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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1920)
TIIJJ SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND. MARCH 21. a- ESTABLISHED Bt HESKV 1-. PITTOCK. Published by The Oregonlan Publishing Co., J3p Sixth Street, Portland, Oregon. & A..MORDEN. E. B. PIPER. llanager. Elllor. Thi Oresnnlan Is a member of the Au elai.i. IJres. The Associated Prvua Is exclusively entitled to the use for publica tion of all news dispatcher credited to it or nbt otherwise credited In this paper and also the local news published herein. All rurtots of republication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Subscription Iiutes Invariably in Advance. . . (By Mall.) Daily, Sunday Included, one year nn Pail'. Sunday included, six months ... 4.''5 Daily. Sunday included, three months.. r:iiie Sunday included, one month ... -s Iia'Iv, viihout Sunday, one year po Iaily,.wlthout Sunday, six months .... 3.-. lai!y.. without Sunday, one mouth -,t0 Weekly, one year 1 "" Sunday, one year 5-uu (By Carrier.) 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Ko president will ever again as surne unto himself exclusive au thorlty to engage the United States in contractual obligations or alliances with foreign countries. The personal adventure of Woodrow Wilson with the league of nations has bee humiliating and hurtful to himself, and it is Injurious and it may be dis astrous to the nation. It Is not necessary to acquit th senate in order to fasten the prim responsibility on the president. There has been too much politics, personal and party, in the entire matter, be ginning with the presidential appeal for a democratic congress in 1918 that he might be the "unembarrassed spokesman" of the American nation He was not given any such mandate but he assumed that it was never theless a nart of the presidential prerogative and he went ahead Whether he assumed also that the qualifications of the incumbent o the presidency justified him in ignor ing his constitutional advisers, and in his own right taking a position of moral, spiritual, intellectual and political leadership in the World, must be, at least for the present, a ques tion of fervent disagreement between the- partisans and opponents of Mr. Wilson. For the present there is to be .no league of nations of which America may be a member. It may not come for months, and even years if at alL It must be decided by a "solemn referendum" Of the Ameri can people. President Wilson has his desire that the league be thrown into the campaign. It is not the desire, however, of his party, nor of the majority of the republican party. It is not easy to see how a clean-cut issue can be made which will define the exact attitude of both parties in intelligible terms, or furnish an explicit man date for future action. The democ racy will be under the necessity of justifying the course of the presi dent in his negotiations with the powers and in his attitude toward the. senata. How can it go before the people on a platform of repudia tion of its leader? It is true, to be sure, that there is a distinct revolt within the party against his pro grfumme, but it cannot be said that it goes to the extent of abandon ment of his leadership. The situation for the democrats is only in part relieved by the fact if it shall be a fact that Mr. Wilson will not bo their candidate for a third time. In that event there would be no escape from the issue, which would be Mr. Wilson himself. But if he shall not be the nominee, it is clear that the Wilson record win be the issue. In an extraordi nary degree Mr. Wilson has defined policies and made party history in the past three years. Tet in the final test, more than one-half of hi$ party in the senate left the presi dent and voted with the mujority of republicans for ratification with reservations. It Is not a sufficient explanation that they were in the minority, and must yield to the majority, nor that they and the president were tactically outgeneraled, nor that they had come to tlee conclusion . that they were wrong and Senator Lodge and his group were right. This is not all. The obvious political reason Is that they felt that the presidential scheme of a "solemn referendum" was blander and was by all means not to he accepted by the democratic party. It will go into the campaign divided and distracted, with the cer tainty of a great defeat Without consideration of the merits of the league, with or without reservations, it is clear that no party can stand oa a platform which must explain, o! excuse, the stubborn whims, in veterate tactlessness and undemo cratic autocracy of a president, nor his defiant and contemptuous at tompt at exclusion of congress from its 'proper place in government, nor his continuous and Insolent refusal to take counsel with men in his own party, or any party, who should have had ar voice in the administration. It ts a humorous aspect of an In sufferable condition that here and there' a democrat suggests that the way for the party to extricate itself from its dilemma is to' nominate a gentleman for president who is not a democrat, and says so, and who besides has lately expressed himself as In- accord with the republican position of the league of nations ratification with reservations. ilTor ratification with reservations will be In the republican platform, riplwkhstandlng the action of the ir rjyonollables in voting against any league. It is significant that the i extremists of the two treat branches f the republican party progressive and conservative-, or radical and re- actionary, if you please are con- spicuously represente-1 among the senators who are for a league with reservations if there is to be a league, but whose authentic position is that they are for no league. There are twelve of them and they are repre sented by Borah, Polndexter and Johnson on the one hand and by Penrose, Brandegee