TIIJJ SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND. MARCH 21.
a-
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r "SOI.E.nf KEJ"EKEDTM."
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.