THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, AUGUST 24, 1919.
rvriBListrr bi hiit u prrrerK
Published by The Oreronraa Publishing Co..
1U Sixth eltreet. loruand, Oregon.
C A- MORPKN. E. B. PIPER.
Idansrer. Bditor.
The Orson la n ta a mnnW of the Ajwh
elated Prena. Ttie Associated Press is ex
rlualvely entitled to the use for publica
tion of air ni dispatches credit;! to it or
rot otherwise credited tn this paper and al-o
the local news published herein. All rTTT.ita
of republication of special dispatches herein
are also reserved.
Sabacrlptlasi Raise Invariably tm Advance:
(By MaiL)
Ta!ry. Bandar Included, one year ...... .$V0O
Iaily. f 'jndar Included, six months .... 4.-5
J u y, Sunday included, three months ... 2.39
Tai!y. Sunder Included, one month ..... ."
iJailv, wtrhont Sunday, one year ........ 6.00
r-sily, without Sunday, six months ..... 3-5
Tlly. without Sunday, on month ...... -AO
VI eekly. one year .. . .......... l.OO
funday. one year 2 AO
fcuaday and weekly s.30
By Carrier.)
Taily. Sunday included, one year .. . ... .19.00
Jity. Sunday included, one month ..... -79
I'ewly. Sunday Included, three months ... 2 2S
rily. without Sunday, one year 7-0
Ieily. without Sunday, three months ... 1.05
Ijatiy. without Sunday, on month ' .65
How to Remit Send postofflco money or
der, express or personal check on your local
rnn. Stamps, coin or currency aro at own
er's risk. litve pnetoffice address in full. In
cluding county and state.
Fo-tmxe Kate 12 to 1 pares. 1 cent: 18
to 32 paces, ;i cents; 54 to 4- pas-?. 3 cents:
an to tp pages. 4 cents: t'Z to 74 pages. 5
cents: 7 to K2 paces, cents. Foreign post
age, aoubie rales.
aaeterw Bnsineee Office Verreo St Conk-
Itn. siruuewlck bunding. New lork; Verree A
C onklln. .Steger building. Chicago: Verre sc
t'onkitn. Free PTess building, letrolt. Mich.
ran rrancisco representative. K j. tfldvrcll.
Indians. He had the prophetic instinct forgotten the place, and anyhow he keeping; dictated by business policy.
of
PIOXRER THRIFT.
The thrift and industry of the early
Oregon pioneers would go a lone way
in times like these toward solving- the
Men cost of living- problem. It Is sig
nificant of a good man v thlns-a that
I the mlxsinnftrv forerunner nf tha
larger immigration movements were
the first, as the Rev. Jason Lee once
pointed out, to bring- plows into the
western country. The plow was. and
still Is. pre-eminently the symbol of
production. "Probably," said Lee in
his address before the mission board
ln1844, defending his policy tn Ore
gon, "three thousand more bushels of
wheat were raised last year than if the
setUers had not had the advantages
afforded by the missionaries. Lee
himself mentioned with pardonable
pride that he had cradled his share of
wheat in the field. The measure of a
man's merit was the amount of work
he could do. There wereexceptions.
but they were not in good standing 1
that community.
The speculator, too. was in disfavor.
One of the most interesting chapters
of our early history is that In which
tha Rev. Mr. Lee defends his brethren
and himself against a charge
"speculation, but shows on how pit!
fully small a scale any possible specu
lacions might have been conducted. It
certainly was not speculation in the
sense of profiteering in which the word
has come lately to be employed.
"There might be a shadow of truth
in that, said Lee, reciting the charge
marie by the Rev. Mr. Hines. "When
they first went out they bought horses
to-rids and cows to milk. Some sold
ff.the young cattle: others let tbemJ
increase; Brother Parrish made a lit
tie money that way, perhaps $100, on
year. He and others kept hogs as your
preachers do tn this country, and thus
got his pork a little cheaper. He and
others would go out and look for a
cow that had calved for a quarter of
a qay. I did not think It right to spend
as much time as some did on their
own business, and I told them so.1
The drat Impression one obtains now
from reading the story of the earlier
days of the white settlement of the
Onegon- country is this impression of
serf-denying, incessant toil. Lee was
charged before the board with mis
directing his enterprise into unauthor
ized channels and exceeding the au
thortty vested in him. and he had been
aceused by a colleague of having made
souse personal profit from very minor
trrwtisactlons. It seems worth men
tinting that he defended himself with
gr4t warmth against the latter accti
s-itlon. He called the chairman to wit-
lieHi (as the chairman did witness)
th.tt when he first offered to go to Ore-
god. and it was proposed to give him a
larger salary, he had said: "God for
bid that the time should ever come
when a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church would take into ac
toiint the prospect of pecuniary ad-
atatage above what preachers have at
ho Sue. as an Inducement to go Into
missionary fields." He had refused to
accept more than the rate of pay re
ceived at home. He had an humble
confession to make. Once he had been
teased by a Dr. Richmond to buy the
tatter's rifle for 30. He had done so
and when he got home with it a man
had offered him $50 for it. He had
accepted the offer quickly. Twenty
doll irs must have looked large to
missionary then. He was sorry that
he had speculated In this way. not be-
rairse he believed he had done any
thing radically wrong, but because of
the. une that was made of the rifle.