and Knox on the other hand. It Is unthinkable that the republican party will accept the leadership of Johnson, Borah, Poln dexter, Fenrose, et al., either by approval of their action In the Chi cago platform or by nomination of any one of them for the presidency. It will not thus commit the party to courses which are not in accord either with the sentiment of the great body of its members, or of the people generally. SUMMARY. (1) One-half of the democratic party 'joins three-fourths of the re publican party in support of the treaty and league with reservations. (2) One-half of the democratic I party unites with one-fourth of the republican party in opposition to the legaue with reservations. (3) One-fourth of the republican party stands with one-half the demo cratic party against the league with reservations, but is also against any league, as distinct from the three fourths of republicans who are for a league with reservations. (4) One-half the democratic party and the president are for S league w-ith no reservations. POETRY AND POLITICS. Return of the Asquiths to promi nence in British politics recalls the bitter attack made eleven years ago by William Watson, the English poet, in the sensational poem, ine Woman With the Serpent's Tongue," which Watson subsequently in a sie-ned statement delared to be a composite photograph of Mrs. As quith and her stepdaughter, Violet. Watson quoted Byron, Shelly and others as precedents for his course, and the acrimony of the controversy was heightened by a reply written by Richard LeGallienne, entitled "The Poet with a Coward's Tongue," which he accompanied with a challenge to Watson for a fist fight. Watson arose as Asquith declined. The for mer became known as the con science of Kngland, and wrote verses that did a good deal toward unifying British patriotic sentiment in the war. A question that now must in terest British politicians as well as literary folk Is what will become of Watson now that the family whom he so savagely opposed is showing signs of Returning to eminence on a reactionary wave of peace. GASOLINE AS A PrBLIC NECESSITY, Protest of the California railroad commission against the advance in the price of gasoline by the Standard Oil company of California has brought into strong relief the fact that this fuel has become a neces sity of equal rank with coal, and that Its price affects the cost of travel on highways and streets and the cost of all commodities that are transported by motor vehicles. The reasons given for the advance are that gaso- ine is scarce and that it is selling at a higher price in the east than on the Pacific coast. This seems to be a new way of expressing the Hunting ton idea of charging all that the traf fic will bear, for it is not even pre- rtended that the higher price is neces sary to give the company a fair profit The first remedy which suggests itself is public regulation of the price of gasoline .on the same principle that justifies regulation of railroad rates. Gasoline is necessary to motor transport, therefore he who controls the price of that fuel controls in part the cost of motor transport. This statement applies not only to motor ehicles but to every engine run bs gasoline on road or rail, land or sea. It applies also to locomotives, ships, factories and residence buildings which use fuel oil, for the higher goes the. price of gasoline the more fuel oil will be converted Into that form and the smaller will be the sup ply and the higher the price of fuel il. v If the price of gasdllne were re stricted to a point where It did' not ield a liberal profit to the producer, would defeat another purpose which wo should have In view in crease of production as well as de- elopment of other fuels adapted to the Internal combustion engine. Pat increase in production of gasoline as compared with crude oil has been effected to a large extent by use of natural gas and by extended use of the cracking process. Much progress has also been made In adapting al cohol as a starting fuel and in blend ing it with gasoline. Bituminous coal Is distilled in such a manner as to save all its content, and the alcohol, benzol and toluol are blended with gasoline to make a motor fuel. Great Increase in supply is in pros pect Peace with Russia on some terms cannot be long delayed, and with it the output of the Russian field, exceeding that of the United States, will come into the world market. New fields are constantlv penod in the United States, the latest being in Montana, and the leasing law will stimulate develop ment In the west unless the govern ment should fix royalty too high or should tie tip leases in too much red tape. The Persian field is extending. and there are pood prospects in Me- opotamia. Exploration is beine pushed in many countries, and in a few years should bring substantial results. But demand promises to keep pace with supply. The number of automobiles In the United States ncreased 1,000,000 in 1919 and promises to reach between nine and ten million by the end of 1920. Oil supplanting coal as fuel on ships. especially those of the navy. , Care in do needed not to restrict nriees to the point where increased Deduc tion will be checked, but that does ot preclude stringent measures against extortion. Enough people already know that farm work is hard work to make discussion of this phase of the ques tion superfluous; the issue now be fore the country, as an agricultural editor recently pointed out, is whether it is to be rewarded in pro portion to other work that is at least no harder. This editor also contends ' that the reward is not to be mean- urea entirely in terms oi money, out that it includes also "conditions that will make rural life TiRnnier and i make istence worth whiIe for j farmers." Good food is a matter j now largely within the farmer's own control, but agreeable social condi- I tions, including better scnoois ana better