s
TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAXD, FEBRUARY 20, 1921
the increase in cost that is due to I give the United States power to pre-
high railroad rates. The action of vent reckless lending and investment
the threp Ktata nmmii5ion mav 1 of Amerir-An ranital in wavs which
aTABUSHLD BY HENRY L. P1TTOCK. helD materiallv bv indur-ine the rail. ' mitrht become the cause of disDutes
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Published by The Oreconlan Publishing Co., j roads to take what they can get
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but far more can be gained by pres
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that commerce.
We have entered a period of re
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business, which is more complex
than that of industry. and commerce
in general. It is complicated by
competition of our new merchant
marine with railroads just when the
Panama canal has come into full
use, and by competition of motor
transport with the railroad. It is
also complicated by thehigh cost of
railroad service when price of com
modities is falling. The situation
changes so . rapidly that before a
remedy that is sought can be applied
it no longer fits the case. For ex
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THE PROBLEM OK TRANSPORTATION.
In suspending the rate of $6.50 a
ton on smelter products from Gar
field, Utah, to Sun Francisco, which
had been done by the Western Pa
cific road, the interstate commerce
commission has reopened the entire
field of discussion on transportation
ly both rail and water. The new
rate was made in order that ship
Tots might avail themselves of the
low water rate from San Francisco
to; the Atlantic coast. On its face
it. is justified by the rate of $7.S7,
which is made by northern lines
from Montana points to Tacoma. for
after deducting certain charges
which those lines absorb the latter
rate is somewhat lower than $6. of),
thtough distance and cost of service
are greater. But the new rate is
not merely an equalization of rales
from one smelting point to its near
est port with that from other smelt
ing points to their nearest port.
Py reducing this rate the Pacific
roads take away from roads extend
ing eastward traffic which they now
have and upon which they calculate
to earn the minimum return of 54
per cent fixed by the transportation
( act. If the westbound rate should
stand, the eastern roads would re
duce their rate in order to hold this
traffic. Probably the western roads
would retaliate, and an old-fashioned
rate war might begin, which would
prevent either group of roads from
earning the standard return. The
commission's new function is to pre
serve the solvency of the roads, to
insure that they earn the standard
return, in order that they may ren
der efficient service to the people.
Hence it must restrain rate reduc
tion and must maintain a balance
between traffic that goes eastward
and westward from the mid-continent
area, where there is an eco
nomic line corresponding to the
mountain divide.
But more is involved than compe
tition between two groups of rail
roads. Peliind the Garfield rate is
competition between rail and water
lines. In this competition the trans
continental roads having a short
haul to the Pacific ally themselves
with the ships plying from coast to
coast and with the roads having a
Short haul to the Atlantic coast. The
roads through the intermediate belt
get little of the traffic that is car
ried by there rail-and-water routes.
That does not worry the Atlantic
and Pacific coast lines, but the com
mission cannot permit the roads
through the central belt to be
starved for their benefit. The roads
Mve a great supply of cars which
they want to keep loaded, and the
commission's job is to help them to
keep those cars- loaded at remunera
tive rates. Hut the shipping board
has a great fleet of ships which it
must keep loaded, and it strives to
divert traffic from the rail route to
the all-water or rail-and-water
route. It is thus in competition with
the railroads, and we are presented
v.Jth the edifying spectacle of two
branches of the government en
gaged in a tug-of-war. They realize
the absurdity of the situation, for
they have appointed a joint commit
tee to arrange terms of peace.'
Growth of motor transport on
highways presents another problem
to, the railroads, which the in
terstate commission cannot help, as
it has no jurisdiction over highway
traffic. While water lines are eat
ing into the railroads' long-haul
traffic, motor transport eats into
their short-haul traffic. Suburban
and interurban lines are generally
nailer jurisdiction of state commis
sions, and it has been proposed to
extend that jurisdiction to cover au
tomobile stage and truck lines, but
that does not seem to nreet with
imich favor. Yet it is possible, that,
with no track to maintain and with
unrestricted competition, motor
transport may drive suburban and
interurban lines out of business, just
un the railroad a century ago drove
the- horse-drawn stage out of busi
ness. Another problem is presented by
the request of the public service
commissions of Oregon, Washington !
and Idaho that the railroads restore
temporarily the eastbound 'rates
which prevailed before the general
advance was made last August. The
rtason given is that producers in
trie interior have great quantities
op goods which do not move to mar
ket at present rates, that railroads
J-ave thousands of idle cars in. which
they might be moved, and that the
advanced rates, which were intend
ed to Increase railroad revenue, have
actually decreased it by checking
movement of traffic. If the rail
roads were to restore the old rates
and move this traffic, it seems to
be argued, they would get at least
half a loaf, which is better than no
brpad.
It is a doubtful question to what
de'gree stagnation on marketing of
nqrthwest'products is due to high
railroad -rates in view , of the fact
that water routes are open at stead
ily falling rates. Lower rates would
countless stimulate sale of some
products in central markets, this
i?ing especially true of lumber, but
e must look rather to improvement
of world markets to improve this
nmvenient. Congestion in the in
terior seems to be due in larger
measure to Inability of the foreign
ample, when the last rate advance
was asked last spring, the railroads
were glutted with traffic and it
seemed that any increase within rea
son could be paid. When the ad
vance was authorized in July, indus
try had already begun to slacken
and volume of traffic has since
steadily fallen until tho railroads are
scurrying for loads for their cars.
