con
stltutlon has been amended from time
to time: so can this covenant. The
statement that Great Britain has six
votes to our one, la shown to be i
fallacy. The requirement of a unanl
mous vote, Is a perfect shield. The
greatest trouble I ses Is the likelihood
that a unanimous vote can never bs
secured on any question likely to arise.
Again, the great shibboleth of the
democratic party has always been
states' rights On of the greatest
bug-a-boos that has never failed to
arouse th Ira of the democratic party
nas Deen a strong centralised govern
ment They have always charged that
the republican party seeks to Invest
the central government with too much
power snd thus -encroach on the rights
of the states. The great "Jackson Ian
and Jeffersonlan principles," the shout
ing of which opens every democratic
campaign, it seems to me have been
smashed to mltherens by his Majesty
Woodrow. So much power was neve
before given to any president. No other
has ever had the audacity to "request
what Wilson has demanded and re
oslved. Alexander Hamilton never
dreamed of such centralization of
power, as this democratlo admlnlstra
tion has demanded and exercised. "War
powers" were asked, that were not pu
into use until the war had closed and
were then made use of In pursuance of
the theory of Wilson, with his strike
Burleson cracking his whip. Wilson'
treatment of baslo principles of the
democratlo party is a violation of them,
such as no other man has ever dsred to
undertake and has alienated such stal
wart democratlo leaders as Colonel
W atterson. Colonel Harvey, Senato
Chamberlain. Senator Keed and many
others.
If senators such as Borah. Lodge,
Johnson, 1'olndexter. Sherman and
few others can find an antidote for
their attack of hysteria in the lnevl
table revulsion which will sweep th
country when normal conditions shall
ones more prevail, ther will find satis
faction in a mors substantial way thsn
will te secured by attempting to mak
this question a political issue now. W
can trust to th world's estimate of
the United States as ths greatest and
most potent power on ths face of th
earth at this time as an assurance ths
no other nation will dara to flout I
as they seem to fear will be dona W
can also depend on It that the hetero
geneous mass of smaller nations can
never unite on any single purpose-
against us. Such an effort would In
evitably tighten the friendly relation
Of th "three big ones.
Wilson's Idealism and skill as
phrase maker, thrown upon th world
In these excitable and excited times.
when "mob psychology" Is In th
saddle has found a people In the hea
of fever susceptible to such Influences.
Lenlne Is no less an Idealist and almos
as skillful tn phrase making: thoug
his line Is a different on, either on
of which carried to an extreme will re
suit in th most serious consequence
to tn world. Idealism. If held wtthl
reasonable bounds. Is good, but when
allowed to run away with a strongl
imaginative ana ambitious man
likely to lead his procession into
Oestrucuv collision.
C B. WATSON,
T"HB DAT.
MORNING.
As brooding night trailing her somber
robes departs
Fha leaves unto her hand-mad daw
Th bringing of the morning light.
Fair dawn with rosk finger-tips.
Th hovering clouds of pearly gray.
Draws softly bsck.
Th sun looks forth and, lo, 'tis day.
NOON.
Th sun rides high, nor tree nor lea
Is stirred, for e'en th breeze Is still,
And til around hushed brooding peace
MDiaes: tn cattle witnin.
Th shadowed pool, th rich, worn soil
Awaits the hand that guides the plow.
'Tls non th hour twixt toll and toll.
NIGHT.
We rest tn peace, for while w sleep
The latner turns the virgin page
And bids us go and sin no mora.
So with each dawn w stsrt anew.
Our past erased on day before. .
TWILIGHT.
When twilight fall It seems as though
Dear mother nature must have paused
To lay bar weary hands upon
Her lap and close her tired eyas
Awhile against th light of dsy.
That ah may have quiet hour
To gather strength and better solve
Tha problems of .the coming day.
EMMA CHURCHMAN HEWITT,
Tenafly. X. J.
OMAR OP THE EAST.
A book of verses underneath the bough
A loaf or bread, a Jug of win, and
thou.
No longer seem th pair o' die they
ouahtar
For, since July arrived, th Jug Is full
of water:
s-JBX Ar.Nfa triTT
. Imitator.
By Grace, E. BaTL
Th power dlvtn creates all things
that grow.
Ther (s no greater argument. I claim.
Of man's descent from God, than that
oeiow.
No power creates new life. It Is th
same
n every realm; th man-mad things
stand still.
