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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1919)
8 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTE3IBER 7, 1919. ESTABLISHED BY HESRT L- PITTO K. Mr. Farrell would not only teach for-! in this regard precisely in the same eign languages and social customs, but category as "love" and "honor, which would open the minds of its pupils to are not self-enacting either, but which the mental processes of peoples who no one has yet proposed to omit from I a. ' I i - V. I I V- 1 . . 1 . .. . lt.ni.tii.n tb..kii.. K. T-k, i n,1i,i,y1!n, r-s - not necessarily luieriur w un uc- i a. uifeuiv iiuuui LtLiik aim nifcicouiMfa isi Sixtb street, i'aruand, Oregon. j cause they do not accept the same ceremonial. It is. indeed, easier to C A- morpfn. E. B. piper, i kind of goods that we use at home. I believe that a bride could promise to Manager. The Orffontan is m member f the Asso ciated Press. The Awfx-iat-d Press In ex rlaslvely entitled to the ue for publica tion of all news dispatches credited to It or rot otherwise credited In this paper and also trie local news publlehed herein. All rights of republication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. i The new conception of trade elevates obey, and keep her promise, than that it to the dignity of a profession with out detracting a whit from the com fortable possibilities of financial re turn. Snbaerlptioa Rate Ioaribly In Advance: (Bit Mail. ) rallr. S-jndsy Included, one rear 29 Ially. Sunday Included, six montha .... S.-3 tally. Sunday Included, three month ... 2 2S l'ellv. Sunday Included, one month ..... I'allv, without Sunday, one year J-00 Ially, althout Sunday, six months ..... 3.-5 I ally. without Sunday, one month .SO xveekly. one year 1-00 Pon'lay. one year ...................... 2.50 Sunday and weekly a-50 t By Carrier.) Dally. Sunday included, one year .. Iaiiv, Sunday Included, one month . . . T i . 1 1 Kimriav Inelllrf,! three montha . Iai:y. without Sunday, one year J0 T'allv. without Sunday, three months ... l-5 laiiy. without Sunday, one month -. 65 How to Remit Send postnfflee money or der, express or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at own er's risk. Give poetofflco address In full, in cluding, county and state. Postage Katea 12 to 1 pages. 1 cent: 18 to 33 pages. 2 cents: 84 to 4S page. 3 cents: SO to 6 pages. 4 cents: 2 to 7 pages, 0 cents: Tt to 82 pages. cents. Foreign post age, double rates. Eastern Business Office Verrea Conk lln. Mrunswick building. New Tork: Verrea Conkltn. Steger building. Chicago: Verre sx I'onklln. Kre Press building, Detroit. Mich. Ban Francisco representame. R. J. Bldwell. GIVE HEED TO THE CONSUMER. While the government is conducting a campaign against profiteers. It can not be exonerated of the charge of profiteering itself. "When war began, the government became the greatest single buyer of the principal commodi ties. It created a demand in excess of the supply. Therefore it fixed max! mum prices to prevent its necessities from causing extortion from the pub lic When the war ended in fact though not in law, the occasion for maximum prices disappeared, and they were abolished in law but not in fact. As the government had stabilized prices when they were going up and had set a high maximum, it should have done its part to start them down until they should be stabilized again by the( working of economic law. Instead of starting and helping the downward course of prices, the war department took action to sustain them. It started steel, copper and similar commodities downward, but not food. People cannot eat steel and copper, therefore Secretary Baker did nothing to reduce the cost of living. Krom March to July, during which time he gave & sympathetic ear to the packers and canners. the cost of living rose C per cent. His aim was to sell at as high a figure as possible and not to break the market. He wanted to show a large sum saved, as a credit to the administration, and to help the packers, who are having a hard time with other departments of the govern ment. President Wilson's anti-profiteering campaign has caused him to reverse his policy, but in some cases action came too late. In others the old policy Is still pursued. He . sold 3,000,000 pounds of prunes to one concern at 2 cents a pound, when sale direct to the consumer would have reduced the price not only of these prunes but of all others on the market. The do mestic sugar crop is the largest in six years and Cuba also has an unusually large crop, but the' war department sells S7.000.000 pounds to the sugar equalization board, which fixes a max lmum price of 11 cents a pound, talks vaguely of shortage and limits sales to a single consumer. In practice that maximum price becomes the mini mum price. The government could cause a fall and could relieve the shortage by unloading that 37,000,000 pounds direct to the consumer at the chain of stores which Mr. Baker talks of establishing. Shoes are at exorbitant prices, though one of the greatest manufac turers says they may be bought for 34 to $3 a patr and tells buyers it is op tional with them whether they pay the predicted high prices. The war department had 3.000.000 pairs In France, at least some of which might have been returned to this country to help force the profiteering out of prices. But Mr. Baker sold all of them to the French government. He did not want to break the market, even to help the people who had paid for the shoes. While the country Is said to - be short 100,000,000 pounds of the need ed supply of wool, the government