"The Oregon committee." said Lee,
must remember that I told them that
the. question to be asked the applicant
should be: Doea your wife want to
goT" The issue then under discus
sloa was the personnel of the early
missionary expeditions. There had
been discontent In the ranks. A nega
tive answer to the question, said Lee,
ought to satisfy the committee that
su-h a person ought not to be se
lected. "Actually several families were
dragged several thousand miles, some
of whom would have returned on the
err steamer that took them to the
ship. Lee added:
It Is a bard lot to so so far from hems.
flea from cars and anxiety, but to endurs
neb a veyar with a companion all tbe time
locking back to loot and reproaching- one
for . haetns drawn her from that homo Is
sees than almost anyons can endure.
The bearing of this sage observa
tion on the situation In Oregon mis
sionary circles is Illustrated In many
ways. A heavy burden fell upon the
women; their rewards, unless they
happily were content with only spir
itual emolument, were hardly ever
commensurate with their labor and
sacrifice. "My wife," said Lee to the
missionary board, "well earned her
own living. In addition to her domes
tic .labors for the mission, which were
heavy, she made clothing for the In
dian children In the school. All the
proceeds of her work for others. went
Into tha mission fund. This, he
added, was the case with both his
wives. In eleven years he had re
ceived $1300: he had lived most of
the) time without table expenses. The
superintendent of a mission was ex
pected to give more than . others to
various causes. He had sold, he said,
the clothing of both his deceased wives
to meet demands upon him. In travel-
ins, he had not spent more than $3 In
all at hotels. He had frequently lived
on crackers and cheese, so earnest was
he. in his desire to save for the cause
in which he labored.
Lee had. probably, a larger vision
than the board that sent him to the
Oregon country- He was right, as we
now view it. In placing emphasis upon
the Influence of the missions upon the
whit settlers, rather than upon the
which foresaw tha west as a white
man's country: he took pride In the
fact that certain regions had been
made tolerably safe not against hos
tile redskins, but against a certain
class of whites. It was a view that
was to be shared by others. About
the same time, in 1841, Dr. Marcus
Whitman was writing to his parents a
letter in which he said:
1 have no doubt our greatest work is to
aid the white settlement of this country and
help to found Its religious - institutions.
Providence has its full share in these evonta.
A'though the Indians have made and are
mak;ng rapid advance, in religious knowledge
and civlllsaUon. yet it cannot bo hoped that
time will be allowed to mature either the
work of ChrUtlanliatlon or civilization bo-
fore the white settlers will demand the soil
and seek the removal of both the Indians
and the -mission. What Americans desire of
this kind tbey always effect, and It la
equally futile to oppose or desire it other
wise. . . . Indeed. I am fully convinced
that when a people refuse or neglect to fill
toe -designs of providence, they ought not to
complain at the rmmultm; and so it Is squally
useless for Christiana Jo be anxious on their
account. The Indians have In no case
obeyed the command to multiply and re
plenish the earth, and they cannot stand in
the way of the others in doing so. ...
No oxcluslveoeas can bo asked for any por
tion of the human family. The exerclso of
his rights Is all that can bo desired. In
order for this to attain Its proper extent In
regard to the Indiana, It is necessary that
they seek to preserve their rights by peaeable
means only. Any vlolstlon or this rule wm
be visited with only evil results to them
selves. Well, time has shown that this was
indeed meant to be a white man's
country. The pioneers saw that the
law of use must be made to apply:
that no race so wasteful of its re
sources as the Indians could hope to
retain moral title to the soil. But the
ptoneers at the same time set the ex
ample of use in Its highest practical
sense. They were neither wasteful' nor
improvident: ' they subscribed to the
gospel of work and of production and
thrift. Thus they justified the taking
of the country from the Indians. Can
it be said that all their successors are
equally justifying themselves?
doesn't care. There are plenty of Tbe real question is the aggregate
other buyers who will be as heedless percentage of profit on the aggregate
as you have been. I capital invested in all the affiliated I
now the thoughtless citizen, per-1 companies.
mitting a succession of such ex-1 A denial that control of half of an
periences to -embitter him, will be In-I industry carries practical control of
clined to inveigh against retail mer- the whole is contradicted by experi
chants in general. Which, of course, ence with other big combinations,
is rank injustice to the much larger The Standard Oil company controlled
class who realize that honesty is the ! oil and the Steel corporation controlled
best policy, even if it is not also good I steel with slightly larger percentage of
morals. . It probably is capable or I control. The bulk of capital and the
proof that merchandising in general j degree of business'abllity that are con
Is on a higher plane now than it ever I centrated in the hands of five closely
has been. "The occasional exception I controlled packing companies gives
by no means vitiates the rule. . I those companies a power to dictate to
A certain responsibility rests upon their smaller competitors which it is
the buyer. We need a little more of only human to exercise. The fact that
the disposition to insist upon getting! that power exists argues that it is
precisely what we have paid ior, ana used.- .