transportation, are matters for the whole community, including city dwellers, to determine. "It Is, not hard work the farmers object to," this editor says, "but conditions ap proximately as attractive as city people have, and the question will not be settled until the people who live in cities recognize that farming, after all is said and done, is the country's biggest industry, , and the one on which most depends." THE TEACIfER SrPPLY. The United States bureau of edu cation brings statistics bearing on the shortage of teachers for the public schools of the nation nearly up to date with its estimate that the num ber of schools closed on February 15 because they were unable to obtain teachers was 18,279. This probably represents 500,000 pupils deprived of the means of public education on this account alone. The gravity of the situation is even more clearly shown, however, by he statement that 41, 900 schools on the same date were being taught by teachers who were "below standard but were taken in because of the emergency." In 190 public and private normal schools, representing 60 per cent of the total number of normal school of the country, there were 11,50 fewer students enrolled than in th pre-war period. If the ratio hold good for all normal schools, the ac tual shortage of teacher-graduates from these schools will be in excess of 18,000. The federal bureau say that teacher training departments of practically all colleges report de creased enrollments Withdrawal of men from the profession of teachin is particularly noteworthy. Only one teacher In every six was a man in 1918. Salaries in 1918 averaged $606 in elementary schools and $1031 in high schools, but some rural teachers are still receiving as little as $150 a year. It is a serious feature of the situation that regions most in need of educa tion are almost entirely deprived of opportunities. More than 1500 one room schools in a single southern state were "closed during 1919, these districts being without the alterna tive of consolidating classes which was open in some other districts. But there is a ray of light amid the gloom of the federal bureau's report. It shines forth from a line that reads "Taxpayers generally favor Increases in teachers' salaries." THE COLLEGE AGE. Stephens college, a comparatively small denominational school in cen tral Missouri, which has recently ac quired prominence by making pro vision for a dean of education at $10,000 a year and a woman pro fessor at a salary of $5300, besides calling for bids for a $75,000 dor mitory, gives promise of being heard from. further if it is given full scope for carrying out other ambitious plans. The new dean, it is under stood, will be expected to work out a scheme that will revolutionize col lege education. Stephens, which now receives its students, as do most other colleges, at the average age of about eighteen, will revise its course so as to admit them at about sixteen This will absorb the last two years of the average high school curricu lum, and may result in the working out of a plan, long cherished by certain educators, by which event ually grammar school courses will be extended two years. It cannot be said that it has attained the pro portions of a movement to abolish the high school, but it meets the views of those who think that the youth who intends to go to college ought to get about the business sooner, while for those who have no ambition for higher education the present grammar school and high school courses are unsatisfactory. The theory is in substance that by the time the boy or girl has reached the junior year in high school, he or she will have pretty well determined upon an educational programme. The highest mortality rate in high schools is in the first years. By that time a good many of the students have changed their minds about going longer to school, but there is a kind of tragedy in the fact that the high school course having been formulated largely as sl preparation for college, the first two years have been practically wasted. The student has received only a glimpse of the broad culture which it is the aim of colleges to bestow, and has done nothing to fit himself either to be a competent me chanic or a good clerk. It is sup posed, with a good deal of reason. that those in the last two years of high school could with equal facility undertake work of college standard. The probable practical result, if the plan were universally adopted, would be to Increase by a large proportion the number of present high school graduates who would complete the college curriculum, thus entered on In serious spirit, and It probably at the same time -would increase the number who would receive two years more of education in the grammar schools. It will be borne in mind that if the Missouri experiment proves successful, the element in ed ucation which it symbolizes will press their campaign for reconstruc tion of primary education so that it Will be more valuablevto the youths of both sexes who are unwilling to finish the higher course. The dividing line which it is now proposed to establish corresponds approximately with the so-called climax of adolescence in youth. The period of childhood will continue to be marked by considerably more Of guidance, of compulsory studies, on the theory that youth is both Inex perienced and emotional. The crisis having been passed, it is expected that educational leadership will be of a slightly different kind. In keep ing with the modern tendency of colleges, and It is supposed that young "folk intent on completing col lege will profit by entering earlier into the spirit of college life. Professor Charles H. Judd, head of the department of education of the University of Chicago, one of the leading' advocates of the new meth od, is expected to co-operate with the new dean of Stephens in developing the new system, thus making the Missouri college an experimental