has 145,000,000 pounds in stock, and will sell it to the highest bidder In No vember, releasing a fraction each month. More care not to break the market, though the sale could be managed so that wool would come down, more woolen mills would open and then clothes would be cheaper. The war department will also sell 3225.000 worth of leather to the high est bidder. It is not much as things go in these days, but even a small quantity judiciously sold can start prices downward. The entire policy of the war depart ment in handling surplus supplies has been to sustain prices and thus to pro tect the manufacturer. Then Mr. Baker would make a fine showing of salvage for the honor and glory of the administration. He cared not a rap for the consumer, for has not the con sumer been the goat from the founda tion of the republic? Not until the railroad brotherhoods offered the al ternative between the Plumb bill and a strike did Mr. Baker, at a word from President Wilson, take any interest in the consumer. Then he did not throw the reverse lever all the way over. He sold only meat and vegetables. He should put sugar, prunes, army shoes, wool, sole leather and various other articles on the shelves of his stores. For every cent that is cut off the'price which the consumer pays for these army goods, a cent would be cut off the price of the entire supply of the same kind. While the nation as a whole might recover less In salvage on war supplies. It would save many times as much on its aggregate pur chases. The consumer Is usually a meek, patient being, but he is getting angry and this is his year. Give heed to the consumer. MOVEMENT OF rEOPI.ES. Ttw.. I : . : ; i . . V. lem is as wide as the world. Germany fe" ?Teater, in?pe"t for the she could yield either love or honor against her inclination. Substitution of "cherish" for "obey" helps matters very little if at all. The further proposal of the same ! ecclesiastical body to eliminate the ' allusion to Isaac and Rebecca pos ts threatened with an exodus which even drastic laws against it are un likely to stem. There is certain to be a great shifting about of the people of central Europe in the effort to re adjust associations along lines of race. Kmigration from the United States ts.oe has already been- noticed and com- . 25 critics than for the common run of men. An Episcopalian rector some months ago refused to use the allu sion, asserting that the domestic life of Isaac and Rebecca was not ideal. We wish the critics would cease shat tering our cherished romances. They will be telling us presently that Ruth was not a model daughter-in-law. We been exaggerated. The situation of are tisfied with the picture as it has been drawn for us; we even like to believe that there still are brides to whom obedience in its better sense not altogether irksome, and bride grooms who are awake to their im plied responsibility. Germany probably is the most serious of all in this respect. Here there is general desire to escape the stupen dous economic burden of war taxation. but other Influences are also at work. The military party's adherents find themselves not as popular as they were and would like to begin life HEALTH AND the h. C. U over again in new surroundings. I Relationship between the cost of Iiv That German officers have Indicated ing and the public health has been willingness to accept service with I made plain enough in European coun the United States is only another I tries, but not so plain nearer home. illustration of incapacity of the Prus- I study of the subject by Dr. Louis G. sian mind to comprehend our psychol- I Harris, director of the bureau of pre ogy. In the end South America Is veritable diseases of New York city, likely to get most of the German eml- I brings the issue close to Americans. grants, the number depending on how I It ought to stimulate every movement hospitable South Americans are. ANOTHER MARRIAGE TANGLE. It has been noted in Wisconsin, as in Oregon, that persons about to marry often evade the state eugenics law by obtaining license and having the cere mony performed in another state. The Wisconsin couple finds Illinois with its liberal marriage laws a haven Just as the Oregon couple Journeys to Van couver. But in Wisconsin there is now wide spread alarm among those who were married in Illinois. The courts have held that a marriage' contracted in an other state with evident intent to evade the requirements of the Wiscon sin law Is not valid in Wisconsin. This situation is not related for the toward increased production, waste prevention and elimination of prof iteering that gives the slightest prom ise of relief. The survey covers 2084 families. whose incomes ranged from 3300 to 35000. but 83 per cent were between 3500 and 31500 a year. In 807, or little more than 37 per cent, meat was entirely eliminated from the diet In 388, or 17 per cent, the amount of meat was decreased, a not wholly un mixed evil if suitable substitutes were provided, which they probably were not. In 828 cases eggs were wholly eliminated from the dietary; in 61 butter was eliminated and in 135 greatly decreased; 143 families gave up sugar and 240 used much less of it. The more serious aspect of the sur vey is that it showed that 296 families ir J"?': ceased buying milk for their children, V aaaua a wu Isl w la. AS V w U V s ill Oue lack of trained men for foreign trade is called to attention again by the proposal of James A. Farrell to establish a school of foreign trade In connection with a leading university. This is the one branch of now-neglected industry which seems to offer the