that goods shall be Just what they are The report of the federal trade
represented to be. The sum involved commission has only confirmed gen
may be- small, but there is- a prin- era! public knowledge as to the decree
ciple behind it. One way to compel to which the Backers have extended
square dealing is to stop trading with control over the food supply, not only
those who shortsightedly believe the of this but of other countries. The
present nickel is worth more than the alarm prevailing in this country is ex-
ruiure aoiiar. it is particularly un- pressed in EuroDe also. The rjeonle are
fair to honest merchants to brand not now concerned with the manner In
them all with the same iron. It is not which nor with the reasons why this
a sign of parslmoniousness to protest I control came about. It is a condition.
against being cheated. The better not a theory, which confronts them.
class of merchants welcome inspec- That control carries with it power to
tion; the other kind are unfair com- extort profits and to oppress. Not to
petitors and deserve no consideration. use this power bespeaks an almost
superhuman degree of unselfishness.
HOW SHOES WKNT TP. -wiiii which the public refuses to credit
the Mayflower does not increase as it
might reasonably be expected to do.
In the days of their early hardships
the excellent New England stock of
which we are so fond of boasting held
its own fairly well against interloping
strains. In a time of greater ease of
living it does not continue to main
tain itself. It has even been esti
mated that at the present rate of de
cline the Mayflower descendants will
be practically extinct in 150 years.
This suggests that there may be a
practical lesson as well as an occasion
for philosophical reflection in the
coming celebration. We owe so much
to the pilgrims that it would seem to
be a practical duty to save the race
from the extermination which nowj
appears'to threaten them.
MO UPSET LIKELY.
Only a languid interest may be con
fessed in the herculean effort of ex
Senator Bailey to organize a new po
litical party of old-time democrats in
Texas. There Is room enough in
Texas, to be sure, for several parties;
but long-time habit and the bugaboo
of negro domination have been ade
quate to hold a vast majority loosely
together in the democratic organization.
Tet Senator Bailey has without
doubt struck the keynote of a consid
erable sentiment In the south when he
starts out to make war on the uplift
and the new era generally. His plat
form Is one of opposition and is thus
defined by the New York Evening
Post:
Opposition to constitutional amendment
without direct popular vote; opposition to
unconstitutional legislation enacted under
the pretext that it answers constitutional
purposes: to the undermining of stato rights;
to woman suffrage; to the tendency to regu
late everything: to tho extravagance of gov
ernment; to government operation of rail
ways; to monopoly and Socialism alike: to
the curbing of free speech; to class legis
lation; to tho league of nations.
A rather complete programme of
negation and it should suit the spirit
of the reactionary south. But the
south lacks courage and the new
party will probably not lead to any
surprising political upsets. Texas and
the south know Bailey and they know
the democratic party. They will take
no chances in being led astray by the
one or In abandoning the other. New
parties do not thrive. The old demo
cratic party has first and last served
tbe sectional south faithfully.
Mr. Bailey says he does not want to
hold office again. It is unanimous.
The story of hides, leather and 1110 Packers, though they may have
shoes, as told by the federal trade ' moaerauon.
. . I Whether the packers have done right
comm.ss.ou, is an examp.e or. me man- wr(Jn& ,n acquiring or elerclsYng
net ui euii.il uisucr jintra suu vuu tnis control, the people in general ob-
have been pyramided during the war. ject to being dependent for several es-
Hldes rose, packer hides much more sential articles of food on any small
than country hides, a fact which is group of men.
ascribed to control by the packers. The occasion calls for an impartial
Cost of producing leather doubled, inquiry into the facts, aimed to elim-
and S5 per cent of the increase was inate a danger to the public safety.
aue to increased cost oi maes, DUt tne That requires no criminal prosecu
percentage of profit, increased enor- tions, no raids on safe deposit vaults,
mously, the number of companies no sleuthing by Heney, but it re
earning 20 per cent trebling between quires that all the cards be laid on the
1914 and 1917. table, by the packers as by all others.
For the shoe manufacturer cost of The public is tired of grandstand at
leather increased over 60 jper cent, tempts to "put the beef barons in
other materials in the same propor- jail" which never get anywhere. It
tion. labor and general expenses in a does not want to confiscate their prop
less ratio, but "selling prices Increased erty. It does want to break the con- I
at a somewhat greater rate than costs" centrated control, which extends all Meet of their quest. Geber writes
OCT DEBT TO SCIENCE.
There is a style of mind that is im
pervious to the influence of facts. It
delights, having taken a position in
opposition to progress, in assembling
trifling exceptions and constructing
them Into rules. Science, says one of
these, is a fraud. And he supports his
contention with an array of incidents
like these:
After a learned scientist had estimated
the age of a petrified shingle found in the
Eads Jetties to be 3000 rears, a nail
found in It made In Pittsburg- 20 years be
fore. A California professor announced the
age of a stalactite to be 4000 years; an old
farmer replied that he remembered when
there were none at all there. A Michiean
wise man examined an Indian mound and
stated its aye tb be S5t) years; a farmer re
plied that he had built It himself. In 1814,
a skeleton, believed by them to have com
from so-called primitive man, proved to. bt
that of a Cossack soldier. A New Yorh
City scientist, after exhibiting a skeleton
found by himself 150 feet below the sur
face, was discomfited to learn that his
friend, a practical joker, had placed It there.