Kvidcntly the tendency of prices
is downward, and the railroads must
conform to that tendency. Their
problem will be hereafter to reduce
rates to the point where they can
get traffic and to reduce cost of
service to the point where those
rates will yield an adequate return.
That is a subject for reflection by
the railroad brotherhoods In making
demands and by the railroad labor
hoard in considering those demands.
The executives are learning that
their prices are so high that their
goods transportation do not sell.
The employes may find themselves
in the same position.
between the two governments, and
to prevent graft, which is rife and
has checked oil production when an
increased supply is needed through
out the world
This is so rational a policy, so
careful of the rights of both coun
tries, that it suggests the question:
Why was itnot followed long ago?
It might as well have been adopted
at almost any time within the last
eight years, certainly at several
critical junctures. Delay has gained
nothing for either Mexico or the
United States, but has lost much in
life, treasure and happiness.
IS WEALTH A HANDICAP?
Judge Elbert H. Gary thinks John
I. Rockefeller Jr. is wrong in as
suming that wealth is a handicap to
a youth in making progress. The
oil man's son had been quoted as
intimating that he felt strongly the
disadvantaged of inherited riches.
"He had to make his own way in the
world," said the son, alluding to his
father, "and I have never known
what that was"; to which Judge
Gary replies that there are handi
caps both ways, that those of the
rich and the poor are different in
kind, but not necessarily in degree
For illustration:
The rich man's son mav have to figh
overindulgence to his wishes; the poor
mans son must tignt innll rerence to Ins
The point of the matter is that the spirit
of the individual is called forth to hat
tie In both instances. It ts the spirit thst
wins. It Is the desire to prove that lie can
rise ahnve the things that bind others of
his onn kind. Wealth- has nothing to do
wilh It. Insofar as greatness is concerned
It is important on'y from the point of view
ol tne service it can render.
Judge Gary says he would not
have felt handicapped if he had been
born with a legacy of $1,000,000.
Here he strikes a popular chord. A
good many men will agree with him
that they would not feel tiandi
capped, while conceding that in the
shstract much wealth may operate
ns an economic anesthetic by dead
ening an important motive for striv
ing. The primary struggle for ex
istence has kept many hustling who
went on hustling because they had
formed the habit of doing so, but
who probably would not have devel
oped liking for work if they had
been born beyond ,he need of it.
The point is overlooked that only
a small number either of those who
are horn poor or those who inherit
wealth attain eminenre in service.
I-irge numbers of both groups con
tent themselves with a small meas
ure of the success that they might
win with suitable effort. Napoleons
of finance, or science, or any other
field of human' endeavor, are scarce.
Indomitable will and unconquer
able ambition probably will always
disregard handicaps, either of too
much money or the lack of it. The
Garys and the Morgans, the Fdisons
and the Pupins, and the junior and
senior Rockefellers may well be re
garded as exceptions to the rule in
either case, while the millions of
average men, whether they like to
admit it or not, need exterior incen
tive. It is not hard to believe that
Judge Gary would not have been
ruined by the proverbial silver
spoon, but it is still easier to imagine
that an inherited fortune would spoil
more men than it would greatly help.
TUB EFFJGT Oy THE CEXT.
A correspondent wants to know
whether a real Indian ppsed for the
figure on the copper cent coined
prior to the Lincoln penny now is
sued by our mints, and also the
name of the tribe to which he be
longed. The figure in question was
not, as a matter of fact, modeled
after any Indian, but the question
recalls an interesting controversy
over the identity of the original of
the figure a controversy that raged.
with some acrimony, in the adminis
tration of President Roosevelt, on
whose direction the Indian head was
abandoned in favor of that of the
martyred president.
A story that derived vitality from
popular reluctance -to subject
pleasing romance to sordid scrutiny
long was current to the effect tha
the figure was modeled after the
six-year-old daughter of the chief
engraver of the mint. . She was
Sarah Longacre, afterward nation
ally prominent as Sarah Longacre
Keen, secretary of the Women's
Foreign Mission Board of the Meth
odist Episcopal church, and noted
for her benevolences. The story was
that a delegation of Indians visited
the national capital in the late fifties
and, being entertained by Mr. Long-
acre, were struck with the winsom
r.ess of the child. One of them, a
chieftain, placed his war bonnet on
the child's head, the version ran, and
some one who was present made a
pencil sketch which afterward gave
Mr. Longacre his inspiration for the
head of the Indian figure,- which was
formally adopted In 1859..
It seems probable, however, that it
was the idea of the engraver only to
portray what he considered the ideal
head of an Indian woman, and there
is considerable evidence that no
model was employed. Most conclu
sive is the fact that the identical fea
tures appear on the original model
fcr the double eagle made by Long
acre in 1849, which would have been
four years before the child was born,
and the same head with slight
change in feature appeared on the $3
gold piece. Hut the feathers on the
Indian cent do not represent a war
bonnet and artists in seeking an
ineal do not always, or probably
often, have a particular individual in
mind.
He was engineer, architect, astrono
mer, geographer and writer, as well
as painter and sculptor a master of
all. Michelangelo, sculptor, painter,
architect and poet, and .Cellini,
goldsmith, sculptor and interpreter
of men in the most noteworthy au
tobiography ever written, possessed
the gift of intellectual divisibility
less remarkable only in degree.
