The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, July 11, 1920, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 46

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    THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, JULY il, 1920
I procured it largely for the reason
(that he was and is supposed to be in
.harmony with its views. The only
KSTABLISHEU BY HENRY L. P1TTOCK. other consideration was geographical
Published by The Oregonlan Publishing Co, i tne fact that Mr. Cox comes from
loi Sixth Street. Portland. Oregon. ,. , .. - ;
C. A. morden, E. B. piper. the pivotal state of Ohio.
Manager. Editor. I Here is an issue which the plat-
Trie Oregonlan Is a member of the Asso- , forms passed over, but the people
elated Press. The Associated Press i will not. It must be met, explicitly,
exclusively entitled to the use for publics.- I . . .
tion of all news dispatches credited to It ( honestly, unqualifiedly, by the can
or not otherwise credited In this paper and j didates. There is, however, no as
aiso the local news published herein. Ail s gumption that Mr. Harding will as
rights of republication of special dispatches 1 f ... Jt
hfrein are also reserved. I president seek to change the status
of existing law, for his record indi
cates otherwise; but there is a com
mon belief, and a justifiable one,
thar Mr. Cox's election means some
thing else. The party at San Fran-
ctubscription Kates Invariably in Advance.
(By Mai!.)
Pally. Sunday included, one year $8.00
TJally, Sunday included, six months ... 4.2.1
Ially, Sunday included, three months. 2.25
r. T.' ,t SJ, v' 1"! R"nn!clsco sought, to suppress Mr. Bryan
Ial'y. without Sunday, six months .... 3.25
laiiy, without Sunday, one month .... .00
Wukilv nnvs- 1 lln
Sunday' one year t.oo of a convention hall, and he is not to
(By Carrier.) j be silenced. It Is quite clear that
Tatly. Sunday Included, one year $0 00 , at- tj TOm rY,a.4 ort4in o-i.c,--
Iialiy. Sunday included, three months.. 2.23 I V , ' ,, T . VT ' T - " .
Xaily. Sunnay included, one month .... . lO
latiy, without Sunday, one year 7.80
! riv rlianpa Tmm nartinp with his
American interests. The Bell tele
phone litigation is historic. Morse
came near being defeated in his tele
graph project by want of funds to
develop it. Since James Watt wrote,
prior to 1770. that "of all things in
I'e there is nothing more foolish than
Inventing," not a great deal has been
done to improve the inventor's lot.
That inventing has gone on despite
its obtacles is a tribute to the In
genuity and the persistence of a type
of men and not to any enlightenment
of governmental policy.
ibut his forum is the wide boundaries
i of a nation and not the narrow walls
Pally, without Sunday, three months.. l.f5
JDaiiy, without Sunday, one month .... .65
How to Remit. Send postofflce money
order, expreae or personal check on your
local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are
ml owner's risk. Give postofflce address
In full, including county and state.
Postage Rates. 1 to 16 pages, t cent:
18 to 31! pages, 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages, 3
cents; 50 to 64 pages. 4 cents: 66 to 80
pages, 5 cents; 82 to 96 pages, 6 cents,
foreign postage, double rates.
Eastern Biiffnes Office. Verree A Conk
lln, Bnmswlck building. New York; Verree
& Conklln, Steger buildlnar, Chicago: Ver
. ree & Conklin. Free Press banding. De
troit. Mich. San Francisco representative.
K. J. Bldwell.
WHAT MAKES ISSCES?
Candidates do not make the issues
In a campaign; nor men party plat
forms. The candidate may himself
bo an Issue for what he was and Is;
and platforms may define with
precision, or may not, what a po
litical party Is or promises to be
and do. But the platform is after
all but an interpretation of party
record and a pledge of party per
formance. The issue is the fact it
self; the platform an attempt to de
fine and declare it.
It has come to pass that platforms
are forgotten as soon as the political
train has arrived at its destination
and Its passengers have debarked.
No one remembers what the winning
democratic platform of 191,2 con
tained; or. If he does remember, it
Is but to explain or to condemn. The
democratic party won a great suc
cess in that year through republican
divisions and for no other reason.
The verdict of the people was not
rendered for the democratic party
because of its platform declarations,
but against the republican party for
its dissensions and failures.
No one will say that the democratic
party achieved a victory in 1016 for
anything it had done in four years,
as defined in its platform, or any
thing it would do in the .succeeding
four years, as set forth in that elabo
rate and forgotten document. The
decision hinged entirely on the rela
tion of the United States to the great
war. . It was an expression of ap
proval for President Wilson in
"keeping us out of war" and a decla
ration of desire and purpose to stay
out. ' In the light of intervening
events it may not be pleasant to re
call that the United States of Amer
ica, so late as November, 1916, more
than two years after the German au
tocracy had set forth to conquer the
world by the sword, and in the midst
of perils which threatened the life of
the American republic itself, had
formally proclaimed that it had no
duty to save others, nor to protect
Itself by arms; yet it is the truth. It
Is also the truth, which should In
fairness be recorded, that the United
States was soon thereafter awakened
both to its danger and its obligation,
and started out boldly to meet the
one and perform the other.