Though honors com through clever
ness and sain:
And though he win to fame, still son
may shirk
Th truth: ther Is no life-spark In his
wora:
Thar Is unceasing action in God's
trees
They are adorned as seasons com and
go:
He starts th brooklets singing to
wards th seas
They but obey and ever onward flow;
He hides rich germs In myriad shrubs.
and Men
They lift their flaming foliage towards
th sky;
H places vital power within th air.
And in Its braath bloom roses rich and
rare.
God touches sleeping seeds beneath
the grass.
And miracles in growth soon com to
pass; v
Gcd gives on gift of life-forc to his
son
Th gift of re-production, snd that on
Is th so: gift. Man ever Imitates:
He sets sn easel by th sylvan gates.
Where fairies play amid th woodland
bowers.
And. striving ther through long and
careful hours.
H paints upon a canvas stiff green
trees
But never do they sway In passing
brease!
H fashions for th aye a beauteous
stream.
Dashing through mountain gorge, but
ne er a gleam
Of lit lights up that sluggish painted
river
N'o ripple ever sets its blue a-qulverl
Tt earth abounds tn maglo God hath
wrought:
Man imitates, as bast h can, each
thought.
God's caricatures In human form Impart
To gifted artists. Ideas; yet their art
la but again mere child's play. Every
where
Thy copy, but their efforts ner com-
rtara
With what Is placed before them; and
th flam
Or llf is ever lacking. God doth claim
That power alone: and though great
work shall ten
Of brlllla.it minds that feel th sub-
11m spall
Of art. and labor all their days.
They ar but children aping Fa-thar's"
way a
They shall go on. as aarthly children
go.
Learning th dally lessons they must
know.
And when divinity at last shall place
its brana
Upon their mental force, they'll un
der tan d.
LIKE MOTHER DOES.
My daddy Is a soldier man.
My mamma's out to tea.
And she told me when she left horn
ah d leave tha nous to me.
Now what should I b doing
L with so many caresT
There ar so many things to mend.
So many rips and tears:
Wall, first Til wash tha dishes.
And than I'll wash my head.
And thsn I'll do the living room.
And than I'll mak my bed.
I guess ril do the Ironing.
Then cew some buttons on:
Then mothsr'U b so much surprise
At what's don while she s gone.
I ought to knit a sweater
I ought to mak a dress:
I ought to clean the silverware
But I won't. I guess.
I ought to call up slater's besu
And mak a date. I'm sure
But he I such a funny man
I really can't endure.
I Just must bath old poodle.
But ho hasn't had hi food.
rm sure that my mamma would thlnJg
I ought to fetch th wood.
Now. who I that ther at th door?
Why. mamma. It Is you!
And her I sit upon th floor
Thinking of things to do!
Well, mamma, you've been gon
Three hour ty tn ciock.
And I was planning on th work
When 1 heard your quiet knock,
I've Just bean planning out th tasks
As you do Just this way
And here 'It now la dinner Mm.
And I've lost half a day!
M. A. TOTHERS.
A WAT FROM TOr.
If I should leave you, desr. tonight
(An unkind fat might will It so.
Th stars would never seem ss bright
O'er any land where I might go.
And thotigh th sky war cloudless,
quite,
Whll" others praised Its flawless blu.
Td always rind It gray a mlt
Because It spread not over you.
Though loved by sunlight's ardent rays,
Th wtnd breathed soft across the sea.
In dreaming of these heart-wsrm days
Twould always hold soma chill for m.
Th birds might trill their sweetest
notes
And fill th air with cadence true.
Tet dull th music from their throats
Were you not there to hear it. too.
Though roses of a tint most rare
Should bloom in lands where I might
be.
I would not find them quit so fair
If you could not be ther to see.
If fame should mount each sunny slop
And call to me In dulcet ton.
Her message would bear less of hop
Were I to bear It all alon.
So blow winds east, or blow them west.
Or blow them ill. or blow them fair.
Til always think that wind th bast
That's fanned your cheek and touched
your hair
MART HESTER FORCE.
MT PAITH.
They sav you ar dead, but I know
better;
Tou hav simply gon away.
Though now you ar bound by an un
known fettar.
I know you'll come back some day.
Ycur kiss I shall feel in th sweat
breezes blowing
Caress my hands snd face;
Tour laughter will rippl tn the brook
let flowing
'Neath the mosses and feres green
lace.
Tour smile will shine tender In the
sun's blessing;
Tour eyes blue in the heavens above;
Tour thought of ma comes through
Nature's confessing.
For tha bil between us Is Ixv.
BELMA, M. RICUARDSOX.
Rainier, On;
i