. Benjamin Franklin was another
such genius, who has 'told us in his
autobiography how by his early
methodicalness he so managed the
disposal of his time that he was able
to become master of many vocations.
Yet this does not alone explain the
phenomenon. Not all versatile geni
uses have possessed the talent for
reducing life to a routine that
Franklin had, and a good many who
live by rule and clock fail to ac
complish an infinitesimal fraction
of the substance or the variety that
has' marked the achievements of
these intellectual chameleons. The
adage, "jack of all trades, -master of
none," needs to be tested by the im
portant exceptions to the rule.
VERSATILITY OV GENU'S.
The death of James Huneker,
widely known as a dramatic and
musical critic and as an alert and
sympathetic observer of art and the
work of artists in many phases, is
remindful of the striking capacity of
the minds of a few men to perfect
themselves in the craftsmanship of
many callings. Mr. Huneker was
not only a critic who comprehended
principles and backgrounds, but he
was a linguist with an intimate and
idiomatic knowledge of four lan
guages, and he had mastered the
piano technically and was a music
teacher as well. As an author he is
best known for criticisms and re
views. jJurlng a long period- or
music teaching and musical and dra
matic criticism for the daily and
weekly press, he found time to write
nearly twenty books. He was the
direct instigator of the Ibsen theater
In America, after having written a
remarkable book of literary criti
cisms of the Norwegian's plays, and
CHCRCH ATTENDANCE.
It has become so common a prac
tice to take for granted a decline of
popular interest in churches that a
canvass of - church attendance in
Baltimore made by a newspaper of
that city on a recent Sunday Is espe
cially illuminating. The city has a
population of 734,000, and omitting
the very young, it is estimated that
there are 600,000 persons of church
going age.
The enumeration included 349
city churches, which were attended
by 207,180. The secretary of the
local federation of churches esti
mates that 80,000 probably attended
the churches not canvassed. The
total of church attendants on that
day was therefore 287,180, or 47 per
cent of trfe population of church
going age. The weather was not
particularly favorable for church at
tendance. There are no data for
previous years' on which to found
comparisons, but the figures on the
whole will seem to be favorable to
the present. They do not in any
event indicate the slump that has
been assumed by the most pessimis
tically inclined.
JTTI KE POLICY TOWARD MEXICO.
Decision as to recognition of
President Obregon of Mexico awaits
inauguration of Mr. Harding as
president, and after that event it will
await agreement for settlement of
past claims of tha Fnited States and
of future relations between the two
countries. That is the forecast of
the Boston Transcript, whose corre
spondent says that Secretary Colby
is in accord with the policy that it
indicates. -The policy of Mr. Hard
ing will be in line with the recom
mendations of the senate committee
which investigated Mexican affairs,
of which Senator Fall was chairman,
and the senator has slated those
recommendations in a letter which
has been sent to Obregon, so the hew
president of Mexico knows what to
expect.
The conclusions of the senate com
mittee were: that an agreement be
made for appointment of a commis
sion to ascertain Jamage to Ameri
cans and their property in Mexico
and to Mexicans and their property
in the United Ktates; .that, another
commission settle boundary disputes;
that -American, property rights in
Mexico be not impaired by article
17 of the new Mexican constitution
or by laws enacted under it; that
American ministers be secured in
the right to! teach school and to
preach Christianity: that this agree
ment be reduced to writing with a
declaration that it shall be embodied
in a treaty as. soon as a Mexican
government is recognized. Mr. Fall
intimates that, if Mexico should re
fuse to sign such an agreement, he
would favor action to restore the
rights pf Americans in Mexico.
If the terms should be accepted,
the senate committee proposes that
the United States give liberal finan
cial aid to' Mexico in funding its
debt, to organize and equip a nation
al army which would disarm and
disband all other armed forces, and
tc rehabilitate the railroads. It is
estimated that $S00,00O.lt00 will be
needed to settle Mexico's obligations
anil 150,000.000, to stabilize the
internal and international situation.
Disbursement of the money would
be tinder supervision of the lenders
consumer to buy tinder present through a bank to be organized in
world economic conditions tliajx to j jieicos This financial control would
study of this and others of his works
reveals an amazing erudition. Yet
his biography indicates that he was
in no way abnormal, except in his
ability to absorb work. He resorted
to writing of fiction as an avocation.
There are occasional men whose
mental processes seem similarly di
visible into separate compartments,
and who attain eminence in a vari
ety of fields. Francis Hopkinson
Smith was one of these. He began
life as clerk in an iron works, be
came a successful contractor, built
massive public works, such as the
foundation for the Bartholdi statue
of Liberty, won honors as a painter
of water colors, as a worker In char
coal and an illustrator, and finally, I
as an author of books and short
stories, eclipsed the fame that he
had previously attained. William
Wetmore Story, who published five
volumes of creditable poems, mod
eled a great number and variety of
sculptures, and wrote numerous
books and was also the author of
prosaic but authoritative legal tomes
on the law of contracts and the
law of sales of pers6nal property.