Now another campaign is on, and
the republican platform says one
thing about what Is assumed to be
the cardinal issue, and the demo
cratic platform says another. It is
the league of nations. One party
attacks the league in its present
form or proposed form, and com
mends the principle of an associa
tion of nations to promote justice
and keep peace; the other party un
quaiinedly endorses the present
league without nullifying reserva.
tiens." The one party commits itself
1 definitely to a plan to thrnm i
I Wilson league to the scrap heap
ana to endeavor to negotiate a new
covenant; the other party purposes
to carry forward the fight to make
the United States a member of the
organization now functioning as a
league, by ratification of the treaty
negotiated by President Wilson with
the other nations. In other words,
the question is ratification or no
ratification. If the democratic party
carries the election it will have a
mandate from the people to ratify;
If the republican party succeeds it
will be a mandate not to ratify.
Let it be assumed that the demo
cratic party shall elect a president
end let us also assume that it shall
carry the United States senate. It
takes two-thirds to ratify. Mr.
Bryan has seen, with & vision ap.
rarently denied to other democrats,
that it will be Impossible to ratify
the treaty unless the democrats are
to have a two-thirds majority in the
senate; and he has proposed a con
stitutional amendment changing the
two-thirds to a majority a plan
which received precious little consid
eration at San Francisco. They la
bored under the delusion there that
the "solemn referendum" demanded
by the president would determine
the matter whatever th nr.mir.ai
complexion of the senate. But Mr.
Bryan had no such false notion. He
knew, as a practical politician, that
the only way to carry through the
Wilson treaty .would be to elect a
democratic senate having a majority
of two-thirds, and prepared to carry
out all platform pledges. It cannot
be done. He knows it. All others
who are willing to recognize a condi
tion and not to pursue the phantom
of a theory also know it.
In this situation it is clear that an
Issue not specifically mentioned in
either platform will have a large part
in me campaign. It Is nrohibitinn
The democratic party, under pressure
irom ttryan on the one hand and
from New York, New Jersey and
other wet or semi-wet states, on the
other hand, sought to evade the issue
by ignoring it: and the republican
party, which singularly enough was
not assumed to be amenable to the
approaches or demands of the wets,
and to stand for acceptance of law,
was not greatly troubled by either
side; but it made a declaration for
law enforcement as a matter of
course. Yet the faction at San Fran
. Cisco which had sought to commit
the party to relaxation or amend
ment of the Volstead act. and to a
liberal" interpretation of the con
stitutional amendment, was responsi
ble for the nomination of Cox, and
antees of Candidate Cox. It Is not so
certain that he will get what he
wants. He may Indeed be able to
satisfy Bryari with generalities and
not with pledges of specific perform
ance; but even then the question will
not be eliminated from major con
sideration unless the people them
selves conclude that the assurances
of Mr. Cox to Mr. Bryan are of a
kind that should satisfy everybody.
Underlying the whole discussion of
issues will be the great question of
democratic efficiency in adminis
tration. It is, and will be, in the
mind of every voter. He must say
whether or not he wants four more
years of what he has had.
NOTHING NEW.
It may take some of the joy out of
life and reduce the status of the av
erage citizen to that of a penurious
anchorite, but to abstain from luxu
ries would solve the high cost of
living in America. So asserts Miss
Edith Strauss of the department of
justice campaign against extrava
gance, wbo has neatly tabulated the
annual total of our luxuries at
$8,710,000,000. We spend J2.110,
000,000 for tobacco. Are we to econo
mize in our pipes, our stogies and our
cigarettes? Likewise we squander
$2,000,000,000 for motor cars and
their appurtenances. Do you deem it
advisable to give up your car? For
candy, phonographs, organs, etc., we
pay sums that read like world-war
indemnities, says this feminine fact
sleuth. Must we abstain from all these in
order to restore the economic equi
librium? Rather let us careen along
on our happy road to ruin than
choose this drab and sunless route
tp affluence. Miss Strauss has dis
covered nothing, simpltfied nothing.
Her salary and her service are alike
on the debit side of the national
ledger.
THE DiTEECHCRCH WORLD MOVE
MENT. Announcement that "the Inter
church World Movement will be con
tinued, though on a greatly modified
basis," made as the result of the
meeting of the interchurch general
committee and the representatives
of the thirty-two denominations affi
liated with it, is an indication that it
may have been premature to charac
terize the recent seeming failure of
the enterprise as "the most colossal
collapse in the church since the days
of Pentecost," yet it Invites reflec
tion on the underlying reasons whj
it did not fulfill the early and roseaU
expectations of its promoters and
why even partial failure is now seri
ously regarded by many denomina
tional leaders and editors of the reli
gious press as having been a serious
blow, not only to material church
growth, but to the spirit of religious
teaching. For none have been so
unsparing of criticism as churchmen
themselves. Its failure, total or par
tial, has drawn the fire, indeed, of
church executives themselves rather
than of the non-religious and the ir
religious. It is conceded on all sides
that much ground will need to be
gone over, again before the move
ment is rehabilitated in public con
fidence.
The movement was launched six
teen months ago under auspices of
highest promise. Its original finan
cial goal was $1,320,214,551. The
war had accustomed us to think and
to talk in billions and it had put
stress on efficiency methods. It was
assumed erroneously, as now ap
pears that the psychological mo
ment had arrived for a campaign to
remind people that those who had
voted enormous sums for destructive
purposes ought to be willing to give
less generously of their .substance
to carry out the mission of the lowly
Nczarene. Methods that have proved
successful In
nominationalism which suspected
that the Interchurch World Move
ment, for all Its disclaimers, was but
a camouflage for ultimate church
union. Evidently we are not quite
ready to sweep away the barriers of
opinion. President Gambrell of the
Southern Baptist convention caught
at this Idea when he said recently:
We hold that denominations are not
accidental, but that people are in different
religious groups because they believe dif
ferently. We feel that through mich in
dividual groups more work is accomplished
than in a sort of socialism In religion.