Another of these joyfully proclair.ed to the
world the finding in Colorado cf the re
mains of the true "missing link." His en
thusiasm was short-lived, however, for a
few weeks later a cowboy advertised, offer
ing a reward for the return of his pet mon
key, whose grave had been robbed.
Meanwhile men of science toil un
ceasingly on, sometimes blindly, but
always in one direction. Doubts re
solve themselves into certainties; cer
tain ties become doubts again; yet
something is gained. The ancient al
chemists, seeking the philosopher's
stone, pave the way to substantial di
coveries in no wise related to the ob
as a golden age of science, and when
we contemplate the possibilities of the
twentieth we are prepared to believe
every prophet. There are men now
living who have seen the telegraph
come into being, the first Atlantic
cable laid, the first traction engine
doing the work of the horse and the
ox, the first mower, and reaper, and
combined harvester; the first photo
graph, the first incandescent lamp,
the first gas light, anesthesia, artificial
limbs, antiseptic surgery; aniline dyes
and all the chemistry, physical and
therapeutical, that has flowed from
them; the first petroleum, which has
given us gasoline, and the first high
speed steel, which has put a new face
on tool-making; the first typewriter
and perfecting printing press, the first
skating rink. Wireless telegraphy is a
memory of comparative youth. And
wonders do not cease.
Yet we fall into error if we think
ours the only century of wisdom, or
the only one in which scientists
labored that we might enjoy. The
failures of the past, no less than the
successes of the present, have been
part of the eternal scheme. A few
names stand out. The unknown
workers, too, deserve their monument.
Theirs were substantial, though im
ponderable, contributions to the result.
and out of 25( companies more than the way from the live steer to the
one-third earned 25 per cent more in butcher shop and from the United
1917, while only aoout one-slxtn States to Argentina and EuroDe. for
earned this much in 1914. the sufficient reason that such nower
While the retailers paid much more is not healthy for the consumer or for
tor snoes in isis man isi. tney those who nossess it.
added much more profit in the later
rnur on flvncra nf tl fin rtmr n.ip a a
eralr,r 11 In 1411 thnnp-h Tho rolo. n.'l"U. UI xn-T. BJtiruitllB,
me cuwing ceieoration oi tne ter
TT6 TOvf-Jf BAND.
The Hood River Glacier gives great
prominence to announcement of the
organization of a band of thirty pieces
by the Knights of Pythias. New In
struments and new uniforms will be
secured, and the members say ac
cording to the Glacier "that the new
musical body will assist the promotion
of all local civic and patriotic move
ments."
Despise not the town band, but
support it, appreciate It and listen to
it. As the character of a community
may be judged by its newspapers or its
churches, so its spirit may be tested
by the quality of its brass band. Is
the band slouchy in looks, lacking in
liveliness, ragged in discipline and a
stranger to tunefulness? " Look for
sloth in civic works, broken sidewalks.
dirty streets, unkempt lawns, unweed
ed gardens, quarreling neighbors.
un pain ted churches and backward
schools. Has the band bright uni
forms, competent leadership, eager
ness to practice, willingness to play,
interest in public affairs, and a place
n every public programme? Look
for a town that is pushing forward.
respects itself, keeps clean, wants
place in the sun, and will get it.
The brass band Is not alone the bul
wark and ornament of progress, pride
and culture in the smaller centers, but
is the indispensable agent of go
ahead-ativeness, the sign and expres
sion of community harmony and social
progress in the larger places. A city
without a brass band is a dreary waste
of stagnation, indifference, inharmony
and ignorance. Life Is not worth liv
ing there. It Is not lived. It is endured.
Let every town In America have its
brass band. Let every citizen interest
himself In its welfare. Let the band
be diligent in its pursuit of knowledge
of the right kind of music and the way
to play it; and let the town sea some
how that it has ample funds to keep
going. Every day then in such a town
will be a gain.
OLD-FA8HIOXED BARTER AND SALS.
We are too busy to resort to the
old-fashioned practices that were com
mon when barter and sale were part
of our every day Uvea. Who does
not remember the housewife who went
to market with her basket on her arm.
and carefully inspected every vegetable
or bit of fruit that she put into it?
People got what they went after in
those times, or they knew the reason
why. Later they got Into the habit
f ordering over the telephone, with
sometimes) the privilege of return
ing goods that were unsatisfactory.
But the general effect of buying with
out looking has been to atrophy the
sense of bargaining.
Now with a multiplicity of mer
chants, it seems Inevitable that there
should be some who are content to
reap the dime or the quarter of the
passing stranger, not caring much
whether he buys a second time or not.