lab oratory for an idea that has had fol lowers for some years but has lacked demonstration. Dr. Charles W. Eliot, ! president emeritus of Harvard, is j one of those who' have been urging 111.1 ccucgc i.uu.c ue uim,,. . an earlier age than at present. Dr. Eliot himself received his A. Ur-de-gree from Harvard at the age of nineteen. Although, as has been said, the average age of college en trance is about eighteen, there have been many noteworthy exceptions, the early history of Harvard itself furnishing its full quota of them. Increase Mather, one of its seven teenth century presidents, was one of these. He entered college at twelve and was graduated at seventeen, and was called to its presidency at forty-two, although he did not then accept This was an exceptionally early age In that day for a call to a position of so high responsibility. But Increase Mather's son Cotton excelled the record of his father by a considerable margin. Cotton en tered Harvard at eleven and was graduated at fifteen. It cannot be said, however, that the example of either of the Mathers contains much encouragement for advocates of hot house education methods. 'Cotton Mather in particular gave evidence in later years of lack of sound rea soning powers such as colleges are expected to develop hi their students, and it will not be urged that his em inence in scholarship was of much value to his fellow men, as those will agree who have read his "Mem orable Providence Relating to Witch craft," or who are familiar with the history of his activities as a per secutor of witchcraft suspects. Nevertheless the value of the ex periment undertaken at Stephens will not be doubted. Stephens is, as has been said, a privately endowed institution. Its supporters have shown their faith by their works. The sin cerity of its directing heads is not open to doubt. One of the advan tages of a national system of educa tion that is not too greatly "stand ardized" is that it permits experi ments of this sort. We have no doubt that the pupils entering this college at an age two years or so under the present college -average will be, at least in the beginning, selected material. There is also lit tle doubt that they will be put on their mettle. All the conditions are favorable to determination of some. if not all, of the complex questions involved in determination of the age at which boys and girls ought to get through school. THE LATEST PHASE IN GERMANS. Sudden collapse Of, the counter revolution in Germany has given rise to suspicion in some quarters that the whole affair was a piece of camouflage constructed on a grand scale for the purpose of Impressing the allies with the necessity of re vising the Versailles treaty if they would prevent Germany from sink ing into a chaos of civil war, making compliance with the terms impos sible. Danger of such an outcome is seen by President Deschanel of France, with whom restoration of the kaiser by Dr. Kapp .is the dread alternative, and he makes the twin perils a cause for maintenance of the understanding among France, Brit ain and the United States. Accounts of the conditions under which Kapp withdrew his army from Berlin are in such conflict as to leave the question open whether the set tlement is a surrender or a compro mise. The Baltic army, which marched in with threats to make the streets run with blopd If there should be resistance, marched out with only a moderate amount of bloodshed for Prussians, but it marched out with the honors of war, in witness where of, it fired a parting volley at the jeering crowd. This is not the way with a beaten army. One dispatch quotes President Ebert as saying that 'traitors will be severely punished, but The Oregonian's correspondent tells of a compromise under which Noske and other ministers are to re sign in favor of V'on Seecht, Von Bernstorff and other militarists, a new assembly is to be elected and no traitors are to be punished, The parties to this compromise could hardly have staged the coun ter-revolution from its opening to this conclusion, for the unforesee able was too sure to Interfere in a nation which is in a state of fusion. More probably the militarists over estimated the weakness of the Ebert government and the readiness of the army and the penile to rally to their support. Ebert and Noske owe their victory to the promptness and unan mity with which the people re sponded to their call for a general strike and to evident conviction of the people that, whatever they may have against Ebert, they do not want the kaiser back. Reinforcements did not come to the Baltic freebooters. and they were In danger of starving n the midst of a hostile city. But the strike succeeded only too well for Ebert's purpoee. The Spar tacans, always on the alert to seize upon any disturbance as an oppor tunity to strike a blow for dictator ship of the proletariat tried to turn the strike into a red revolution. Ebert found that it was fast getting out of hand. Kapp realized that the people were against him. Both saw that by fighting out the question whether the country should be handed back to the kaiser, they might end by handing it over to the bolshevlsta. They therefore compro mise ant combine their forces against the common enemy. Yet in dealing with the-allies they can derive some profit from the Kapp fiasco. The extension of time granted by the allies for reduction of the army to 200,000 men expires on April 10, but the army was estimated month ago at 300,000 to 400,000 men, besides a police force of 100, 000 men commanded by veteran army officers and equipped with both field and heavy artillery, flame-throwers, tanks and airplanes. The London Times not long ago es timated the armed forces. Including the security police and the citizens' guard, at over a million men. This is probably a larger force than France ow has and is nearly three times the army provided by the British esti mates for this