People will propagate what they believe.
Religion must go on religious sense and
must feel Its essentially religious nature.
It can't be propagated like politics.
There was nevertheless so much of
promise in the effort to obtain help
for churches, schools, hospitals and
other Christian activities that it will
be sincerely hoped that a way will
be found to organize the good in it.
The movement, though it should
snuff out tomorrow, will have done
much good. It has pointed out some
of the things that are needed. A
substitute will have to be found. We
do not interpret the event as a sign
that religion is dead. The ideal that
prompted the Interchurch World
Movement Is as much alive as ever.
contented with his job in office or'
workshop- we had almost said
"farm," but we remember that this
Is not so.
A navy without qualified personnel
is of course a hollow shell. We may
yet be forced to stop building ships
for the want of men to man them.
And however the pacifists may smile
in their self-contentment over the
unpopularity of a fighting profes
sion, we doubt that they will extract
much comfort from the proposition
that in the new trade dispensation
America .seems destined to 'play a
laggard's part for lack of the viking
spirit that gave their ancestors the
keys to the commerce of the world.
KOT ADMISSIBLE TESTIMONY. -
The confession of Miss Annie
Brock of Lo3 Angeles, formerly of
prominence as an equal suffrage
champion, is interesting for its indi
vidual view, but does not constitute
testimony against the institution of
the feminine vote. Miss Brock re
cants with fervor all views she held
belore the ballot was granted; she
abjures the faith with the alacrity
and thoroughness of one approaching
the stake; she decries suffrage as
the most dismal of failures and the
source of political and sex tribulationsbut-
she reveals nothing that
should enter the records as a sub
stantial argument against the experi
ment, nor does she prove its lack of
worth.
If 'Miss Brock is on trial before
the court of her own conscience for
her participation In the strife for
suffrage she stands in the dual role
of defendant and prosecutor, for the
charges that she prefers are not ad
missible against her sisterhood.
In substance she asserts that suf
frage cheapens and coarsens the sex,
that women are essentially corrupt
in politics, that the vote ministers to
an inflated and offensive feminine
ego, and that In California, as a typ
ical instance, immorality, divorce and
murder have Increased since the ad
Dusiness ariairs were Vent of the reform. With the latter
adopted. Centralization was decided charge, nebulous and unfounded.
on. Overlapping was in theory re
duced to a minimum. Close asso
ciation of all churches working to
the same end a voluntary trust to
promote efficiency bore every cur
sory appearance of approaching the
reasonable folk will not tarry for dis
cussion. A sense of freedom, new
found, may be perverted to the us
ages of license, but deflections on
this score do not count as charges
against the value of the reform, con
ENCOURAGING INVENTION.
Constructive criticism of American
patent office administration is timely
because of the great stimulus given
by the war to invention of every
kind, and this is made in an article
written for the Nation's Business by
Aaron Hardy Hulm, who points out
that "the patent office Is about the
only government bureau with which
one Is compelled to deal through an
expert representative." For every
employe of the patent office there
are about five patent attorneys whose
work relates directly or indirectly
to the work of the office.
It is practically impossible for an
Inventor to deal immediately with
the government, which is supposed
to . furnish him with a warrant of
security. The patent itself possesses
no finality. If the invention is worth
while, the certificate usually is only
the beginning of a series of lawsuits.
The system is antiquated without
excuse for being so. Other countries
have shown that It can be improved
on. Its fatal weaknesses are that it
Invites confusing and Inordinately
expensive litigation, highly discour
aging to the poor man, and that it
makes inadequate provision for tech
nical judgment in advance of the
granting of the certificate. Its em-
ployes. who are presumed to be well
trained technologists, receive basic
salaries of about $1500 a year, which
does not attract competent men. The
offices are undermanned with such
talent as they are able to command.
At least two of Mr. Hulm's sug
gestions have the merit of simplicity.
He would reform court procedure
by giving jurisdiction to a single
tribunal. Nine United States courts
of appeal now have final jurisdiction
In most patent cases, and their de
cisions are not always uniform. Of
equal importance Is his proposal that
equipment be supplied which will
make it possible for the experts to
weed out large numbers In advance.
Under present conditions the patent
ability of an Invention is by no means
tested in advance. Endless avoid
able litigation is invited by this cir
cumstance alone. Delays are also
expensive and irritating. Frequently
as long as nine months must pass
before an application can even.be
looked at by an examiner. No pro-
vision is made for keeping examiners
informed of the progress of their
respective sciences. Chemical tests
must be made only on paper, for
want of laboratory equipment. Al
lowanee for purchase of technical
publications of every kind is limited
to $3000 a year.
Despite these drawbacks, the spirit
of invention in the United States has
named anew since the armistice was
signed. There were more than 70,000
applications in 1919 a record. Our
people are turning to Industry with
the same vim that they showed In
war. There were 663 applications in
the metallurgical division alone last
October: 480 in a single one of sev
eral chemical divisions; 354 in the
agricultural division. New Interest
in various forms of. transportation
Is shown by 729 applications for pat
ent on vehicle wheels in the same
month, and 441 which were referred
to the division that passed on auto
mobile engines and their parts. De
vices for making work easier or fo
multiplying production pour in in an
unceasing stream. There is a kind
of tragedy in the coincidence be
tween present needs for labor econ
omy and the delay of an important
department of the government
making their exploitation . practi
cable. ,
Invention is discouraging, enough
under ordinary circumstances. It is
necessary only to recall a few con
spicuous examples. Eli Whitney's
cotton gin, which made the present
prosperity of the south possible, was
almost lost to the inventor because of
the long litigation that it involved,
and the rewards of genius finally
were dissipated in lawyers fees.