These are the ones who display tempt
ing pyramids of sound, bright-colored
fruit, but fill the paper bag from the
concealed pile of less favored pro
duce. Tou Indicate your desire to buy
from a stack of luscious pears marked
30 cents a dozen, and when you get
home you find that you have a bag
of culls. Tou may, of course, return
your purchase and make a row about
it, but chances are that you won't get
anywhere. Ton resolve to buy no
more from that dealer, but yon have
tive cost of doing business did not
change. centenary of the landing of the May-
The conclusion of the commission I flower pilgrims on Plymouth Rock
Is that "slaughterers took more than has already begun to take on an in
tbey should for hides, tanners charged I ternationai character. England ap
more than they should for leather, I pears to be more deeply interested in
and shoe manufacturers likewise the coming event than is the United
charged too much for hides," while States. Certain preparations have
retailers "made unprecedented been made in this country to corn
profits." memorate the landing, which was
The Increased price Is thus piled up made in Plymouth Harbor on De-
in layers, like geological strata. More cember 21, 1620, but those made in
for hides with higher profit on top I England to celebrate the sailing of
laid on by the packer; he passes them the same pilgrims on September 6 of
on to the tanner, who manufactures the same year are in a much more
at higher cost and adds another higher I advanced stage. Lord Bryce, who Is
profit: he passes the leather on to the deputy president of the commemora-
shoe manufacturer, who assumes this tion committee, has already been able
load and adds double the normal cost to announce that tbe event will be
for other material, increased labor I attended by impressive pageantry, but
cost and double the usual profit. The most important of all by sincere ef-
shoes are well loaded when they reach I fort to reproduce with historical'
the retailer, and he almost doubles fidelity the scenes of the embarka-
his profit. tion, even to the costuming of the
In this process cost and profit grow members of the ship s company and
like a snowball, almost like an ava- the construction of a replica of the
lanche. Each man adds more than Mayflower itself.
the usual profit on not only the last) It took the Mayflower sixty-three
man's cost but on the last man's in- I days to make the voyage across the
creased profit. When the shoes finally I Atlantic in what has been conceded to
reach- the consumer, his feet are so have been an uncommonly stormy
loaded that he can scarcely lift them, season. Steamships now make the
A cut in the price of hides would be trip in six days as a matter of course,
felt all along the line, and a reduc-I and an airplane has crossed the same
tion of profits to the 1914 rate would ocean in sixteen hours. Yet no ocean
go far to bring shoes back to the 1914 crossing in all the Intervening time
price. The price would come down in nas oeen iraugnt with greater con-
the same way as it went up. As with I sequences. The voyage of the pilgrims
shoes, so it would be with other was significant of two things of the
things. I desire of the people for greater meas
ure or iiDerty or conscience, and of
tnair rllainollno flnn t n rfn.-ll am "fr
THX POVTER OF THE PACKERS. in an tT. nX..
The meat packers are given an op- L.u.,u, tn., . tt, ,.,.,
portunity to set their case before the Ieft mUa to be desired on tnat
public through publication of a com-L Tr w htc,i e ,
municauon irom tneir puoiicny on- f,m nih h. nii.im on,
reau in another column because they tnat tney prefer the perils of
uoiu. umi. e ' " , , lan unknown land which they might
tnem an iujubuco. cui uicit I rail f heir- own tn rh. rnmfnrl nf Hw.
aoes not meet, me argument, wuicn wb ln& under a 8transe though tolerant
iii!.qo uKdiubi pi t.vul:tu uuuliu. wi I government-
food supply oi tne nation oy a smau English interest in the coming cele-
group oi men. bration may soring from several
At tne outset, we ora not icrepi io TTnrinnhicHiv ii,. iih.
charges or tne teaerai trace comm.s- of rh. .Mrrimi was an event of nrima
sion as "conclusive evidence."
We
moment to England itself; its con-
expressed some aouot oi ine.r cor- sequenCes cannot have been less in
rectness by saying: "If the array of I rr,eir ,, ,,- ,v,i,
facts presented by the federal trade I pilgrims left behind them than they
commission. . . . be correct. That wr1 ... th nw rmint-v whirh thw
doubt was raised by employment of nelped to construct, in the social and
F. J. Heney as counsel, by the spirit poiiticai sense out ot a wilderness,
in which he conducted the Inquiry and wo may well suppose tnat the
by the tone of the report. Mr. Heney English, too, are moved by a spirit
is not a calm investigator who seeks of latitude at this time for the con-
the Whole truth, . like Charles E. trihlltinns which tho Hnscenrlnnte nf
Hughes; he is a prosecutor, who is ,he Mayflower vovagers and their
out after a verdict of guilty. This is eary exemplars have made to the re
ground for attaching some weight to cent current of history. In any event,
the packers vehement denials. But tie English celebration proposes not
this report, following numerous in- niv reconstruct thn srnnu t
quiries and trials, has a cumulative Plymouth, England, in ,H20. but also
effect on the public mind which can- I to hasten work on the restoration of
not be ignored.
the ancestral home of George Wash-
The OregOnian'S Comment On the I inon. at Slllerev Marinr In tha nnn
pacxers- pronis was lounaea on uu. of combining with the pilgrim com
passage in a statement or jouis a.
Swift published on July 11:
memoratlon the dedication of this
historic place. Later a delegation of
Jfa ens disputes that oat ot tne twtal re- British and American representatives
will go to Leyden, Holland, where the
Pilgrims first sought refuge after the
persecutions of 1S08. It is one of the
saving graces of English people that
they do not spare themselves in their
studies of the lessons of the past.
From that side of the Atlantic, the
lesson of the sailing of the Mayflower
and the reasons for it may loom less
heroically, but they will be none the
less valuable as moral precepts.