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson is better
known as Lewis Carroll to those who
have been delighted by "Alice in
Wonderland" and "The Hunting of
the Shark," but he also found time
to write on "Euclid and His Modern
Rivals" and "Syllabus of Plane Alge
braical Geom'etry." Dr. Oliver Wen
dell Holmes was a man of letters, but
also a pioneer in medical research,
as his "Contagiousness of Puerperal
Fever," which was in advance of the
scientific thought of its day, and
numerous other scientific essays
show. More recently. Sir Harry
Johnstone, who created a stir in lit
erary circles with the "Gay-Dom
beys" and "Mrs. Warren's Daugh
ter," was a noted African explorer
before he turned novelist.
We still think of Ieonardo da
Vinci us the most versatile genius of
all times, though he had a number
of counterparts. Undoubtedly the
most many-sided man of that age of
geniuses, the Renaissance,- he tow
ered above his contemporaries in the
field of research, and if his views
had been more widely published he
must have revolutionized the science
of his time. His studies of anatomy,
pursued to enhance his technical
skill as painter and sculptor, led him
to divine circulation of the blood
more than a century in advance of
Harvey, and he detected long before
other investigators the action of the
eye in vision. He was a pioneer
meteorologist, knew the effect of the
moon on the tides, discovered the na
ture of fossil shells, foreshadowed
the hypothesis of the elevation of
continents, invented the hydrometer,
perfected a scheme of canalization
of rivers that is of practical value to
this day and also devised a great
number of labor-saving .machines.
THE I'SES OF A LIBRARY.
Reminder that the imponderables
ccme to more in the final estimates
of the value of a public library than
does any statement capable of being
set down statistically is contained in
the unusually interesting report of
Miss Cornelia Marvin, librarian of
the Oregon State library, for the re
cent biennium. Although we may
doubt'that there is much danger in
this age that libraries "may be of
positive harm," as the report sug
gests, there will be agreement that
the measure of a library "is not only
service in the utilitarian sense, but
also the inspiration and recreation
tc which it contributes. Thus, while
the book has an undoubted mission
in helping men in their occupations,
making it possible for them to over
come the disadvantages resulting
from lack of education in colleges
and technical schools," it has also
another use, which it fulfills if it in
troduces its readers to the "thoughts
and dreams of men, their hopes and
strivings, ail their immortal pur
poses." To concede that this is true
s to admit all that can be said as
to the impossibility of telling the
whole story in figures alone.
Yet statistics may contain inspira
tion of a sort, when sympathetically
interpreted. The number of books.
151, 5S1, sent out to borrowers from-
this state institution during the bi
ennium represents a gain of 20,534
over the preceding biennium, which
is a clear gain for education and for
sane recreation, despite the fact that
the report covers only the number of
books sent out from the library,
whose patrons are not only individ
uals but branch libraries and groups
of borrowers, and does not indicate
the number of their readers. Under
the group system of making use of
books, which is being extended as
people are growing to understand
better the advantages of co-operation,
the number of readers is much
greater than the figures show. It is
a phase of development of commun
ity life, and particularly of the tend
ency to ameliorate the condition of
the isolated, that is worth consider
ing in our plans for the welfare of
those who otherwise are abandoning
the small towns and the farms. An
average of some 250 books lent for
each working day of the year is a
striking showing, bearing in mind
that the state library deals less with
fiction than local libraries do, and
that it does try to discriminate and
to give a real service to those com
munities which have no libraries, to
the sixty-one public libraries which
have adequate organization for dis
tribution of books but may have
small and adequate stocks on their
own shelves, and to the seven hun
dred traveling libraries of the state.
That there are in fact seven hundred
such traveling libraries will be news
to a good many citizens of Oregon.
. The "Oregon system" in the case
of the state library carries a char
acteristic appeal. "We are con
stantly Importuned," Miss Marvin
writes, "to serve people everywhere
who have become accustomed to the
Oregon system, and are not happy
under the restrictions of the sort of
library that prefers to hoard its
books and does not trust its readers."
The system also, it seems, touches
a responsive chord In the bosoms
even of those who are afraid to ven
ture for fear of loss, "and libraries
are generally horrified at the idea pf
lending a page from an encyclopedia.
or a section from a valuable refer
ence book, apparently preferring to
take the risk of loaning the whole
book, which would be a much greater
loss and incur a larger postage
charge, or compelling the unlucky
borrower to travel to the library
center if he wishes to use a book,
People who borrow books are honest
on the whole, if due allowance be
made for the proportion of careless
ness, rather than cupidity, reflected
in the almost infinitesimal losses in
curred under the method which
trusts borrowers as a body rather
than deprives all of library priv
iiiges through over-cautiousness. It
is show, for example, that , of 45,836
books mailed in a year only 117 vol
umes, with a value of $92.80, were
lost, and that only $2.08 was not re
funded of $576.63 advanced for post
age. A total loss of somewhat less
than $95, considered as part of the
cost of service to all patrons, is not
inordinate considering the inesti
mable value of the advantages be
stowed. '
Growing cost of books, which
makes ownership Impossible to a
very large class who like to read,
emphasizes the mission of the li
brary, of the future, and the nas&ioa j
for education which Is characteris
tic of the age in which we live is still
another phase which Is touched on
in the report, which relates to
growth of the county library idea.
There must be co-operation' in ac
quisition and lending of books, as
well as in other. community affairs.