Elias Howe was driven to sell his
Ideal. , A contemplated survey was stituting merely additions? evidence
to include trie world. An intensive that there are some natures so un
survey of the United States was to stable that the least impetus over.
oe maae.- ine cnurch was to inter- balances them. And It is difficult to
est itself much more than formerly perceive the strange ramble of reas-
sociai - economic problems. OI oninsr that leads from suffrage to
more man a oiinon to do raised in I murder
ten-year campaign, $386,777,537 To a certain decree and In isolated
as to De cauea ror tue first year, instances the exercise of the ballot
Of the latter amount, "friendly citi- or rather the boldness that attaches
zens, or laymen not affiliated Tlth n it nmKinn mav tn t oo r.
ny cnurcn out presumed to- have its feminine nossessor but. the el
the welfare o the church at heart, ments of such transformation were
ere to De asKefl lor 40,O00.000. alreadv in th characters nf thn r.
livery figure, including those rep- afflicted. As to the nenehant of
resenting the deficits now reported, j women for corrupt politics, let Miss
was calculated to stagger the imagl- Brock speak for the horde of design-
nation or me ordinary man. Accord- Ing, scheming, selt-centered. willful
ing to Ueorge M. Fowles, treasurer women who rushed to the trlumDh
of the fund. , the organization has ant standard as moths to a flame.
pent .uuu,ooo. mis Includta Thar do lat snKnt nffr. anv
o.uuu.uuu provided Dy DanKS on more than they tvulfv the well-read.
notes underwritten by the partici- intelligent, virtuous and lnconspicu
pating denominations. But on the ous millions of women who are using
oaj on wnicn Mr. t owies spoke he the ballot with honesty and discrimi
uu.a received less man ?3,uou,uoo in I nation
subscriptions and had less than It is too early in the earns of eo
2,000,000 on hand, and Mr. Fowles educational politics for any prophet
lmsen was a memoer or a commit- of disaster to risk a rune on the
tee appointed to "negotiate with the ultimate destiny of suffrage. We are
oanKS concerning tne best method not of the mind, we Americans, to
or securing payment or the under- blow hot one day and cold the next
writings and adjusting the affairs of The nation is practlcallv committed
the movement." Every sum men. I to the mrtrrint anrt in v, mina
tioned smacked of "efficiency": the of the majorlty-lt no longer classifies
ery system under wtilch the money as aVi experiment, but as a proved
was expended before it was In hand success. Miss Brock mav be oer-
betokened the up-to-dateness of the mltted to delve into the secrets of her
wnoie scheme. It was, as one of the own soul, to expose the sordid mo-
leaders said, "a strictly business tlves of her political sisters, but she
proposition ; line some other busi- speaks both foolish and forbidden
ness propositions, it nad to deal with words when she casts aspersion
conditions as it lound tnem, which wholesale.
were not always as they were fore
cast. The element of the unexpected
entered in many such element
and the movement found itself, to
use a colloquialism, in the air.
THE CALL- UNHEEDED.
The list of vacancies for midship
men at the United States naval acad-
Passlng by, as probably not going I emy at Annapolis reminds us again
to the root of the matter, the sugges- I that there must be something funda
tion tnat prodigality is Dy itself an mental behind the reluctance of
invitation to waste, it is worth while young Americans to take to the sea
to inquire into the cause of failure. The same unwillingness is observed
remaps we snau una it in tne con- as to the merchant marine. No
tr!iSt between a money drive for the amount of propaganda seems to be
evangelism of the world and the sufficient to create desire to try the
BimpiB jjrosramnie aooptea Dy tne i life) on the ocean wave. No move
first and greatest evangelist." The ment has been better directed than
SPEAKING OF THE MARINES.
Among the episodes of war none
fastens on admiring fancy with more
compelling grip than does some nar
rative of individual exploit- The
gigantic and dreadful grandeur of a
general engagement is lacking, but
in its stead stands forth the figure
of heroic initiative, and we are
schoolboys again reading Henty.
That favorite of youth, who followed
the English flag through many
climes with his adventurous tales,
never related a more enthralling
passage at arms than is found in a
recent statement of the United States
navy department, prosy and self
contained. Therein is recounted the
exploit for which Lieutenant Hanne
ken and Corporal William R. Button,
of the marines, received medals of
honor.' "Extraordinary heroism.
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
in actual conflict," are terms so
pregnant with unusual significance
that they deserve definition in fact.
The marine corps has been lam
pooned and upbraided for its fond
ness for publicity, replying tartly
that recruiting and the good of the
service are advanced by telling the
world. Without a trace of partisan
ship either way it has been assumed
by civilian observers that the ma
rines will never be decorated for re
tiring modesty. The corps Is consti
tutionally disinclined to retire, under
any circumstances as the German
dead at Chateau-Thierry could attest
were their shades endowed with
speech. This prelude should be
borne in mind when one learns that
the latest publicity for the marines
relates to an action in Haiti on the
niglit of November 1, 1919, and was
released by none other than Rear
Admiral Coontz, acting secretary of
the navy, on July 1. The soldiers of
the sea are thereby exonerated.
At any rate it appears that the
republic of Haiti, over which the
corps stands watch and ward, had
for some years been terrorized by
the bandit Peralte, who operated
after the fiery fashion of Villa 1n
Mexico, and whose outlawed reign
was one of pillage and murder.