Two statues to .Abraham Lincoln
will .be unveiled in England during
the same period. The controversy over
the relative merits of the St. Gaudens
and the Barnard statues having been
happily resolved by the erection of
both of them, one at Westminster and
the other at Manchester: both will be
unveiled if possible. These observ
ances, frankly designed as compli
ments to us, will, we think, be not
without value to our British friends
themselves. Every historical happen
ing flowing from the events which
led the first pilgrims to emigrate from
Britain has been fraught with deep
significance not only to the British
people but to the whole world.
On this side of the water the cen
tenary observances will take on a
more open tone of thanksgiving. The
dominant note of course will be that
of gladness because we are here, and
of gratitude to the pilgrim fathers
(and mothers) for making possible
our present enviable lot. Yet it has
been called to attention recently that
there is danger that the original pil
grim stock will be submerged. The
roll of the Society pt Descendants of
eeiota of the packers derived from th
nmdurt of animals, about 85 per cent Is paid
out for the live animals themselves, about 13
per cent is paid out tor wages, transpor
tation and other such expenses, about 2 per
cent on this turnover is earnea oy tn
packer as net profit.
Having pointed out that 2 per cent
profit on turnover implies a much
higher profit per year on capital. The
Oregonian is now informed that the
food administration reports profits on
controlled products" from November
1, 1917. to November 1, 1918, were
only 5.6 per cent. ' But that was only
on "controlled products"; how about
uncontrolled products? What ' were
they and what profits were earned on
them? We have not the whole story.
Again we are told that "the aver
age profit on every dollar of sales has
been about 2 cents." That Is not a
straightforward statement. It does not
tell the profit per cent per annum on
capital invested: that may easily be
20 or 25 per cent profit on a 2 per
cent profit on turnover.
Then we are told that the profit on
meat is only a fraction of a cent per
pound, but meat is only one of many
products of the animal. It may even
be only a by-product of other com
modities. Still we have not the whole
story.
It is stated that refrigerator cars
"have often been operated at a loss and
have never been an attractive invest
ment." That depends on how profits
are figured. When a dozen companies
in connected industries are controlled
by the same group of men. the show
ing of a profit for one and a loss for
another is a mere matter of book-,
book on chemistry so unintelligible
that Dr. Johnson says our word "gib
berish" was derived from Jhe name of
tne autnor, Dut out oi it nis succes
sors are able to distill a fact or two,
and Roger Bacon and Albertus Mag
nus carry on the work, Paracelsus
adds to the store of knowledge. Salt,
sulphur and mercury are identified
men who at first resolved the universe
into four elements add more, one at
time. Fire, first regarded as an "Im
ponderable," is harnessed for the use
of man; earth, air, water, are resolved
and dissolved, taken apart and put to
tether again in flask and crucible
Early chemists call every gas "air,
but later ones discover oxygen, nitro
gen, ozone, argon, helium, neon, kryp
ton and xeon, all in our atmosphere.
It is impossible to appraise at full
value the efforts of each research
worker. Scientific knowledge is cum
ulative. It grows in the form of an
inverted pyramid.
Nitrogen, one of the component
parts of air, was discovered less than a
century and a half ago. Rutherford
called it an element. Only recently
have the chemists begun to suspect
otherwise. But meanwhile, a great
department of science has been built
around the single discovery the
earth has been made more fruitful by
studies in fertilization. Without Ruth
erford's discovery the work of Llebig
would have been impossible. The
father of agricultural chemistry owes
a debt to Rutherford, as Rutherford
is Indebted to all the chemists before
him, even to the first searcher (now
lost in antiquity), for the formula that
should transmute every base metal
into precious gold. Chemistry, as we
now know it, was in its infancy when
Llebig began his labors less than
century ago.
Every grammar school boy knows
that discovery of the pent-up power of
steam revolutionized social conditions
throughout the world. But not every
one who tells us that Watt invented
the steam engine, and Stephenson the
locomotive, knows that steam was ap
plied as a motive power by Hero of
Alexandria, perhaps in the first cen
tury of our era; or that there were
steam power contrivances of a sort in
Spain in the sixteenth century and in
Italy and England in the seventeenth.
These were the avant couriers of the
age of steam." There were quack
scientists and inventors then, as there
are now. Many failed, the few suc
ceeded, and the world moved on.
Without Salomon de Caus and Gio
vanni Branca, there might have been
no Thomas Sovery, who first obtained
a patent for the application of steam.
But for Humphrey Potter, a mere boy.
Watt's discoveries might have been in
definitely delayed, and but for Watt
we probably should not have heard of
Stephenson; but the latter also owed
much to Blockett and Hedley. The
RocRet," which won in the first loco
motive competition the world ever
knew, just ninety years ago this year,
was the product of the research of all
the physical scientists of recorded
time, as it was the forerunner of every
means of rapid locomotion that has
contributed to the making of a new
world.
We owe the automobile no less to
the spirit of research and invention
generated in the beginning of the age
of steam than to the definite deter
mination of a French abbe who suc
ceeded, in 1678, in driving a cylinder
by means of the explosion of gun
powder, or to construction in 1791 by
John Barber, the Englishman, of a
machine driven by a mixture of hy
drocarbon gas and air, or to the
Frenchman Lenoir who operated the
first practical gas engine in 1860.