greatest opportunity for young men with Imagination and brains. We now excel In production, but not In creating markets for our goods. We have paid little attention to the psychology of foreign peoples, and know little or nothing of the etiquette and trade customs of other countries. Tt is Impossible to estimate how great have been our losses in the past be cause of this. The school proposed by order to evade the physical examina tion imposed on the male, for the Ore gon law differs materially from that of Wisconsin. The Oregon statute is directed not at the contracting persons but only at the county clerk, who is enjoined not to issue a license unless the application is accompanied by a physician s certificate of health. If a marriage license applicant could In ducehe clerk to issue a license In the absence 'of a physician's certificate the applicant's subsequent marriage In Oregon would probably be valid. Or if he forged a health certificate and thereby obtained a license his mar riage would not be void, though he might be punished for forgery. The Oregon law is virtually inoper ative. The examination, being limited by a small legal fee, is usually per functory and Inconclusive. It is also easy to cross the state line and wholly evade its provisions. Wisconsin, how ever, has disclosed a means by which an effective law directed at the same purpose may be devised. Specific pro hibition of marriage between persons who failed to obtain health clearance HOW BEST TO HELP CHINA papers would almost certainly be fol-1 In view of the declaration by lowed by a ruling similar to that of member of the Japanese delegation the Wisconsin courts. As frequently that Japan will restore Shantung to suggested the Oregon law should Chinese sovereignty, will establish an either be made enforceable or be re- international instead of a Japanese pealed as burdensome and inconse- settlement at Klaochow and will op quentiaL erate the Shantung railroad in part nership with China, it is proper that 'OBEY IX the MARRIAGE RTTI74.T-. mose wno oppose ine bnantung clause It nri.hi.hiv i. , x-itoiw i-..-t i tne Versailles treaty snouia con whether th wnml rnnv,niinn f S'aer wneiner ineir policy is wise in Episcopal church when it meets next theJ ' Jot United States month arrntii nr i-a inm MnA the committee on revision and enrich- Chin,' Impaired sovereignty, which ment of the Book of Common Prayer, wouId ? accomplished by the action would retain certain property rights In the port, railroad and mines. When we recall that the foreign concessions at Shanghai and Tien Tsin have been the means of creating great ports, there can be no reasonable doubt that seventy-one reduced the amount, pre sumably already no more than suf ficient, and 293 substituted "loose' milk for bottled milk, a serious matter In view of methods of selling in great cities. Butter was taken from 370 children, meat from 544, eggs from 532 and sugar from seventy-one. Th value of milk products in the age of childhood is established, and wise use of sugar is recognized as particularly desirable during the period of growth. It appears therefore that the future health of the child is menaced. well as the present physical welfare of adults, by prices which drive these fundamental necessities out of con sumption. Indeed, out of 2183 cases of illness, more than 13 per cent were definitely delayed in recovery by in creased, cost of essentials. Significance of figures as to consumption of eggs is heightened by their recognized posi tion in the dietary of consumptives and as to milk and butter by the fact that there are no substitutes for these as food for the young. recommending elimination from the marriage ceremony of the word "obey" for the bride, and "with all my world ly goods I thee endow" for the bride groom. Obedience in the sense of yielding submission to a tyrannical will has not in rarnt vir Kaon . v, practice of brides, at wt ,h China will profit immensely by estab waning- of th rir.nBvmr.nn tk. 8nment oi sucn a settlement at that much lerlslaon ha h..n r,- Klaochow. sarv to riafina nnri .nf.M. .i,. xnen me question is reaucea to ertr rifcThts of wlvM i avirTono- ,. "". bo far as China is concerned bridegrooms have liberally construed whether JaP" can be trusted to keep their part of the obligation. Whether 1 jtuuubcs, o mr as me umtea these phrases remain in or are eliml- ow" ,B concernea. wnetner we are nated from the eatjiiiah.ri i. . justified m doubting the good faith matter of far less consequence than of JaPan witn hlch we are on terms that there should be comprehension of 'rie"dship, and whether we can of the spirit that permeates them nelP Cnlna m defense of its rights Those to whom landmarks mn uc"r " uccouiing a party to ine much, and who are instructed by his tory, and who like to philosophize over the development of our institu tions, will view the proposed chance witn mixed emotions. The root of "obedience" is the Latin treaty than by attempting to amend it with the almost certain conse quence that we should be driven to make a separate treaty with Ger many. If we should adopt the latter course, the Versailles treaty wouldJ audlre" to irive ear tnnnri Tv doubtless be ratified by enough pow- modern significance of "to h n.iod ers t0 make it effective. Those pow- by" Is only one of several m..nin would then have confirmed Japan from among which brides still are ln temPrarv possession of Shantung permitted a free ehoic "Rn tn y,i. "uer a piouse, oxionea Dy us, 10 spirit was constrained tn nh hand it over to China, while we should harmony that proceeded from the in- nave