Peralte was the Haitian equivalent
for "one bad hombre," and he bore
the charmed life so indispensable to
banditry or, for that matter, to the
practice of more orthodox callings.
On October 31 word came to regional
marine headquarters in- Haiti that
Peralte had doomed the town of
Grand Riviere to torch and sword,
and even then was moving boldly
forward with 1200 followers.
Lieutenant Hanneken and Cor
poral Button, doubtless remarking
that the defeat of the bandit chief in
this enterprise would make excellent
material for the corps propagandists,
chose a swarthy crowd of native
constabulary, blsckened their own
faces to the complexion current In
Haiti and in Georgia minstrelsy, and
trudged blithely away through the
Haitian hills toward the armed camp
of the desperate Peralte. They ban
died pleasantries with the outposts
and sentries and passed, ostensible
recruits to the outlaw's forces, into
the presence of the renowned bad
man of the colored republic- As cards
of introduction the lieutenant car
ried two service automatics, while
the corporal toted a light Browning
machine gun. They were but 30
paces from Peralte when that worthy
reacnea ror nts hip and shouted a
warning to his men. He died with
the words in his throat, for the lieu
tenant pistoled him as coolly as
though on target range, while the
corporal and the constabulary
sprayed the charging body guards to
such purpose that nine fell before
the remnant sought cover. Then,
quite casually, the two marines and
their Haitian friends fought their
way back to headquarters, through
the night and the hills.
Probably the marines will find
this incident advantageous to their
recruiting programme. It is theirs
and they are more than welcome to
It, so far as the citizen on the side
lines is concerned. But one is con
strained to remark that the marines
have no patent on heroism beyond
the other branches of the service.
They have gallantry plus initiative,
and divers traditions that must be
lived up to, or paid for in heroic
death. But there was Brigadier-
English and, one for English and Es
peranto. In artdition to a clear ma
jority on first choice there were a
number mentioning English as sec
ond choice. Only one was for Latin,
and we suspect that he did not in
terpret the question accurately. The
phrase "has the greatest prospects"
would seem lo exclude that dead
tongue. There were four for Ido and
one for Esperanto not a surprising
relationship when It is considered
that Ido was devised with a view to
removing some of vthe disqualifica
tions of its rival. Yet a fact that
stands out is that students of lan
guage, acquainted with the steps by
which it is created out of the neces
sities of men and with the toilsome
processes by which It approaches but
never arrives at perfection, take no
stock in the theory that a made-to-order
language will suit the purpose.
Whatever may be decided on, Ido
and Esperanto and others like them
are relegated to the scrap heap of
impossibility.
It is half a century since Richard
Grant White denominated English
as the "gammarless" language not
a precise designation, but one which
conveyed its meaning with sufficient
exactness to win acceptance of the
spirit in which the statement was
made. And it may be that it is this
V6ry point that has obtained recog
nition for English by the impartial
jurv that ha just reported. School
boys studying our grammar by the
painful methods in vogue in a good
many schools are apt to jump to a
different conclusion, but philosophers
like Brander Matthews know that on
the whole the grammarlessness of
English has much to recommend It.
Professor Matthews called attention
recently in a criticism in the New
York Times to these merits of Eng
lish which not all English-speaking
people realize:
Of coarse. English tin a simple gram
matical framework of Its own. but it seems
almost grammarlesa when we compare our
simplicity with the complexity of French
and Latin, to say nothing of the still more
elaborate intricacies of German and Greek.
Our genders are natural, that is to say.
words that have sex are either maeculine
or feminine and sexless words art neuter.
Our nouns do not have to be declined, and
our adjectives do not have to advertise
their agreement in gender, number and
case with the nouns to which they may be
adjoined. Our verbs are conjugated, for
the most part, by auxiliary words, and not
by varying terminations or by modifica
tions of the root. Once upon a time Eng
lish had a grammatical elaboration similar
to that of most other languages, but in the
course of centuries it has shed them. Thus
it is that Professor Je&person, the disinter
ested Danish philologist, holds that Eng
lish Is the most advanced of all modern
tongues, the simplest in its structures, the
most direct, the moat logical, the most
powerful. v
It Is this faculty of ridding them
selves of superfluous baggage that
has made the creators of the lan
guage that which they, are, and it is
an inviting thought that the progress
of a people may be traced through a
study of what they have done to
their mode of speech. English has
borrowed freely, whenever necessity
arose, but it has made Its loan words
its own, adapting them and molding
them with facility known by no
other people. It creates new words,
it tries and tests them and rejects
them without compunction when on
experiment they are found not to
serve. The very lang with which
colloquial speech Is Interlarded is an
Indication of its fluidity, and of the
purpose of the language-makers, who
are the people themselves, to refuse
no opportunity to increase the sim
plicity, the directness, the logic and
the force to which the Danish philo
logist alludes, while It is always
"proving its innocuousness," as Pro
fessor Matthews reminds - us, "by
promptly departing this life."