Science moves rapidly once it gets
under way. Without our Barbers and
Lenoirs It is unlikely that we should
now have automobiles; certainly avia
tion would be impossible. We may ap
prehend the speed with which science
progresses from the theoretical to the
practical if we will bear in mind that
it is only thirty-five years since the
first high speed gas engine was in
vented, only thirty-three since the
water-jacketed engine of Carl Benz
came into being, and less than a quar
ter of a century since it required three
weeks to make a test run by automo
bile from Cleveland to Buffalo. And
it was only sixteen years ago that the
first successful, though brief, flight
was made in a heavier-than-air ma
chine, and thirteen years since long
distance flight was demonstrated to be
possible. The airplane which a few
days ago overtook the steamship
Adriatic in mid-Atlantic and success
fully deposited a mailbag aboard, and
the NC-4 and the R-34, which have
reduced travel time across tbe ocean
to almost nothing, had their inception
in the brains of scientists who died
long ago, and to many who have been
for centuries forgotten.
We think of the nineteenth century!
One of those fellows who are always
thinking of things to do but never
doing them suggests that scientists de
vote their attention to developing a
cross between a goat and a snake, and
so develop an animal that will shed
good goatskins every year. But the
goatskins situation is not a joke.
Tanned and in good condition, they
are now said to cost manufacturers
about $1 a square foot, and as ?.
square foot weighs about four-fifths
of an ounce, and there is a good deal
of waste in the leather that finally
goes into the shoe, the part actually
used eventually costs about $1.50 an
ounce, or about 40 per cent more than
its weight in silver, which Is now
quoted at 11.12 an ounce. But we
should not expect the demand for
kid shoes to abate if leather became
worth Its weight in gold. We "must
have the best," and insisting on the
best, we must pay for it From which
text a whole sermon might be written,
if it were worth while, on the cause of
the high cost of living.
Dreams.
By Grace K. Hall.
"Family Rides in Airplane," says
one headline, and "300,000 See Pair I
Wed in Airplane" another tells us.
Big folks and little ones insist on hav
ing all the thrills that are coming to
them. Meanwhile it all helps to bring
nearer the day when the airplane will
come into common commercial use, as
on one occasion recently In California,
when an aviator flew from San Fran
Cisco to Stockton with a package ot
serum needed in an emergency by
physician, and still more recently in
Oregon, the aviator in the latter in
stance carrying repair parts for
threshing machine, that the good
work of harvesting a crop of food
might not be unduly delayed. In
year the airplane will thrill us- no
more than a bicycle did in 1890, or
an automobile ride ten years ago. and
the only question asked when we hear
that Neighbor Jones has bought a new
flying machine will be: "Is it this
year's model, or did he get a used
boat?"
If science, says Lord Farrer, would
invent a drink without alcohol which
made one feel as cheerful as a glass
of good champagne, it would earn the
thanks of the universe. And if the
soft drink purveyors now working on
the job don't succeed in doing so,
will not be for the want of trying or
for lack of numbers enaged in the
quest.
The "Mexican war comet" of 1846,
so called because its appearance was
coincident with our, early unpleasant
ness in the south, is said to be due to
reappear, and if Brother Carranza is
superstitious he will read what hap
pened to Mexico then and govern him
self accordingly.
Germany has a long job ahead of
her to pay up, even with the old-fash
ioned workday. The time for her to
have agitated for "shorter hours" was
before she began figuring that she
would make the other fellows work
while she loafed.
It will be well for those who are
predicting calamity to the soldiers
who married abroad to bear in mind
that home marriages are not 100 per
cent happy, as revealed by the alarm
ing increase in the divorce statistics.
The habit of caution is worth culti
vating. There is a tragedy in every
automobile fatality, whether or not it
was "unavoidable." It is only just to
those who drive carefully that pedes
trians also should do their part.
The neighborly times we used to
have when everybody went to the
postoffice for his mail will come back
again if the government will arrange
to hold frequent sales of prime bacon
and good corned beef.
Why this ado about some one or
other swimming across the Rhine?
People used to swim across the Wil
lamette, which is about the same
width, on Christmas and women have
done it, too.
The church bell, as the Rev. Mr.
Switzer of Hoqulam reminds us, is an
unnecessary antique, and it is more
than that; it is a positive nuisance to
folks who like to sleep late on Sunday
mornings.
The literary world will be glad that
Thomas Nelson Page has resigned his
ambassadorship. There is plenty of
ambassadorial material; authors of
the Thomas Nelson Page caliber are
rare.
Denmark already is beginning to
find out that new acquisitions breed
new responsibilities. A loan of 120,
000,000 crowns for the reorganization
of Schleswig may be only a beginning.
The government has libeled several
thousand cases in storage in an east
ern city because they are unfit for
food. We did not suppose you could
libel a bad egg.
We weave of dreams the fabrio of our
lives.
For dreams we delve and do and
labor long:
Not for the Thirtg, but for his dream
man strives.
Makes his brave fight, doolies for
right or wrong.