bound Germany to hand It over strument," ln the words of the medie. t0 China directly. It would then be val author, conveys precisely the hie-h. Incumbent on us to expel Japan. If er spiritual significance of tha wnrj I we should attempt it, we should place Perfect obedience," says the theo- ourselve J a position or nostlllty to loglan. "Is exact conformitv f ..e tne a"ies. In view of Japan's pledge hearts and lives to law." He that can to get out th111 yar or as soon as make his hand obey the judgment of lno necessary arrangements can be his eye Is admirable enough. A "readl- madc witn China, Is this worth while? ness to carry out the wishes of an- That hinges on the question of other." to "hearken to" (as the student JaDan'8 ood faith or, assuming that of Latin will construe it), to "put the country to be guided only by consid- desires of another into execution and erations ot expediency rather than thereby satisfy the will of another" nonori Japan's policy. As to that ignifies capacity for "hearkening" to Plnt wo nav the promise given in advice, direction or order. Obedience wrltin8' Dut kePt secret at the peace of the slave is only one form of obedi- conference; we have the public an. ence. In religion obedience is ani- no-uncement of Japan's intentions by mated by love: in ethics it implies rv''scount Uchida immediately after submission to authority regarded as tne 81Knin8" " the peace treatyT and universally valid. It will be supposed we now have 1116 reaffirmation of that that the modern bride will find here declaration in more specific terms by sufficient Justification for placing her a raenlI)er OI w Japanese peace dele- own construction upon her pledge when love ceases to dictate obedience, and neither law nor custom conforms the validity of the husband's authority. The women of America long? ato struck out the word for themselves when It pleased them to do so. A good many will have observed that quite as much obedience, in the later sense. Is practiced by husbands as by wives, we ao not suppose that any good purpose would be served by In cluding the word ln the pledge given oy the bridegroom, although some men would profit greatly by lending a hospitable ear to the counsel of their better halves. The point Is that the word might as well remain, as a kind of mllepost of history and sentiment. lr ror no other reason. Married cou ples who do not hearken to one an other's counsel ought to do so at any rate. Unenforceable as It Is, it stands, gation. Those declarations, each more explicit than the last, have been evoked by the moral pressure of the world's opinion. China's protests at Paris received many indorsements Jn America and Europe and were fol lowed by a boycott by China of Japan. That country has not ventured to de fy the unorganized opinion of the world. Much less would It defy that opinion so organized in the league of nations as to be capable of being fol lowed by effective action. It would more readily defer to a league which included the "United States than to a leagie from which this nation stood aloof. As a member of the league the United States would be in a posi tion to set in motion the machinery of the league for the purpose of com pelling Japan to keep its promises to the very letter, if necessary. the league the United States would be in a position to help China more effectually in other ways. Kiaochow is only one of many foreign conces sions which have been extorted from China, in many instances to the weak ening of China's sovereignty and to the delay of that country's develop ment. As a member of the league the United States would be able to open the entire question of these conces sions, not invidiously as regards one country only, but as regards all, as a question of international right and of world policy. The moral influence of this country is so well backed by power that its voice would be heard and probably would be decisive. We could free China from shackles and begin international co-operation in aid of that country's political organi zation and economic development. Signs are not wanting that Japan is beginning to realize that the policy of aggression and of seeking exclu sive or preferential rights in China and other Asiatic countries will not be tolerated in the new era which has opened. If confronted by united op position of other nations to this pol icy and if offered equal opportunity with all other nations, Japan would most probably choose the latter alter native. One of these signs is an ar ticle in the Trans-Pacific magazine bysonian. always of the same extent, but they bear a common ratio. It is a mental product and must be equal to the task of coining thoughts into words. It Is essential to all social order and no community could lens survive without it. It Is as much the product of mind and matter as salt is the product of chlorine and sodium. The more recent discoveries of Pro fessor Garner, the full details of which the scientific world awaits with deep interest, warrant the conclusion that monkeys ln the jungle have a means of communication with one another sufficient for the needs of a family life differing only in degree of com plexity from that of more primitive men. "One very old man," writes Professor Garner, significantly em ploying the word "man" in describing a chimpanzee, "has often come within 100 yards of me and scrutinized me very closely, while his wife (as I took his companion to be) appeared to be very uneasy and suspicious." The young ones tumble and romp about ln the grass, chasing and scuffling with one another, exactly as human chil dren do. They