It is an interesting fact that in the
questionnaire the northern nations
were shown to favor English most
strongly. Sweden gave English its
unanimous- vote, Norway six out of
seven, Denmark six in nine and Hol
land four out of five. Other nations
strongly leaning toward English as
the world language of intercommuni
cation were Belgium, Austria, the
Baltic Provinces, Turkey and Czecho-
Slavia. The issue of abandonment of
any existing language was not
raised. For domestic purposes, there
is no desire among philologists to try
to precipitate the millennium before
its time.
woros quoted are tnose or a church- that which has sought to minister
man nnH rlanAmfno tirt al j4( a ha I a . . , ,
ment6 Oveer "l Shf "i? common I wasn a Marine,' and womehw
ment. tjver-renance on the power I sailAr hurl amali fiana r u n ... ... . .
managed tne capture or tne Filipino
war lord, Agulnaldo, by methods
sttlklngly similar to those adopted
of money to accomplish all things command, has been removed. The
is criticised in many quarters. The demand for trained mariners is now
Christian Herald, for example, says: BO great that any bright young man
The movement lacked a great bounding- I with a reasonable endowment Of In
forward progress that would serve to I t.t-.i-.- vi , j , - ,
sweep America into an enthu8iam for U. ' ! , f""
churches because of two things: first, the I most In spite Of himself. It Used to
ieeiing mat money was expected to take 1 require pull to gain favors; DOW
the place of the spirituality of the old-time --,. v.l. , V .
religion; secondly, the distrust of classes ntmnff 18 caIled for bQt push and
tnat seems to pervade all American lifer I net a great aeai or tnat.
Indeed, all civilization. I Trie naval nr-nHomv IttolC 1.
It would be absurd of course tolspected as well for its general edu-
minimiza the proper function of cational standards as for the way
money as an instrument of regen- it opens to an honorable career,
eration. It can be conceded that if Among the world's schools it stands
Jesus had lived in the twentieth cen- high with respect to the training. for
tury ne wouja nave adapted Himself character and efficiency that it of-
to conditions as. He found them and fers. It is singularly free, consider-
would have agreed that ministers Ing that It is a government institu-
and their families must live, without tion. from the dry rot of bureaucracy.
vitiating .tne principle that where Taint of aristocratic exclusiveness,
money is too greatly stressed the hateful to a democracy, has been re-
spirit or service is apt to suffer, moved by free admission of comoe
There is danger of obscuring the tent enlisted men to its entrance ex
more important fact that the church aminationa. Eighty enlisted men
has a spiritual message, true in all were recently made eligible to the
its essentials, vital to the welfare of class of 1931 and examinations are
mankind. If this was not lost wholly soon to be held for the selection of
to sight, it was at least befogged by twenty more.
methods which made it difficult for It is a disturbing thought that the
the undiscrimlnating observer to dis- academy may now be begging for
tlnguish between how much it hoped young, men there are 382 vacancies
to do by virtue of the power of more in the 1921 class because of the
trian a billion dollars and how much reputation it has achieved for re
it counted on unselfish devotion de- quiring rather more serious appllca-
votion, above all. in little things- I tion than most other schools. For
to an unoying cause. . . merly young men gloried in their
There are other reasons for the triumphs over obstacles; is it possi
faliure thus far recorded. We have ble that they are now more given to
mentioned overemphasis on the turning aside from these than they
power of money, unintended though formerly were? Or is it part of a
this may have been; and the excess wider disinclination to wander far
or efficiency, with its connotations from home? It is a singular fact
or suppression or individuality and that the states in the interior, which
of organization gone to seed. There thirty or forty years ago furnished
was, besides, the circumstance that mere sailors than did those along the
tho people are fed up on "drives." seaboard, are those whose rosters
The experience of the Salvation Armv show no sign of being filled. The
European rights in the sewing ma- confirms this conclusion. And there youth far removed from the shore
chine for $1250, and. was saved only .still prevails a certain spirit of de-'line no louder wants to rove but is
in the Haitian episode. He and his
comrades gambled their lives on the
loyalty of the natives who led them.
In the guise of captives, far into the
mountainous Interior of Luzon.
When the march halted to rest the
wild tribesmen rallied round to jeer
and laugh at the apparently hapless
An.ericanos. Death strode at their
heels on that memorable foray but
they brought back Emlllo Agulnaldo,
and the insurrection passed with a Is
capture.
We are grateful for the informa
tion conveyed by an article in the
National Geographic Magazine that a
good many tourists go to Cuba with
out thought of getting away from the
prohibition laws. It matches nicely
with the tide of immigration at a
time when it was predicted that the
country would be depopulated bj the
same laws.
Louisiana didn't seem to care
much for the democratic party's ef
fort to show that It Is entitled to
credit for the ratification of the suf
frage amendment by all the repub
lican legislatures that have had an
opportunity to act.
The number of automobiles now in
use in the United States is about
7,000,000 and any pedestrian trying
to use a highway on an afternoon's
outing will be willing to swear that
al'. of them passed him on that one
road.
Graoefully or otherwise, tie Ger
mans might as well make up their
minds that it Is going to be a long
time before they will be permitted
to maintain a standing army worth
considering as a factor In war.
BY-PRODUCTS OK THE TIMES
Pencil Te-at to Determine Whether a
Girl Walk Properly.
A great many Walla Walla girls do
not walk correctly, says the Walla
Walla Bulletin. ,
They cannot pick up a pencil with
their toes. That Is the infallible teet.
If any Walla Walla girl disputes the
assertion that her walk is not cor
rect, she can easily challenge the as
sertion of the Bulletin by making the
pencil test-
The correct walking test is the dis
covery of Miss Ruth McCoy, physical
director of Cincinnati. She is making
it in connection with a eensible shoe
campaign. Says Miss McCoy:
"Lifting a pencil with the toes the
toes pressing the pencil against the
ball of the foot shows that the own
er of those toes walks properly, exer
cising all the muscles and making
them strong."