year. Safety of the allies requires strict compliance, with the treaty, but Germany may cite the Inflammable condition of the country as proof that a large army is neces sary to suppress bolshevism. France fears that menace as much as it fears Prussianistn and may be warned that the German army alone Keeps it from French soil. Thus an attempt to overthrow him is a card in Ebert's hand-in dealing with the allies. Troubles arising from the new dog law never will stop. The latest com plainant is the woman clerk of Grant county, who avers a hard-hearted ccunty court compelled her to make the collars. That is going" too far. his journey to the Washington capi Better that dogs go free than im-1 tal the pioneer governor made the nose such a burden on a woman, though she be an official Grant county dogs can feel proud, though. SCBVEYEVG, THE WEST. The sixty-seventh anniversary of the erection of the commonwealth of Washington, consisting of the north ern half of what in 1853 was the territory of Oregon, brings to mind the amazing development of the whole west in the space of less than a llietime. xne original lermury ui Washington formed by Congress In March, 1853, extended from the to lumbia river and the forty-sixth parallel northward to the British possessions and the forty-ninth parallel, and from the summit of the main range of the Rocky moun tains westward to the Pacific ocean. Isaac I. Stevens, its first governor, received his commission on March 17, 1853, and began his westward journey on May 9 of that year, Traveling by way of St. Louis, he reached St. Paul, then a town of 1200 inhabitants, on June 6, and ar rived in Olympla on November 25, five months and nineteen days later. These five months are among the most significant in the annals of the northwest. Within the period, in all probability, more was added to the sum of knowledge of the geography and topography of the country than had been contributed by any path finder except Lewis and Clark and John C. Fremont The transconti nental railroad project, which was indorsed by congress seventy years ago, greatly stimulated the spirit of adventure. Tet comparatively noth ing was known of the country. Pre cise data were lacking on almost every important subject connected with the new territory. One of Governor Stevens' first acts was to dispatch an army lieutenant to Mon treal to obtain as much information as possible from the records of the Hudson's Bay company. How mea ger the sources then were Is indi cated by a letter written by Gov ernor Stevens In which he said: The Information we already have of this region is based on the following works: Lewis and Clark's Travels; Irvine's Astoria and Rocky Mountains; Travels by the Missionary De Smet, Nicollet and Pope; Governor Simpson's Journey Around the World; and some information, not yet published, obtained from Dr. Evans on ids geological survey of those regions. A book recommended by the British minister, "Hudson Bay Company," I wish you to obtain. Governor Stevens' son, Hazard Stevens, says that the governor "really prepared his own instruc tions." No historian. If this be true, will charge him with giving himself a light task. He left Washington under official instructions to explore and survey a railroad route from the sources of the Mississippi river to Puget sound; to operate from the upper Mississippi toward the great bend of the Missouri in Montana; to establish a depot at the mouth of the Yellowstone; a second party to explore the passes of the Cascade range, meeting the eastern party between that range and the Rocky mountains. This was only the begin ning of the job. Stevens' instruc tions also required him to perform the following: To explore the passes of the Cascade range and Rocky mountains from the 4!lh parallel to the headwaters of the Mis souri river, and to determine the capacity of the adjacent country to supply, and of the Columbia and Missouri rivers and their tributaries to transport, materials for the construction of -tlie road, great attention to be given geography and me teorology of the whole intermediate region, to the seasons and character of treshein; the quantity and continuance of its rains and snows, especially in the mountain ranges; to its geology; in arid regions to the ose of artesian wells; its botany, nat ural history, agricultural and mineral re sources; the '.ocatlon, number, hlstory tradltlons and customs of the Indian tribes. and such other facts as shall tend to develop the character of that portion of our national domain, and supply the facts that enter into the solution of the particu lar problem oi a railroad. In other words, it was a job of exploring as thoroughly as possible a region 2000 by 250 miles in extent. chiefly along its northern expanse, which had hardly been touched by the immigration of the '40s, and which was known at all to only a few trappers, gold-seekers and mis sionaries, including two mountain ranges and 1000 miles of prairie then regarded as practically a desert and of ascertaining the navigability of two great rivers, as to which there was . much conflicting testimony. Stevens' own party on the way west examined at least nine passes through the main range of the Rockies and four in the Bitterroot range. Manas pass, one of these, is now employed by the Great Northern railroad, and Mullan pass, named for Lieutenant Mullan, a member of the party, is on the route of ' the Northern Pacific. Meanwhile Cud- tain George B. McClellan, who got a. late startfrom Fort Vancouver, made an examination of the Sno- qualmlo pass, at the head of the Yakima river, explored the Okano gan and Lake Osooyos country and proceeded to Colville, Wash., where he met Governor Stevens, then com ing west Captain McClellan was then of the opinion that the Colutn- oia nver pass was the only one worth considering. He regarded it as probable that winter snows in Snoqualmle pass were from twenty