possess many "human" characteristics. A kind of reasoning faculty is one of them. The scientists avoid acts which would alarm them; they become amazingly tame; whole families dwell serenely within hailing distance of the habitations of these strange higher beings from the Smlth- Junnosuke Inouye, governor of the Bank of Japan, in which after de scribing the position of financial lead ership in the far east to which Japan has attained and . how it may be strengthened, he says: In any consideration of investments abroad in cooperation with the capitalists of other countries, we must first of all disabuse our minds of any idea of exclusive ness or of the advancement of purely selfish claims. We must content ourselves with such profits as will accrue from fair dealing; and equal opportunities ln trade. Furthermore, Japan should give up the pursuance of any claim of special or pre ferential rights in China, Siberia or else where which Is based only on thesround of seosraphlcai propinquity. The United States can do more to induce Japan to adopt that policy by working in concert with other nations and by joining the league in which it can bring its influence to bear on them than by standing . apart and working alone. By that course we can help China, help Europe, help all America and in so doing serve our own highest Interests. By ratifying the treaty and becom ing one of the dominant powers in Iky tiie growth, of mind. THE BEGINNINGS OF SPEECH. Professor R. L. Garner, in a report to the Smithsonian institution recently published, holds out further hope of tracing the relationship between men and monkeys which has entertained the scientific world ever since the doc trine of evolution was first promul gated. It was Professor Garner who some years ago kept vigil in a cage in an African jungle with the purpose of studying simian speech. His contribu tions to science have been serious, painstaking and consistent, notwith standing the levity which some of his claims have provoked among the un sympathetic. He is now in the heart of the French Congo, where he is studying not only the language but the social customs of the chimpanzees. He finds that the monkey is not unlike man in several interesting respects. One of these is the family organiza tion. In the jungle, far from the traveled path, where the monkey has superior opportunity for self-determination, he 'appears more human than in captivity. If a kind of human family life does exist among the simians, it would seem to offer another proof of our common ancestry. . Professor Garner has already shown us that in certain rudimentary respects monkey "lan guage" may have had a derivation common with our own. A philosopher might write a whole volume upon the fact that the most noticeable common point of contact is the sign of nega tion. The monkey, desiring to express refusal or dissent, shakes his head from side to side, just as human be ings, from the lowest to the highest stages of civilization, do. He has made many tests which have con vinced him of the intent and meaning of the sign. Beginning with a pet monkey, which might have acquired the motion as a mere trick, he ex tended his observations widely and reached the conclusion that the sign is a fixed factor of expression. In a work on the subject which Is now a classic Professor Garner said: I have seen them use the sign in re sponse to certain things which were wholly new to them, but where the idea was clear to them and they desired to express dis sent. The fact that this slirn is common to both man and simians I regard as more than a mere coincidence and I believe that ln this sign I have found the psycho-physical basis of expression. We are forced to conclude that the first thing the primitive being leaYned was what he did not want. This seems to have come to him before the knowl edge of what ho did want. Negation is more ancient than affirmation, as is shown by Professor Garner's com panion discovery that the nod of as sent, while also employed by some simians in the same form as it is used by man, Is not so nearly universal Only the more advanced are able to say "yes." But every man and every monkey knows how, if not . always when, to say no." We leave specula tion upon. the reason for this to econo mists, philologists and philosophers. The horizontal shaking of the head as the sign of negation is practically universal among the races of men. Professor Garner's exhaustive re searches have disclosed only a few trifling exceptions to the rule; these were Caucasians and were confined to southern Europe. In his book on The Speech of Monkeys" Professor Garner said: I have heard that among certain island tribes of Polynesians these signs are versed, but I have been assured by two officers of the English navy and two of the United States navy, who have visited the Islands ln question, that such is not the case. Among the Indians, Mongolians and negroes I have found no noteworthy ex ceptlons. I have inquired among mothers who have reared families to ascertain when they first observed this sign as an expression among their children, and from the consensus of opinion it appears that this is about the first sign used by Infants to express negation. There is, as Professor Garner finds, probable dual reason for this: The negative sign doubtless comes from instinctive effort to turn away the head from something which is not de sired; and the nod of affirmation may have grown but of the intuitive lower ing of the head as an act of submis sion or acquiescence, or from reach ing the head forward to receive some thing desired. But