Test your toes. If they carry the
pencil, forget it. If they don't, take
a'look at your shoes. Are they sensl
ble?
Walking correctly Is a stepping
stone to physical beauty. There isn't
a Walla Walla girl but who will look
all the prettier and enjoy better
health, display excellence in athletics
and be a "better housekeeper for im
proved walking.
"Got a little hooch?" asked a west
ern delegate cautiously, according to
a San Francisco correspondent of the
New YoVk Times.
"Had some down the line." observed
a North Carolinian, "but It was only
sklmmins."
"You don't mean ekimmlns," said
his neighbor from South Carolina,
"you mean eou cat."
"Where I come from." said a Geor
gian, "we call it monkey rum."
"Stump water In my state," said
the man from Alabama.
"Among us." observed the Louisl
anlan. "It is known as pakenham.
from a historic Incident which is
somewhat too gruesome to repeat."
"I seem to recognize the fluid you
refer to." said a delegate from Ha
waii, "but we call it okaUhao. The
meaning of that I do not see fit to
explain, but it certainly describes that
eo-called liquor."
Chauncey M. Depew and Joseph G.
Cannon got into an argument as to
which had been attending national
conventions the longer.
"Now; Joe." said Senator Depew to
the former speaker, "you know you
are only a comparatively young man
in convention history and cannot fig
ure In the same class with me. I was
at the convention of 1864 and I know
you did not come along until later."
"You're both children." declared
former Marshal Louis F. Payn of
Chatham, who Is doing his regular
quadrennial turn as a member of the
New York delegation. "I was here In
1S60."
"I'd have been here, too," remarked
"Uncle Joe" Cannon, "but Abe Lin
coln beat me in a lawsuit the week
heforei the convention and 1 didn't
have money enough to pay the 12 a
week board bill unless Z walked here
to save carfare." New York Tele
graph.
What a person talke about is a fine
Index to his mental and social devel
opment. Some one has divided people
Into three classes: Those who talk
about other people, those who talk
about things, and those who talk of
ideas. We might add a fourth class,
those who talk of themselves. It
eeras Imperative to talk or be
thought unsocial, but probably the
real touchstone of Individual or fam
ily Is Impersonality; only the high
grade can get above the personal
Those who have only amusements and
the social round for occupation must
of necessity be superficial; they can
offer only banter and badinage. Life
is regarded as a series of outward
acta and earnestness and thoughtful
ness are synonymous with boredom.
Detroit Free Press.
The Piggly-Wlggly corporation,
with headquarters In Memphis. Tenn.,
operating a chain of grocery stores in
many cities, has filed suit in the
United States district court at St.
Louis to enjoin Charles Tamme Jr.,
president of the Hoggly-Woggly
stores, from using the name "Hoggly
Woggly." charging that by so doing
he is trading on the reputation of tne
other organization.
The petition states that the Mem
phis corporation has spent large sums
of money In advertising the name of
the grocery stores and charges that
the St. Louis concern has impaired the
business through employing a simi
lar name. The Piggly-Wiggly com
pany asks that the Hoggly-Woggly
company be ordered to pay over to it
all Income derived through the use of
the name.
The Shriners.
Br Grace Hall.
A sea of faces verily was there.
An eager. surging, breathless,
thoughtless mass.
Tossintr their flippant comment on
the air.
Thinking of naught except what
chanced to pass;
Frolic and fun walked hand In hand,
or raced
With nonsense, in a spirit free
from fret,
AU thought of trouble for the hour
erased, '
All memories laid aside that held
regret.
boys grown tall
An idle hour for
and gray.
A rest time for the brains that spin
the wheels
In life's machine; a little while for
play
'Ere duty touched their hand with
her appeals;
Only a very little while ago
These boys had sunny faces free
from care.
And played their games quite differ
ently, we know.
Perhaps with greater scruples to
be fair.
But life, the teacher, has her sundry
books
That men peruse: each reads and
learns his line,
Tou almost know his lessons by his
looks',
And his Interpretation, crude or
fine:
And so they came at "recess time" to
play
In one great game of mirth, these
grown-ur boys.
Then back again, each to his des
tined way.
Where life sells out her treasures
and her toys.
They brought a lesson to us, every
one. It was as plain as story could be
told:
E'en though In years our rare, be
nearly run.
The hearts within us never do
grow old.
A DREAM.
I wander on an old and deep-worn
trail.
In quest of promises that alwayo fall.
Thus plodding down a hill with tired
feet.
I reach a place where trail and r.iver
meet.
The sinking sun, through clouds
half hid from sight.
Floods earth and sky with melancholy
light.
A cabin stands deserted and forgot.
Within a long neglected garden plot.
Fruit trt?s and bushce fragrant bur
dens bear.
And dreams of days of old and lov
ing care.
A broken toy, a baby's tiny shoe,
Are eloquent of friends they one
time knew.
grave,
The government has ruled that
women's hats are a necessity, but at
the prices we see on some of them in
the windows it does seem as if sun-
bonnets ought to do for a while.
Among the trees I see
whereby
A kneeling form looms clear against
the sky.
I feel as if with prying, profane eye
T on a fellow mortal's grief would spy.
Therefore I turn to go, but at my
tread
This lonely mourning pilgrim turns
his head.
Great fear and wonder fills me, and
surprise.
For face to face, myself I recognize.
Aghast at this I stand, but as again
I step toward the grave I eeek in
vain.
N'one is there: but cold and bleak
and lone
I see a scripted cross of carven stone.