"It has become apparent," says the
report, "that It is folly to attempt to
collect large libraries in small
towns and to duplicate these collec
tions in neighboring towns." An au
thentic Investigator of library con
ditions covering a period of twenty
years is quoted as saying that the
small library standing alone in a
town of under 2000 people must be
inadequate unless it is endowed, "and
then it is selfish for it to accumulate
books which are unused when neigh
boring towns and rural communities
are clamoring for them." Where
libraries stand alone, "there Is usu
ally a history of struggle to make
ends meet, the raising of funds by all
sorts of means, resulting in a small
accumulation of books not really
adequate for the reading life of the
community and not freshened with
frequent additions." The plea for the
county aid system will meet sympa
thetic response from those who are
impressed with the value of the
library as an institution of uplift.
Elimination of" restrictions is a
feature of the "Oregon system" as
applied to the state library which. If
It were more widely understood,
probably would result in largely in
creased use. The state library lends
to any citizen of the state on request,
without the formality of application
signed by property owner or tax
payer, and without limit as to num
ber. The period of the loan is a
month, with allowance of, further
time on groups of books for study.
This feature has been emphasized
by contrast with other states, to
which allusion has been made. It is
wholly possible to conceive the re
generation of rural community life
by the spirit of which co-operation
in library service is the symbol if not
the substance itself.
cific bonds at par. with easy terms IB Y - PRODUCTS OF THE mKSS !
for the remainder. Through the Jay
SEVENTY YEARS OF STEAMBOATING.
Announcement of the withdrawal
of the O.-W. R. & N. company from
steamboating on the lower Columbia
recalls a period of frenzied romance
in the history of western' water
transportation. Genealogy of the
company s Interest in navigation
runs back in an unbroken line to
the beginning , of steamboating on
the Columbia. The O. R. & N.,
predecessor of the O.-W. R. & N.,
was the outgrowth of the Oregon
Steam Navigation company, a mighty
influence in its time in the affairs
of the northwest. Captain J. C.
Ainsworth, long active head of the
concern, came to the Columbia river
to become master of-the steamer
Lot Whitcomb, which was launched
at Milwaukie on Christmas day,
1S50, and was the first steamer built
on the Willamette river and a close
contender with the Columbia, built
In the same year at upper Astoria,
for the distinction of being the first
steamer built in Oregon.
Tradition has it that Lot Whit
comb, perhaps in association with
Ferryman Jennings, had discovered
in the hold of the old bark Lausanne,
which had brought a party of mis
sionaries to Oregon, an engine and
complete set of machinery for a
river steamer. Whitcomb engaged
Jacob Kamm, who had learned
practical steamboating in the upper
Mississippi, in Sacramento and
brought him to Oregon to install the
machinery, while W. L. Hanscom
directed the building of hull and
cabin. Hanscom was master'until
the boat obtained formal registry,
when Ainsworth took command,
later in 1851. The number of boats
on the rivers grew and subsequently
a pool kn6wn as the Union Transpor
tation company was formed, which
through the initiative of Ainsworth
and Kamm, led to incorporation on
December 29, 1860, of the Oregon
Steam Navigation company at Van
couver under the laws of the terri
tory of Washington. Kamm had a
mail contract on the Oregon City
route, other partners in the pool,
Abernethy & Clark, controlled im
portant freight business, and A ins
north, Kamm and James N. Gilman
controlled the steamers Carrie Ladd,
Jennie Clark and Express. The con
cern also chartered the Senorita and
the Mountain Buck, names that are
vivid memories to pioneer steam
boat men, and an agreement was
made with Captain Richard Hoyt of
the Multnomah that he should hav
the Astoria route as long as he
wanted it. Thus mastery of the river
below The Dalles was completed
followed by consolidation with th
up-river interests. The concern was
reincorporated in 1862 In Oregon
the new state having meanwhile per
fected its corporation laws with
capital stock of $2,000,000. Th
roster of first stockholders Contains
the names of many men then promt
nent in the business life of Oregon,
The Salmon river gold excitement
brought a horde of prospectors to
' the country and the company earned
more In transporting them than any
of the treasure seekers got from the
mines. Tide of immigration from
the east was also at flood. Freights
prior to organization of the concern
had been disorganized and precari
ous. A sailboat had carried cargoes
from Portland to The Dalles at $20
a ton and there was an advertise
ment in an early issue of the Weekly
Oregonian announcing that the
schooner Henry, owned by F. A.
Chenoweth and George L. Johnson
would accept business at that figure,
The Oregon Steam Navigation com
pany reduced the tariff and did an
enormous business almost from the
start. The rate to The Dalles was
fixed at $10 a ton, to Umatilla $20,
to Wallula $25 and to Lewiston $40
Passenger fares were $5 to The
Dalles and $20 to Lewiston. The
company's, building of the portage
railway, fourteen miles long,
clinched control of the river.
There are interesting figures show
ing the earning power of steamers
during this dispensation. In pas
senger fares alone the steamer Col.
Wright received on March 27, 186
$2625, and on the following day
$2446. The Okanagan on April 11,
1862, collected $3540 in fares and
on May 26, 1862, $6615. The Tenino's
passenger business on May 13, 1862,
footed up $10,945. These sums were
for up-river passenger tickets only.
Freight, meals and bar receipts
largely swelled the total. On a single
trip the Tenino's whole collections
exceeded $18,000.