this. Professor Garner says, is only one of many points in which the speech of simians coincides with that of man. The simian speech, he concludes, is as truly speech as our own. It is circum scribed only by the limited capacity of the moneky for thought. But here also we find evidence of the ascending scale of evolution. For example: In the higher types of human speech there are thousands of words and ideas hlch cannot be translated into or ex pressed by any savage tongue, because no savage ever had use for them and so no savage tongue contains their equivalence. The growth of speech is always measured They are sot Even more interesting is the belief of Professor Garner that the evidence which he is accumulating is only an other link in the chain of proof that in the first condition of vitalized mat ter we find evidence of autonomy. The elementary first impulse of the biod is to obtain food or to associate with a unit of its own kind. This is the first act of volition within the sphere of life. From this point forward, or up ward, forms of expression seem prompted by desire or some kindred emotion. The steps of progress from inanimate matter to man are tedious to the non-scientist; they become more comprehensible as the upper levels are reached; they begin to develop common ground at the point where Professor Garner has taken up his researches into the common language of men and apes. The phonetic ele ments of simian and human speech are much the same, and those of the sim ians are not much less numerous. Cen turies of progress have developed the highly refined vocabularies of modern European tongues; these have been coincident with development of the need for them. But there remain whol tribes of savages whose language not much more complex than that of the monkey. Professor Garner cannot see how the light of a lamp differs from that of a bonfire except in volume. Both dawn and noon are light. "The psychic spark which dimly glows in the ani mil bursts into a blaze of effulgence In man." "Whether," the scientist adds, and in no spirit .of irreverence, "man is the creature of design or acci dent, the authorship of his being and that of all the forms which roam the broad empire of life must be the same. We are all," he adds, "th3 effects of one great cause, whatever that may be, and that which gave to man the power of speech imparted it to apes." Professor Garner does not see any rea son why nature should have drawn a line about this faculty and made tho rest a common heritage. in business economics, which is that one is not always a competitor be cause he engages in the same line of business in a given community. The government in this instance by enter ing the insurance field has boomed Insurance In general; the imitative quality in most people has been much stimulated; in a country in which every soldier had an insurance policy it was likely that every civilian would have one also. We find on reference again to the figures given by the In surance Press that in every month of 1918, the year after we entered the war,; the volume of new business was greater than ln the corresponding month of 1916, the year before our participation, and this despite the "competition" of the government in the case of service men. Insurance being accepted as a fixed principle ln our economic life, it needs no stretch of the imagination to visualize the effect which this will have upon the habits of the Insured. The holder of an insurance policy has a stake in the country, and in its investments, and is a kind of small capitalist on his own account. We do not suppose the bolshevists are given to paying insurance premiums. For this reason, as well as for others, it is highly desirable that discharged service men should be persuaded to hold fast to their policies, or to rein state them before it is too late, if meanwhile they have fallen in arrears. Congress has the power to repair the defect of which many now complain, and it would be better to count on congress to do this than to forfeit the bargain in life insurance to which every soldier and sailor is entitled The Lost Trail. By Grace K. Hall. is GROWTH OF LIFE TNSCRANCE. The Insurance Press, summarizing the new business written by sixty. four largest life insurance companies of the United States, reveals one of the most amazing changes that has taken place in the country since. the European war began. The figures will help us maintain an optimistic conception for the future, since they show that beneath the tide of extra va gance which has seemingly engulfed us there Is a current of thrift. It has taken some realization of the needs of the future to bring about the vast Increase which the statistics show. The amount of new business writ ten by the companies in June, 1919 was 3303,678,831. In the same month of 1918 it was 3165.864,803. For the first six months of 1919 the showing is 31.794,404,173; for the first six months of 1918 it was 390.570,514 Volume has practically been doubled in a year, and it will be borne in mind that only new business is taken into account It will be found, no doubt, that there have been fewer lapses of old policies than formerly. Indeed, the considerable amount of new business which is derived from increasing the size of policies already held shows that the tendency all along the line is to hold fast to in surance and where possible to obtain more. This may account in part for the dropping of government Insurance by soldiers, but not to a sufficiently large extent to give us a comfortable feel Ing as to this phase of an otherwise encouraging situation. Roughly it is