The sinking sun's departing rays en
fold The cross in glory. I this text behold:
"Here lies the past; let it the past
remain:
No soul may here it's faith or hope
regain."
I break the chains that bind me to
the dead.
And face with faith the future un
afraid. Each day and hour I spent In vain
regret
Shall yield it's mete of peace and
Joy as yet.
With sweet and simple flowers shall
nn
My garden and around each window
till. The clinging vine and rose shall
soften all
The soars neglect has made upon
the wall.
While through the doorway, laughing
feet bring in
Some of the happiness that might
have been.
CHARLES O. OLSON.
ENGLISH A WORLD LANGUAGE.
The claims of English to eminence
as a world language ao not rest
wholly on academic chauvinism, as
will appear from the results of a
questionnaire sent out in accordance
with a resolution of the Northern
Peace Congress, held in Stockholm
last fall. Knut Sanderson, general
secretary of the Northern Europe
Peace Union, under whose auspices
the congress was held, says that the
questionnaire was addressed exclu
sively to representative personages in
countries "where none of the three
great languages, English, French and
German, are spoken," and that these
personages were chiefly professors of
comparative philology. The ques
tion was: "What language, dead or
living, has the greatest prospects of
being accepted by the various nations
for correspondence and conversation
besides the language of each sepa
rate country?" The vote. If not
overwhelmingly in favor of English,
shows at least a flattering preference
for-it.
There wer fifty-four replies, of
which twenty-nine were in favor of
English. There were two for French
and English, one for Spanish and
After reading a long article by an
expert on the way to avoid getting
poisonous mushrooms, we are more
than ever convinced that the safest
way is to let them all alone.
The latest fad In Paris is the wear
ing of live snakes as necklaces. It
need hardly be added that the young
women who practice it are not look
ins for husbands.
We no sooner have our throats
fixed for a cheer for the announced
"wave of low prices" than along
comes milk to discourage the attempt.
That woman who was poisoned by
carrying currency in her stocking
evidently thought that tainted money
was a mere figure of speech.
Mr. Hearst says a "third party Is
desperately needed." Desperate men
call for desperate measures, to para
phrase somewhat.
To Mr. Palmer, at least, the cam
paign-fund revelations are as water
that has gone over the dam.
Johnny paid his first visit to a farm
the other day. All his life he had
lived in the heart of a great city, and
when he suddenly came In sight of a
haystack he stopped and gazed earn
estly at what appeared to him as a
new brand of architecture.
"Say, Mr. Smith." he remarked to
the farmer, pointing to the haystack,
"why don't thehave doors and win
dows In H?"
"Doors and windows?' smiled the
farmer. "That ain't a huse, Johnny;
that's hay."
. "Don't try to josh me, Mr. Smith!"
was the scornful rejoinder. "Don't
you suppose I know that hay don't
grow in humps like that?" Minneap
olis Tribune.
The commercial traveler met Sandy,
the canny one, emerging from the
postoffice.
"Ah, Sandy T' cried the commercial.
"It is good to see as prosperous a
farmer as yourself not forgetful of
his country! You have been in the
postoffice to purchase war bonds?"
-Nay," said Sandy easily.
"Oh. Then, perhaps you have put a
little money In the savings bank, that
It may help the country?"
"Nay."
"Well." said the traveler as a last
resort. "I suppose that you have
bought a postal order to send to some
poor acquaintance?"
"Nay. I've been In to fill my foun
tain pen.'"i London Ideas.
Smith Do you realize that we are
beholding the completion of a great
cycle in history?
Jones Explain.
"Three hundred and six years ago
the Island of Manhattan was bought
from the Indians for six quarts of
whisky."'
Welt."
"Well? Within six months tha de
scendants of those Indians will be
able to buy It back for the umi
price."
INSPIRATION.
Her pen is a nightingale's quill.
And her Ink is the blood of my soul;
And she writes in the night in the
night.
When the stars sit In mantle and
stole;
When the tide scatters wide 'neath
the moon.
And the halterless sea-horses roll.
Her censer swings over the heart
. Till she kindles the spirit with fire.
Nor does she with day-dawn depart;
Nor does she with evening tire.
Her couch is a whisper of leaves
Where the shadows make shelves
in the day;
And Bhe weeps while she sleeps
while she sleeps.
But why there is no one may say.
There Love In his rosiest grace
Braids garlands of parhelic bloom.
And lays them light over her face.
In the hush of that encnantea room.
And she sighs while her eyes while
her eyes
Swoon under the weight of perfume.
Her step is like bell music blown
In the twilight from tower to tower.
As light as the faraway note .
Of a lute breaking into the hour;
And her lips warm as wine burn to
mine burn to mine.
Till I walk in the spell of her power.
GUY FITCH PHELPS.
FAREWELL. TO LADY NICK.
You oft have charmed me with your
wiles
And made me happy with your smiles
In days that have gone by.
Your slender figure clad in white
Or rich brown satin skin so tight
Was always pleasing to my eye.
The sweet aroma of your breath
Oft soothed my nerves, lulled me to
rest.
In those good days gone by.
And ahJ dear one, when your lips met
mine
'T went to my head like rare old wine,
T were happiness to die.
But now. dear one. alas, I find
The eyes of love are growing blind;
Pause a moment while I cry.
I find your once seductive breaAh
Makes my heart dizzy in my chest.
So 1 must pass you by.
Farewell, farewell, dear Lady Nick.
The time has come when we miAit
part;
1 can't love you and keep ri&ht fit.
sio I must tear you from my heart.
J. P. G.
4