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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1921)
8 THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, TORTLAND, MARCH 27, 1921 ESTABLISHED BY HENRY U FITTOCK. 1'ubllshed by The Orefonian Publishing Co., 13i Sixth Street. Portland, Oregon. C. A. MOKDDN, K. B. PIPER. Manager. Editor. The Oregonlan Is a member of the Aiao clated Prewi. The Associated Press Is ex clusively entitled to the use Cor publication of all news disuatches credited to it or not . otherwise credited in this paper and also ' the local news publlfhed herein. All rights or publication of special disvaiuues herein are aiso reservea. Subserlptlon Kates Invariably la Advance. (By Mall.) tally, Sunday Included, one year $8.00 j-sii, rjunuay inciuaea, six montns... t Uaily, Sunday Included, three months. 2 Iially. tiumlay Included, one month... . . Daily, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months.... S-25 lfaily, without Sunday, one tnentn HO Weekly, one year 1.00 ounaay, one ear (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year $9.00 bally. Sunday Included, one month.... T'slly. without Sunday, one year 7.80 Liaily, without Sunday, three months, l.u uauy, witnout sunaay, one monin . How to Remit Send postofflce money order, express or personal check on your local Dans., stamps, coin or currency are at ow rn-r r!ik. Uive postotflce address in run. inciuaing county ana state. Postage Rates 1 to Ml pages, 1 cent; 1 to Ti paKox. 'J cents: 84 to 48 paces. cents; ill to U4 pages, 4 cents; Sv to 80 pages, A cents; h'J to 96 pages, a cents. foreign postage double rate. Kaa.tr m Bun bi ens Offto-e Verree c Conk lin. iiruni,wjck building. New York; Verree a conklln, Bteger building, Chicago; er ree k. Conklln, Free Frets building, De trolt. Mich.; Verree Conklln. Sellim building. Portland: Han Francisco repre sentative, rl. J. Biuwell. A ' BEGINNING IN GOVERNMENT. Anticipating by more than three years the selection of Fort Vancou vcr as the fur trading: capital of the Pacific Northwest, the consolidation of the North West company and the Hudson's Bay Company was an event of more than passing moment in the history of the Oregon country, The formal agreement by which this was accomplished was dated March . 26, 1821 Just a century ago. It pro- tided for continuing the fur trSde in what had formerly been competitive territory and also in other regions previously held as a trade monopoly by the older concern, the Hudson's Bay. for a period of twenty years. ending with the returns of the out fit of the year 1841. A new charter was granted by the British parlia ment on December 5, 1821. Under the powers conferred by this grant Oregon was ruled absolutely for considerably more than a decade, and was governed in part until final adjustment of the north boundary issue in 1846. The Northwesters, as they were called, succeeded by purchase to the property of the Astor venture at Astoria. It is futile to speculate on whether the Hudson's Bay traders would ever have reached the fowcr Columbia if they had not been stim ulated by opposition of the North westers, but it is a fact that the lat tcr company from the date of its formation late in the eighteenth cen tury had exhibited superior enter prise. It was a Northwester, Alex ander Mackenzie, who pushed across the Rocky mountains and was first to reach the Pacific ocean by the overland route, in 1793, the year after Captain Gray had entered the Columbia river from the sea. until the North West company entered the field the headwaters of the Columbia and the country west of the Rockies had never been explored. The rea sons for this comparative apathy on the part of the Hudson's Bay com pany were Inherent in the nature of its administration. The company was officered largely from a distant land; its stockholders knew relatively little of local needs and problems; it lacked the dash and daring that marked the ventures of the Cana dians who were the backbone of the Northwesters, and who were men bred to the mountains and.forestn and who knew the Indian and his ways of trade. But for absorption of the more ajiclent concern. Dr. John McLough lin, who for almost two decades was virtual ruler of the Oregon country. would not have been sent to admin ister its affairs, and later history would have been written differently. All the consequences that flowed from Hudson's Bay occupation, and particularly from the benevolent policy of McLoughlin, date from March 26, 1821. Subsequent selec tion ot Vancouver as the site for the trading capital, and the historical dispute over whether Dr. McLaugh