The Northern Pacific railroad in
1871 bought three-fourths of the
Oregon Steam Navigation stock on
the basis of a valuation of $2,000,
000 for the company, with a stipu
lation that the former owners
should continue in control, payment
being made in j?art in, Northern Fa-,
Cooke failure the Northern Pacific
was forced into liquidation and Ore
gon Steam Navigation stock declined
sympathetically. The local directors,
however, held faith in their enter
prise and bought as those of less
confidence unloaded. Part of the
stock was repurchased by "Oregon in
vestors as low as IS cents on the
dollar, and most of it at an average
of 20 cents. Stock control then re
turned to local interests.
Henry Villard came into the field
in 1879 with the announcement that
he would buy or fight for the busi
ness with a line of his own. After a
series of conferences and compro- I
puses the O. R. & N, was organized
on the Toundation of the Oregon
Steam Navigation company and the
latter passed out of existence. Sub
sequent history of the new company
is intimately associated with the his
tory of railroad development in the
west and with the sensational, almost
meteoric, career of Villard. Aban
donment of the boat lines by the le
gal successor of the O. R. & N. thus
severs a line unbroken from the
time that Captain Ainsworth to"ok
command of the Lot Whitcomb,
seventy years ago. Captain Ains
worth retired about 1880 to Califor
nia, where he was prominent in
other large affairs until his death.
The Lot Whitcomb was built under
circumstances that illuminate eco
nomic conditions in Oregon in the
early fifties. Whitcomb and Berry-
man exhausted their resources in
purchase of material and were with
out funds to meet their wage ac
count. The Columbia, then build
ing at upper Astoria, was paying me
chanics $16 a day and laborers $5 to
$S a day in gold dust; workmen on
the Lot Whitcomb were appeased
with part-payments in wheat and
store orders until the boat began op-
etations. Farmers of the Wil
lamette valley, deeply earnest In
their desire for transportation facili
ties, but also short of cash, sub
scribed for stock payable in wheat,
which Kamm sold, and thus addi
tional funds were obtained. The day
of the launching at Milwaukie and
the three following days were set
apart for a celebration In which
hundreds from aJ' over the valley
joined. An early listorian says that
citizens of Milaukie kept open
house and refusf x pay for entertain
ment of visitors. The Lot Whit
comb was estimated to have cost
$80,000; the Columbia $25,000. The
latter was owned by General Adair.
Captain Dan Foster and others, and
though of a nominal capacity of
twenty passengers, transported on
occasions more than a hund'',-,
Steamers then, tied up nights and in
foggy weather, a practice that was
discontinued as pilots added to their
knowledge of the river's ways. .
The great Oregon Steam Naviga
tion fleet, which was afterward to
include single steamers which cost
more than the entire holdings of the
concern when the old Oregon Steam
Navigation company was formed, not
only yielded enormous profits, but
was a powerful factor in economic
development of the new country. Tl,e
railroad system, of which it consti
tuted the very foundation, was des
tined in due time to be the means of
practical extinction of steamboat
lines as a means of travel, as we are
reminded by the announcement that
traffic on the lower river is nowvre-
garded as insufficient to support two
competing lines. The twentieth cen
tury moves too rapidly to be content
with methods that three-quarters of
a century ago were hailed as the
very acme of modernity.
Romance: An Argument.
BY GRACE K MALL.
Fraud Advertising- Snvrd Theatrical
Venture From Itnln.
Earl Carroll quite some years ago Think you that romance, sentiment.
are dead.
In this swift age where mankind
was a programme boy in a Pitts
burgh theater. He became a com
poser, playwright and lyricist, relates
Raymond G. Carroll. His last venture
was as manager of his own produc
tion, "Daddy Dumplins," a comedy re-
worshlns gold?
You are in error, for mankind, in
stead. Is hungering for both, as knights
of old;
cently at the Republic theater, and I We see the starved heart, In the empty
"The Lady of the Lamo." an unusual I ' shell
play which it succeeded. His other
playwright efforts include "So Long
Letty." "Canary Cottage," "Flora-
bella" and "Pretty Mrs. Smith.".
When "The Lady of the Lamp" was
in its loth week, Mr. Carroll found
his bankroll was shattered and he
put out an advertisement labeled "My
Last $1000," a really truthful state
ment of his financial position at the
time, he tells me. After stating that
he was spending the money for the
advertisement, which ran 70 lines
deep in double-column measure,' he
said: "In the hope that I may reach
the really fine theatergoing public.
If I don't reach you I shall at least
know that I fired all my ammunition
before the ship went down."
"The week before I advertised we
did $6400," he said. "The week after,
the advertisement appeared we took
in $9105, and the two succeeding weeks
$7600 and $7500, respectively. I am
convinced that advertising pays. It
pulled me off the rocks at a time
when I was down to bedrock, and
proved that away down deep there
Is sincere kindness among humans.
One man came around with $5000 and
wanted tq be one of a syndicate of
20 to finance, nie. Another brought
to the theattt four diani'fid rings
which he wanted to pawn in my in
terest -for" $22,0(10. Hundreds of sym
pathy letters poured in upon nic. Of
course, 1 did not avail myself ot any
of the offers, but I learned this great
lesson when in financial difficulties
don't be afraid to let go in advertis
ing, and confide frankly in the
public."
The passing of W. G. McPherson
leaves a void in the 'life of the city
and state. He was of singular inde
Dendence of character and of impul
sive and outspoken method; yet he
had a large group of warm and ad
niirine: friends. He was active in
public affairs and took a special in
terest in the welfare ot tne scnoois.