His struggles, hopes, ambitions all he
dares
TJpon the field where battles dally
rage.
All that he pleads for In his unsaid
prayers.
All that he measures In his meager
wage
Are dreams. He may not look where
you may look,
Nor hear the call that urges other
men,
But his desires are like a singing brook
That keeps the verdure green within
the glen.
And no man labors, if indeed he be a
man, v
Without a dream is urging on his plan;
For none would race unless there be a
prize
To speed them towards the goal before
their eyes.
Some glimpse far lands that send in
sistent call;
Some sense a woman's lips 'galnBt
theirs warm pressed:
Some hold as trophy dearest far of all
A baby's golden head upon their
breast.
Perhaps at first God dreamed, and
dreaming wrought
A theme divine, a dream without a
flaw;
A perfect, true conception glorious
thought
That's thrilled man through the ages,
filled with awe
All races, lifting them to higher plane
Than mortal left unthrilled had sought
to gain;
And so shall we, the creatures that he
fashioned.
Create and build and plan, through
dream impassioned;
And at life's close hold up for his In
spection
Our little dreams each with Its imper
fection; Nor be abashed at what he then shall
see,
For he has said not one shall perfect be.
THE MUTE'S PROTEST.
Not in bitterness, nor even dreaming
That fate should will it otherwise.
Nor in protest at an unjust seeming
Of a mercy in disguise.
Some who thoughtlessly condole me
OiTer sympathy; its- piercing darts,
Stinging deep with burning pity,
Each silent glance or nod imparts.
I may not hear the wild birds' trilling.
Nor lift my voice In answ'ring song.
Yet silent melody is thrilling
Midst the woodland's towering throng.
Seeing feeling keener knowing:
Concentration brings to me.
Music from the sunset's glowing
Or the ever restless sea.
Grant me only comprehension.
And a chance to pierce the walls
Where life's unfailing compensation
Translates for me its unheard calls.
Mind and heart must guide me onward.
Through the soundless aisles that lay
Stretching for me ever upward.
I alone may find the way.
G. E. PINTO.
THE GYPSY TRAIL,
The gypsy trail is a path of dreams;
Ho, for the day we take it!
Afar it winds over hills and streams;
Oh, for the joys that make it!
And the gypsy trail is the road from
here;
Lord, how it daily calls us!
Where winds are sweet and skies are
clear
And only the good befalls us!
Away it leads from the things that irk
And that hateful thing called duty;
Afar from trouble and strife and work
It winds, to the haunts of beauty.
Oh, we love the trail, for we're gypsies
all.
And ever till life is ended,
We think it were wiser to heed the
call
From the Joyless road we've wended.
MARY HESTER FORCE.
EVENING
GLOOM AND
CHEER.
MORNING
Behold! the flaming morn Is here!
Her rippling laughter fills the ear;
To all, sweet eong and'joy she brings;
Hope, born anew, in rapture sings!
Oh, golden, glorious morning.
Brief hour of laughter and song.
Departing, leave a sunbeam.
To cheer the night hours longl
Dame Evening flaunts her garments
drear,
And robs the eoul of morning cheer;
In somber robe gray Twilight creepe;
Follows grim Night and lost Hope
weeps.
Oh. radiant, rose-tinted Morning,
Would that my soul might tonight.
Fly from the purpling shadows.
Into thy soft, mellow light.
MINA M. GATENS.
LOVE IS LIKK'S THEME.
Here is morn and noon and night
The dew, the sun, the dark
So few are the hours of light.
So few our hours of might.
Let us love before we embark.
Let us love In the dew of the mora.
Let us love when our noontime la
here.
And at eve when the twilight forlorm
Is made bright by our loving reborn;
Then shall be naught in our hearts
that Is fear.
the
Let us love before we set sail
On life's sea so clothed with
night;
Let us love lest life's fullness we fall.
For our love is the theme of life's tale.
And our toil but to set it aright!
M. A TOTHERS.
SPEAK IT PLAIN.
A hobo at Salem has been caught
milking- a cow. There's good in the
fellow. Most hobos would call milk
ing work and shun it as they would a
bath.
One feels like singing with the poet,
"Blessings on you, barefoot boy,"
every time he reads about another
prospective rise in the price of shoes.
Striking actors give us a new defini
tion of the phrase, "theater of war."
The dahlia with the Roosevelt smile
must be a daisy.
If you have a word of courage,
Speak it plain to those in need.
Every soul has hours depressing.
Every heart has need of blessing.
With a tone or look caressing.
To earth's sorrowing give heed.
If you have some power to strengthen.
Steady those about to fall;
Those who see us, see to gauge us,
Hope will ever be contagious.
Let our lives make men courageous.
Till they hold their fate in thralL
What you sow comes back In harvest;
Cheer some soul and cheer is yours.
And it comes with multiplying.
Far beyond your own supplying.
All your pathway beautifying.
With a beauty that endures.
MRS. FRANK A. BRECK. .
STAMPS AND GROCERIES
SOLD HERE.
Things are sadly awry, I think.
When the postmaster says: "If you
please.
Do you want to invest in a one-cent
stamp,
Or merely a can of peas?"
EVERETT. EARLS STANARDl
r
A