to twenty-five feet deep. Hazard Stevens is disposed to criticise Cap tain McClellan severely for this, but It would seem that on general principles his judgment has been vindicated. The Columbia river pass. If not as McClellan then regarded it. the only one worth considering, was at least the most promising for a trail-blazing raliroad venture at a period when railroad building in the west was wholly an experiment Governor Stevens says in his diary that on the Journey from Fort Van couver to Olympia, which took rive days, "No special incident worthy of remark occurred, except that I was four days going up the Cowlitz in drenching rains, and two nights httd the pleasure of camping out; I will now advise voyagers in the interior, when they get suddenly into the tains west of the Cascades, to take off their buckskin underclothing." However, he discovered on this trip that "not only was It entirely prac tical for a railroad line to the sound, but that the work was light and. the material- for construction of all kinds entirely inexhaustible." Indians greatly outnumbered the whites in the territory then. Of the whites there were only 3965, of whom 1682 were qualified voters. These were scattered over a region 600 by 550 miles in extent and living under conditions that would have daunted any but the hardiest citizens of the republic: For them the Setting apart of Washington as a territory was, as it proved, of less moment than was the attending- circumstance that oix' of a new country ever recorded in our annals. Means of transportation and com munication, which followed the com pilation of the results of this re markable undertaking, were the most potent factors in the subse quent devrlopment of the entire nqrthwest. PLANT MAGIC. A Callfornian who asserts that he has discovered a law of nature by obedience to which he is able to double the size of plants In two gen erations, and thereafter to go on In creasing "until that size is obtained which is desired for continuous use," has hit on a fascinating occupation, even if he is able to perform only a fraction of the miracles he thinks he can. Yet, having in mind the many deceptions committed in the name of plant-breeding, a practical world will receive with reserve his statement that he has made It possible to "grow six bushels of wheat where only one bushel grew before," and that at a bound he has created a tomato capable of yielding forty tons of per fect fruit to the acre. The burnt child dreads the fire, and farmers are more wary than tht:y used to be. "Liberty wheat" has a familiar ring. It is strangely reminiscent of the "miracle" and "Alaska" strains mar keted only a few years ago, with enormous profit to the promoters, but to no one else. They did not revolutionize the science of agricul ture, as it was predicted they would. The fact is that anyone who prom ises something for nothing is sure of a receptive audience. Undoubtedly it is true that any immediate pros pect we have of improving farming conditions lies most largely in the field of plant breeding, but those who are wise will not rely on magic, black or white. The federal depart ment of agriculture and the agro nomists of the agricultural colleges of all the states are devoting their best efforts to solution of these lm portant problems, and are making steady, although not sensational, progress. There are laws of com pensation to be taken into account Gains are not made without corre sponding costs. We will not say no cne will ever produce tuberous be gonlas more than double the sizc the present flowers, or wheat yield ing 150 bushels to the acre but w remain skeptical as to the prediction that either type will be fixed in tw generations of selection. The Call fornia experimenter probably is a victim of his own enthusiasm. H promises altogether too much. We cannot escape the fact that de mand for gusoline has increased much faster than the supply. In the ten years from 1909 to 1918 th number of motor vehicles in use in the United States increased 1700 pe cent, while production of gasoline in creased 560 per cent. That the latte increase was due to extraction of a greater quantity of this fuel from a given quantity of crude oil Is shown by the fact that production of the latter Increased only 95 per cent This disparity between increase ol supply and inereuse of demand sug gests regulation of the use to wh:ch this now Indispensable fuel may be put. Certainly warships should have first claim, the merchant marine and industrial plants and public utilities should follow, vehicles used for transport of passengers and goods strictly for business come close after, Cars used solely or chiefly for pleas- ure might properly be put in a class by themselves, being given a re stricted supply when there was no enougn to go around. Such a re striction would not be as severe as rationing of flour and sugar, to which we cheerfully submitted dur ing the war, and it would improve the public health by encouraging walking on the part of people who now seldom use their legs except to get in or out of a car. A New York legislator has Intro duced a bill limiting the size of headlines on a news account of a murder, thereby Indicating his belief that people kill each other for the sake of notoriety. He makes no re stnctlons, however, on the size of the headline over the story of the in troduction of a freak bill. The man with a row of peas peep ing above the ground and radishes beginning to show their heads is a real object lesson in preparedness. The "I-thought-you-didn't-etc." boys have lame alibis. It's the man that figures ahead that gets the early gar den. The new protection issue is that of protection against the elements, and involves such matters as clothing and shelter, subjects that will be more widely understood than those that were being discussed by the tariff orators about twenty years ago. Yesterday the German outlook was