He was charitable to a fault, many a
good cause and many a needy person
being the gainer from his bounty.
His contribution to tne industrial
welfare of the city was considerable.
There are many to mourn him sin
cerely. Ignace Paderewski's account of
Poland's efforts to recover from the
war shows that the people of that
nation are living up to their best
traditions. Work is being resumed
everywhere, and with "three years
o Peace Poland will be on her feet."
Which is a good deal more than it is
safe to predict of the land of the
bolshevists, just next door.
Maryland farmers have decided to
work from sunrise until sunset,
which is but a new way of expressing
the agricultural eight-hour day
eight hours before dinner and eight
hours after it.
When the army balloon hangar
that Is now being constructed at
Brooks field, near Fort Sam Houston,
Tex., is finished it will he the largest
in the U.nited States, according to the
Kansas City Star. U will cost $450,000
according to Major John C. Thornell,
commanding officer of the field. The
section of the hangar now under
construction will have an inside
length of 270 feet. The Inside
width is to be 123 feet and the doors
are to have a clearance for the ad
mission of an airship 100 feet in
height. The structure proper is to
be of steel construction covered with
corrugated material, a conihination in
which asbestos is the principal sub
stance. The roof is to be of gypsum and
cument. Tho doors to the hangar are
to be separate from the edifice proper
In construction and their foundation
is now being laid. They are to he
In four sections and will be operated
by electric switches.
In laying the footing for the doors
the largest concrete blocks west of
the II ia.sissippi river are being made,
the officer stated. All foundation and
curbing will be completed shortly and
the work on the steel part of the
structure will begin. Between five
and six months will be required for
the erection of the hangar.
The section of the hangar now tin
der construction, Major Thornell said.
Is as large as any in the United
States, while tho extension to 800
feet iij length planned for the future
will make it by far the largest in the
country.
That was a man or woman, once.
maybe.
As lost to self a little while, the spell
Of poetry and romance eets them
free
From that staid dignity or air as
eumed To hide the craving that but seldom
dies.
For sentiment In youth-time ever
bloomed.
Though time may smother It or still
its cries. ,
If you have doubt that hearts are
beating still
With primal warmth that first was
kindled' there.
Go watc. the crowds that never-ceasing
fill
The seats before the eilver ecreen;
compare
Their wrapt attention as, with fo
cused eyes
They watch the tale unfold as seem
ing fact, '
And you will know that many lives
are lives.
And love is what they've mostly
craved and lacked!
With silent darkness they are safely
veiled.
And there, alone with eclf, and
fancy free.
They live again tho romance that has
failed.
And thrill to love they hoped per
hupB might be.
It is not. t:iat men's hearts have ceased
to give
Ilernonse to romance, but each hur
rying day
Is filled with bloodless battles Just
o live.
And they have merely laid their
dreams away.
Even the ouija board has come un
der the ban of certain lawmakers in
the Missouri legislature in consider
ing a new bill to prohibit gambling.
Attacks o the bill were led by St.
Louis members, who desired to enact
a "blue law" which yrould abolith all
forms of gambling. Itazobsky of bl
Louis submitted an amendment to
r.nhii,it tlie sale or possession of
cards, dominoes, checkers or ouija
boards. The country members de
nounced the amendment as an at
tempt to kill the, bill by ridicule.
"Let's make Missouri a place where
all the people will spend their nights
with their families and cut out all
forms of gambling as well as crap
shooting," Razobsky said.
Whitaker of Hickory county said
ho desired to aid in any movement to
reform St. Louis.
Speaker O'Fallon Interrupted that
he believed ouija boards should not
be included properly in the amend
ment, as it is not a game or cnance.
But Razobsky insisted that "one can
not tell what the spirits may say."
I-'AIHY I'llOTOC.UAIMl.
O. there were some pictures taken
In 1 nsland t'ollier day.
And in which, if not mistaken,
Some fairies were at play.
One stood upon a frail toad-stool,
While a. .other plnyed a pipe
Risht in accord with the Pnyle rule;
And tiie time was over-ripe.
For snapshots of the spirits fair
Who liaunt us hII about,
And float around us everywhere,
(beyond a single doubt).
Thus, with hobcoMins and fairies.
And Knomes and sprites at play
Anions the "tame canaries,"
This is a won'drous day.
So of course you'll not dispute It;
The pi.ototrraphs are there:
There's nothing to refute it
Tho faithless must despair.
Poor, deluded unbeliever
To deny a Ktunt like this,
Think they would h deceivers
Who dwell in realms of bliKS.
Of course the like of you and I
Tho mingle with the crowd
Would not e'eii cet a faint reply.
With voices gruff and loud.
But when a hand of nymph-like girls.
And elves and pixies minule,
With rosebud lips and flowing curls.
And youthful blood tingle,
Vi iy, theer Is nothing strange at all,
An! sii-1 yon will awree
That e'en the angles well might fall
For such fair compnnv.
.MILTON' C. ARMSTRONG.
hair
There is, as the pessimists would
insist, still time for a good old-fash-icned
snow storm, but the probabili
ties are strongly against it and it is
muclj pleasanter to assume that
spring is here.
Congress, like the legislatures of
the forty-eight states, has the habit
of procrastinating in the early days
of the session and then rushing busi
ness through at a made pace in the
last hours.