estimated that our soldiers and sail ors have permitted some 32,000,000,- 000 of insurance to expire since de mobilization began. It is believed that the sum of these lapsed policies will yet reach 33,000,000,000. Yet when the government undertook to furnish "insurance at cost," to absorb the war risk and to take care of ad ministrative overhead, it supplied what Insurance experts concede was the greatest insurance bargain -of all times. Yet this is not due wholly to decline of thrift among service men, as some have assumed. The terms of payment of the government policy are objectionable to many. Where, for example, the soldier Is insured for 310,000, his beneficiary does not re ceive 310,000 in a lump sum, but the money is paid in monthly instalments of 357.50, extending over a period of twenty years. This is unsatisfactory to many service men in at least two respects. Some of them believe and the actuarial figures in the case of a parent or a wife would bear them out that the beneficiary would be unlikely to survive them for twenty years. They want the immediate beneficiary and not some remote heir to get the money. And in the cases of those who, not able to carry the full 310,000, desire to carry a portion of the amount, but think the monthly payment of, say 316.25 on a 33000 j policy of no marked value, there is objection, .also. Undoubtedly failure to make provision for one form of policy which will be paid all in one sum has contributed largely to the volume of lapsed accounts In the files of the war risk insurance board. The figures of new business written would be even more impressive if it were not for the policy of many com panies, in co-operation with the gov ernment, of declining business or service men, and advising them to con tinue their government insurance in stead. This broad policy, and the fact that large insurance companies have not complained of the govern ment as a competitor is highly credit able to the companies. It recognizes. In fact, a comparatively new principle Use of the parcel post by the gov. ernment in distributing supplies of army canned goods to consumers will revive interest in the old proposal to get producer and consumer together through the same medium, but it will not shed much light on the question. There is now, in theory, no reason why we should not do a good deal of our buying direct from farmers. The parcel post is in full operation and is fairly efficient. But a good many farmers on the one hand are not trained in the business of catering to a retail trade, and consumers on the other still have the habit of buy ing from hand to mouth, which justi fies the existence of the little store on the corner, but does not bring the day of direct sales from farm to table any nearer. There are great possibilities ln parcel post trade if and when pro ducers go after it and consumers show willingness to buy in advance of th requirements of the next meal. But the sale of government goods, widely advertised as it has been, proves noth ing as to the future of parcel post marketing in general. Decision of the supreme council at Paris to give the Spitzenbergen island to Norway disposes for the first tim of sovereignty over this arctic archi pelago without raising the issue of self-determination, for the island have never been permanently In habited. That they have not been highly valued in the past is Indicated by the fact that, although they were discovered by the Dutch in 1596 and visited by Henry Hudson ln 1607, th interior was not explored until 189 and the largest island was not crossed until 1896, when a survey was made by the Englishman, Sir Martin Con way. The Spitzenbergens have fig ured chiefly as bases for scientific and exploring expeditions, that of the ill fated Andre among them. Norway has put them to use by making a sum raer resort and establishing a line of steamers, and may find them of value for their coal, which was discovered only in 1900. Their area is about quarter that of Oregon. The French, too, have their orators who are delaying the peace treaty, and thirty-seven senators are said to have prepared speeches which they will insist on delivering before permitting a vote. Even our senate will hardly do better (or worse) than that. An industrial note says that flax raising has become firmly established in Australia, but we do not look for real linen table cloths Jo be within the reacn oi tne common people tor quite a while yet. A hundred dollar fine and four months in jail is not too heavy punish ment for the man who won't learn that gasoline and whisky are chemi cally, physicially and socially incom patible. A Minnesota fair price committee has urged people to quit buying cloth ing until prices come down, but we hope people will not go to extremes. The bolshevikl have seized the Tol stoy estate "to preserve the memory of the great Russian," and that is about all that they will preserve. "Henry Ford's Own Page" continues to appear in the Dearborn Inde pendent unsigned, as usual, by the real author of the stuff. It may be an honor to be given a wider bridgehead on the Rhine to oc cupy, but most American soldiers would rather be home. The bobbed hair fad is spreading in the east, with no prospect that a safety hair cutter for women will ever be Invented. It is estimated that strikes are cost ing the country 35,000,000 a day and the strikers are not paying all of the cost, either. We shall restrain our enthusiasm over the promised slump in the cost of living until it actually shows up In the bills. Mr. Lansing says that there is no waste in Paris partly due, no doubt, to