better. The day before it was worse. The fast probably is that those who have gone to work are better off. while the reformers are experiencing most or the vicissitudes. Occasionally we are reminded that we still live near the frontier. The Lane county coon hunter who got his bear with an ax cannot have for gotten the lessons he learned in an earlier day. y Major Schroeder talks of Tying from San Francisco' to New York in ten hours, and it is a venturesome prophet who will contradict him. In the light of recent achievements in the air. German warships are coming to America, but under different circum stances than attended the arrival of the giant submarine at New London only a few years ago. Now is the time when all good men begin to read the seed cata logues and wonder whether such fruit ever grew as is pictured by the makers thereof. A 500,000 orchard deal is proof that some one has faith in the fu ture of the fruit industry and is will ing to back It with his cash. . By and by, when half the people have cars, there may be a chance to get a Jury that will convict a thief. Being mayor of an Irish city these times is no safer a Job than that of czar. A suggestion for Lent: Self denial in the' use of gassline. most exhaustive survey BY-PHODICTSS OF T11K TIMK J Marvelous (iqairrrl MljrrslKtn i Formrr Times Are Recalled. "A remarkable discussion h bin carried on In some of the popular sci entific periodicals of the country as to when the squirrels drink, or whether these little animals ever drink any water," says the American Forestry Magazine. "Squirrels drink whenever they are thirsty, and when they meet with water sufficiently pure, thej quench their thirst They will lap off the leaves after a rain, or take It where It gathers In the hollows of th trees, or In depressions found on the tops of rocks or the brinks of streams, or indeed anywhere It Is convenient." When it conies to swimming It would seem that the squirrel's educa tion has been neglected along this line. The magazine points to some famous migrations and continues: "As long ago as 1749 they much an noyed the people of western Pennsyl vania; the government offered three pence a head for them, and through this means no fewer than 640.000 were destroyed. Migrations of gray squir rels were not uncommon. They uku ally occurred in the went. Thousands upon thousands of these animals would congregate a great rolling, gray sea ot animal life supplied by all the forest regions for miles around. "Away they went, over farms and prairies and through the forests, con sumlng everything In their way thai could be possibly be cuten, until some river or stream interrupted their on ward course. It mattered little then how wide or how deep this river was cross It they must in their Intense Impulse to migrate. The Ohio has been the scene of many such cross higs. Upon arriving at Its bank, those leading the mass would run up and down and swarm Into neighboring trees; but finally. In spite of being, perhaps, among the most indifferent swimmers In the animal world. pressed from behind by the legion of their advancing companions, they took to water. They rather wriggle than swim, with only their noses out of water. Hundreds of their number drowned, and their lifeless bodies, massed together, floated, down the stream. The sight is most extranrdi nary, and can onlybe compared with the migration of the lemmings." Almost dally when Lake Michigan Is not frozen a small but powerful tug steams out of Muskegon, Mich., loaded with nets and returns with a load of fish. The tug Is the Ituth, the yacht and pride of Orover Cleveland when he was president, row ending her days as a fishing craft on l.uke Michigan, records the Cleveland Plain Dealer. For several years this boat was the flagship of the yacht rltihs of Chi cago, and later she carried Chicago residents from their summer homes on White lake to Whitehall and re turn. The Ruth has had a great career. First she was a pleasure yacht of the president of the United States, then a river steamer, then a ferry and pleas ure boat again and finally a flshti tug. The boat was named for the only daughter of the president, and was built in a Philadelphia shipyard in 1S82. The Ruth once made a trip from Maine to Florida, rarrylng Orover Cleveland, and, despite storms, com pleted the voyage without a mishap. Following the death of Mr. Cleve land the Ruth was sold and after panslrr;r through several hands be came the property of Muskegon fist - ermen. Pity the $30,000 a year Job. Jt has nobody to attach Itself to. For eight months one has been buf feted about the country trylnp; in vain to find some individual who is willing to face responsibility.' Hut for eight months those persons with "executive ability, broad Ideas and overwhelming personality" havs dodged. Roy F. Soule, editor of "Hardware Age," who spoke at the hardware dealers' convention In Milwaukee, said he knows of a score of Jobs pay Ing -at least 15000. some paying $13, 000 and the aforementioned "position' at $30,000. ny can i tncy be rilled?" some one asked. 