Housewives may need also to be
reminded that the cheap egg is also
the best egg. And that now is the
time to provide against the dollar-a-
dozen product later on. -
One excellent way for the Pacific
coast to get on the ship news map
would be to enter a contestant for
the King Albert cup race across the
Atlantic in July.
One way to discourage hunger
strikers would be to forward their
. V. a Dlainrinff Vi i 1 H r, rf I
He was tall and red-faced and
looked bewildered, says the Oakland
Tribune. He walked cautiously into
the city attorney's office and sidled up
to the counter, where Assistant City
Attorney Leon Gray was arranging
papers with the stenographers.
"What can we do for you?" asked
one of the girls, to the stranger.
"'I want to know who gives per
mission for bootleggers," inquired the
stranger.
Gray blinked. So did the girls.
"What Is that?" asked Gray.
"I want permission for bootleg-
gin'," repeated the man.
"Oh. You get those permits from
the chief of police. Second floor, turn
to your left."
The stranger departed with thanks.
His further progress has not been
reported.
THK rHOTOI.RATH.
While going through an old
trunk.
Filled up with antiquated Junk,
I came across a photograph,
That wrung from me a hearty laugh.
It was myself, when but a lad.
In hand-me-downs from dear old dnd.
The bob-tailed cViat, the checkered
vest,
The duds I called my Sunday best.
The aawed-off trousers that I wore,
Had seen haad service years before.
Tlied necktie, my boyish pride,
I prazed upon and softly sighed.
I dreamed acaln of childhood's Junes,
Of dad's worked-over pantaloons.
How loving mother toiled nt night
To make her laddie look Just right.
Thouh years have gone I mind quite
well
How, when I'd meet Bweet Susan
Belle,
She'd (raze on me with pride, by Jlng,
And :iy, "You are the only thing."
Since those long days have passed
away.
And my blond whiskers turned to
gray, i
f sported suits of broadcloth duds.
That cost me wagonloads of spuds.
And thouirh they cost me hard-earned
scads (of coin)
Tliey brought no Joy like those of
dad's.
Oh, unscarred youth with freedom's
tread.
riivn ma Ihn rt;,vi flint Innp- tiv flenV
Kor thee our soul In anguish chants.
We'd once more wear dad's cast-off
pants.
E. L. SHARPS.
Extremes met in the court of Su
perior Judge John J. Van Nostrand,
when Clerk Eugene Levy called from
the calendar for trial the divorce
cases of Shugars against Shugars and
Sauers against Sauers. Charles D.
share to the starving children of 1 Shugars was granted a divorce from
L'u.rope, who know how to appre
ciate food.
Kdison suggests that synthetic
milk is entirely possible, thus indi
cating-another step in the direction
of the perfect chemical substitute
for food.
The French idea seems to be that
Germany is no more to be trusted
now than she was when it was held
that a treaty was only a scrap of
paper.
Japan, proceeding to fortify the
islands of the South seas, hopes to
m press us, perhaps, with her Pa
cific intentions.
It being almost time to pay our
ncome tax, we know precisely how
Germany feels about that indem
nity, . . .
Mrs. Susie A. Shugars, whose temper,
he testified, was anything but sweet.
Mrs. Bine Sauers was divorced from
August Sauers. whose disposition, sho
said, soured quickly after their mar
riage. Both decrees were granted on
the ground of cruelty. Both men are
carpenters. San Francisco Chronicle.
Oregon is having a prune week.
Here may be a good hunch:.
In an effort to popularize the use
of prunes, all restaurants and cafes in
Healdsburg, Cal., will serve prunes
free with meals from now on. This
Is announced by the iHealdsburg
chamber of commerce.
Santa Rosa restaurant otvners have
aid they will follow the lead of
Healdsburg.
The plan will be in force all sum
mer while the tourist trade is passing
through Healdsburg.
DAW X Milt XT HOOD.
Pierced with arrows of palest gold,
Reluctantly the mist gives way
To the chill embrace of the new-born
day.
White clouds float around your crys
tal crest
I.Ike phantom ships on a fairy sea.
And the last lone star shines sol
emnly. Slowly rising, the eager sun
I'aretsses your white and Icy form
With the opal tints of tho early dawn.
In the mother o' pearl of distant haza
The pale weak moon dies silently.
And you stand revealed In your maj
esty. TVONX.1 J.UUtETT.
Hood River, Or. x
THE FIX XV TRIHI--
There are fishermen and fishermen,
I've met and known all kinds;
Of tho mountain streams they fre
quent am I told and of their
finds;
They're the birds I say It, to,. with
out a single, dismal doubt
That know whero shrimp and eels
abound, this at my ears they
bark.
The ponds where carp and dogfish
loll are all well known, no glee;
But where the pike and catfish dart
for them, they don t for me.
The patience of a drowsy cat is mine.
I long to fish.
But scarcely anything with flna comes
to my bait so, tibh!
A. O.
Xrw Iron Ore Field Found.
London Sphere.
A new iron ore field has been dis
covered in Switzerland which Is esil
matcd to contain 47,000.000 tons, and
which will assure to Fwlzerland. at,
I ii-iil null uic innv I'm i.i . -n.i a-
The federal council suggests a provi
sion by the government of 1.2n0.n0
francs on condition that a total cap
ital of .4.000,000 francs is raised for
exploitation.