the fact that there is very little left to waste. It rains on the hop pickers and also on the forest fires. It's an ill rain that brings nobody any good. Perhaps Caruso will consent to sing the baby to sleep for much less than 33000 per performance. I'd like to follow the beaten road that leads to a little town. Where I dreamed my dreams by the passing streams that ran 'tween banks of brown; I'd like to drift back on the tides of content and stroll on a gem starred beach. In quest of the time when hopes were mine and Joy dwelt ln my reach; When I vlsioned a day and a wonder ful way when marvelous things should he. When the city's noise was made of joys that thrilled in the nerves of me. Td like to go back to the work and the play and struggle again with the plans That I meant should live through the strength I'd give ln the labor of my hands: I'd like to sense for a single day the urge and the grim "I will" That forced me through when the Joys were few and shadows rimmed the hill. I'd like to go back on the beaten road that I followed away from home. And linger a while where memories smile ln my childhood's first abode; Where I met each morn with a mood - serene and a face that was free from frown. And the birds sang loud from the gray fleece-cloud as they gaily circled down. Oh, tell me, stranger, the road that leads to that village of yester day! I long to go, but alas, I know that I cannot find the wayl vV'HV SHOULD THE "SHOFERf Oh, why should a "shofer" be blind as a bat While rushing along, and not know where "he's at" Till he's thrown from his seat by a terrible crash And his automobile has been broken ts smash? Oh. why don't he see if the way is all clear Before he approaches the corner so near. When he kicks off the clutch and then grabs at the brake And yells like a girl when she steps on. a snake? Oh, why don't he listen with ears and be wise? 'Tis better by far than to meet with surprise . And be turned like a turtle with feet o'er his head Or under the auto to smother till dead. Oh, why don't he slacken or pull on his. brake When he comes to a place where there's chances to take: Wrhen he knows a car line is a few rods ahead. Oh, why don't he listen or look up instead? When he starts down a hill with a crook in the road. Oh, why does he come like a deer from the goad? Don't he know there is danger of tak ing a flop. With himself underneath and his auto on top? When he goes like the wind at a fifty- mile gait He ought to be sure that his road Is all straight. For a Jerk on the brake or a crook ln the race Will send him to glory or some other place. So now, Mr. "Shofer," these lines yon should heed And look where you're going and slacken your speed. For the mouth of old nature with wide- open Jaws Is gaping for "shofers" who heed not her laws. W. L. RIGDON. INVITATION. Out, out! all of you who are weary Of the ev ryday battle and strife. Take a wee bit of time to reflect on The why and the wherefore of life. Out where the brooklet's fresh bubbling Seems to hold you as If in a trance. And your cares, one by one, hasten from you Away with the stream's rythmic dance. Where manifold truths will. delight you And water your long parched soul That's shrunken and dwarfed In the shadow, Tet cries for some light on its goal. Where Nature will answer your ques tions In silent discourse, while she flings A mantle of calm o'er your being And you glad heart ln gratitude sings. With regret you'll acknowledge the mad haste That has marked all your Journey so far. And a new guide then choose for the balance Wise Patience, who leads to a star. EDITH J. PEKNOT. 526 East Twenty-first street North, Portland. Or, Sept. 1, 1919. HIS WIFE. This morning in the busy street I saw a man and wife Plodding, dull and common, theirs seemed a sordid lite. The man was stooped and threadbare. with clothes unpressea ana worn, The woman's hands were hard and red, her skirt ill-made and torn. They both stared ahead of them. In different ana morose. But suddenly a passing car came swerv ing very close Quick as a flash the man looked up. as tnousrn rour.ua mio w. And in his own I saw him clasp the rough hand or nis wire. JEAN SALISBURY. JUST BEYOND. Just beyond this vale of tears. Just beyond this woria oi woe, ust beyond these speeding years There's a better day, I know. Just beyond we soon will know All the saints beyond the veil. For when weary earth years go All our friends again we n nan. When we cross the border land. With our Master's voice to guide. We will pass through hand In hand To this land so free ana wiae. Just beyond this vale of tears. Just beyond this worm or woe; ust beyond these speeding years There's a better worm, i Know. DORA REEVES CROFT. There is an immense amount of pork in cold storage, not Including road and other hogs. Another use for an airplane patrol of the Mexican border may be to lo cate missing aviators. One of the betrayers of Edith Cavell has been condemned to death. Now for the higher-ups. Back goes the price of bread to 10 cents, and there is no substitute for bread. PERSEVERANCE. If there's on small bit of sunshine. Just a gleam of out a star; Or a pleasant cheering sentence Like a message from afar. Breaking through the clouds obscuring, Wafted on the sultry air To revive the fainting spirit And dispel the mist of care. Do not count defeat as crushing: Hope and valor comrades true At the turn to victory waiting. With a mile would welcome you. A. K. ALLEVIATION. I think that I shall never find Anything that's quite as kind As just the cool and friendly night With all the smiling stars alltrht. DOROTHY HAJJU