'Because business and capital havs developed faster than executives," Mr. Soule said. "There are plenty of men Capable of earning $30,000 a year, but they haven't learned to overcome an inborn fear of themselves, their ablll ty and their Jobs. Fear is the great est steam roller designed to flatten real ability that exists." Milwaukee Journal. The Missouri mulo has a lot of good traits nd then again it has some bad ones, so that Its good deeds are very often nullified by its deflections, hut it remained for a Phelps county, Mis souri, hytirld to devise the most orig inal stunt In the demerit way for that breed of livestock. It is related by the St Louis Post-Dlspatch. A farmer near Rolls, Ma., turned several of his mulea out in the field in order that they might take exer cise. The long-eared fellows were being fed for the market and had been In the barn for several months. Two of the mules In adjacent stalls had been unable to get together because of the stall divisions. No sooner had the animals been let out Into the field than the two took issue with each other. One suddenly became enraged and seized the other by the throat. with Its teeth, choking it to death before the farmer could top the fight. The dead mule was worth more than $300 and It took only a few minutes for tho other ani mal to kill it. Mule men who were asked about the unusual occurrence said they could not recall a similar Instance. They had heard of one kicking an other to death on several occasions, but that a regular bulldog throat- hoker is a new one on them. An "odor pstrol" has been estab lished by the Philadelphia health de partment to trace the source of olfen- ive smells against which complaints have been received at the city hall. Men with extraordinarily keen noses have been assigned to the duty of locating factories or oilier estab lishments from which the trouble em anates. All day and all night these "smell detectives" are on duty In re lays, while the office of the division of housing and sanitation is open for 24 hours to receive complaints of dis agreeable smells. Men who do not smoke or chew have been selected for this work, be cause it has been found that men who do not use tobacco are endowed with the keenest olfactory sense. Only men enjoying good health are em nlnvVd for this work. Phlladelubia Public Ledger. I Dawn. By i.rme K. Hall. The sweet, expectant hush that waits the calls Of feathered songsters trill I n sr to the east Cpon the silent momlnr softly falls. The voices of (he nlKht have ftranpely ceased. Then In the warming sky the clouds of gray In ranged bits, a downy bed to trim. Iy nesting doves, perhaps, are torn away. A Jagged valnncs hanging from the rim. Then through the rent and cllnglnf mist there glows A deeper tone; the hills are castles high. Designs most grotesitie, as each tur ret jroea In line fantastic toward the limpid sky. A million wings seem pulsing In the air That throbs and beats with music nover played: The earth Is speaking, speaking everywhere, . In language that no mf-rlal ever in u de. A deeper roe;'then crimson banners hung With ostentatious show announce the day; Dawn draws her gauzy draperies, far flung. And, shocked by growing discord, steals away! noniuNG pKTm to pav pm Down with It, down with It! Down with what? Down with this daylight saving rot. What Is the saving? Why, nothing at ,tll It's Just robbing Peter to pay off Paul. What can be gained by an hour of lipht When taken from morning and added ti night? Who wouldn't rather remain In his bed Than to be aroused a full hour ahead? Just now wo are thinking with very much glee. "Why,' now In the morning e really can see. "We can wnsh. dress and eat without any light," And It likewise is fine when we come limine ut nUlit. Now, then, by taking off one hour more. We must turn on the lights and do us before. Oti, what a wonderful snvlnc of day! Hurnlng up light for which we must pay. Tt'H all very well for such office men That begin working (?) at nln or nt ten, llut what of the Common man, poor worklne "cuss" That riss ere daylight and "beats It" like us? Farmers and housewives and hard workers, all Whv must we stand for this nonsense at all? Lot's all set together and do what we can To knock out this daylight saving plan. p. r. too Mien ill 'till Ai.ni:nv. ilcnr my story of Dakota, Where tho wolves (trow Ions: and lean; Of the hern, Oln Olsrn, And the heroine, Christine. They were rlulKhlnir In a cutler. The seat Just made for two. All huddled up in grlnzly rolics, Just as we used to do. Now Olc was a bashful man As ever you hHe seen. Itut Cupid coaxed his courage up With the help of sweet fhrlMlne. Ills ruby l'ps grew st-lien pale. Ho ttemblcd on her name. Hut suddenly he bellowed out: "VIII ye halp me holt me claim'."' She nestled close snd whispered "Yep" And set the wedding day. It cHtne so sudden-llkn that she Didn't know what else to say. II im conversation dropped as, dead As the lonely lake below "Tust ylngle jiJngle" of the bells And the creaking of the snow. As miles sped on he sat as mule As a Viking Christinas tree, L'ntll she cried: "My Ole man, Why don't you talk to me" Then Ole cracked his whip above JIIn bronchos, Taft and Teddy. And shook his head and drawled: "I tank Too much ban said alies'ly" W. b. tior.DON. IIKKAM AU HF,I,ITV, A sweet -fared dream came walking bv. So frail 'twould seem a passing sigh Might weft her from the rose-grown way In which she walked, but old and sray There trudged another at her side: The gargoyle called the dream his , bride. And If she laughed or If she wept Or If she smiled or if she slept; Or woke from out her heavenly lyre A liquid, melting, maddening fire. Or spun a rainbow cloth of gold Which clothed the Oreclan bards or old. The srl.zled monster mocked snd leered At every beauteous thing she reared. And every shape of beauty bright He marred and broke with main and might And spread her golden rul with blight. Wouldst know how such a pair could mate? Wouldst know how such a thing could be? The dream was what our dreams create. Tho monster was Reillty. a o.ti im trimu. my heart fares forth In th'e sweet .spring weather, FlylnK will' lhe frolic winds that laugh along the lawn. Where tho thrilling tannnger flaunts a scarlet fiftmlnir reather. And the silver birches lean saainat the dawn. The magic winds are whispering among the misty sedges; And my . heart fares out In the gold of day begun. Flying with the tananger alopg the woodland edges Where the birches laugh to silver In the sun. I hear the wild birds railing Jrom the magic forest alsies As they bent about the doorway of the cold, gold dawn O, I follow where the blue-eyed maid is luring 'me with smiles, And where birches lean in si!cr 'gainst the rim. VLU.NE EIUG11T.