lin himself or Sir George Simpson, resident head of the company in Montreal, chose the location are rel atively insignificant beside the main event that introduced the consoli dated concern into the Oregon region. The true centenary of the beginning of government on the Pa cific coast is 1921. There were a f ew Northwester traders here between the time of the taking over of the Astor establish ment and the entry of the great company into the field, but the war of 1812. and the peace which left the Columbia river question unsettled, together with the preoccupation of both Northwesters and Hudson's Bay with other competitive enter prises, operated to cause this region to be neglected. The first treaty of joint occupancy gave a fillip to Northwestern enterprise, but the war of the Red River settlements pro foundly engaged both companies. Death of the Earl of Selkirk, the bit. terest opponent of the Northwesters, and of Sir Alexander MacKenzie, their staunchest defender, occur ring within a short time Of each other, also deeply affected the fu ture of the northwest by leaving the way to consolidation open. This was another of the chapters of Oregon history that was written in a distant land. By thel- union the two companies combined the enterprise and initia tive of the Canadian concern and the vast traditional power, and particu larly the political influence in Great Britain, of the English company. Together these proved nearly invin cible for a time. But its most im portant social product was extinc tion of one motive for the lawless excesses to which unbridled compe tition had led. Among these was in troduction of intoxicating liquor among the, Indians, which was de fended on the plea of necessity by those who employed this question able method. It had become vir tually impossible for traders who did not make gifts of liquor to the na tives to induce them to bring in their furs. The abuse was widespread, nor was it confined to the Pacific coast region. The first bill introduced In congress, in 1832. to suppress the Indian liquor traffic was vigorously opposed because of its supposed dis crimination against Americans In the upper Missouri region. The prac tice was abolished in the Oregon country after the two fur companies were consolidated; it was then pos sible to view the practice in the light of its ultimate demoralization Df; the aborigines. After liquor Bad been gradually withdrawn, affairs settled down to a relatively unevent ful routine. With no military force behind them, with the width of a continent and an ocean between them and their home office, local traders, under the governorship of McLoughlin, were successful in keep ing the peace. There were no Indian wars in this period and the few out breaks of the natives that occurred were promptly arfd condignly pun ished. Strong moral force and knowledge of the certainty of jus tice long kept the natives in hand. Mastery by this monopoly created a century ago furnished the Oregon country with its first government, which continued in practical force and effect until the arrival of im migrants from the United States compelled the establishment of a democracy after the pattern set by the forefathers of the republic. In the new atmosphere the feudal sys tem of the Hudson's Bay company, however benevolently administered, could not endure. A HAPPY MEDICM IN COLONIZATION. The happy medium in colonization policy advocated by Dr. Peter " A. Speek, head of the Russian section of the Library of Congress, is likely to attract attention of students of the immigration problem. Dr. Speek be lieves that in distribution of new comers there is danger in either of two extremes. Large groups of a single nationality operate as an ob stacle to Americanization; isolated families grow lonesome and sooner or later leave the settlement, espe daily if they are misunderstood by their neighbors. The observation of Dr. Speek. who has written a book called "A Stake in the Land," is that immigrant groups ought to be of from five to fifteen families each, settled in the same neighborhood among either groups of other nationalities or na tive settlers. The effect is likely to be noted in speedier assimilation and In greater contentment and prosper ity. Immigrants themselves are be lieved to favor the scheme, provided they are protected against exploita, tion. CARDIKAL GIBBONS. One of the conspicuous character istics of Cardinal Gibbons, who died on Thursday in the fullness of almost four score years and ten, was his thorough-going Americanism. "One merit I can claim," he said in re sponse to a congratulatory address by William Howard Taft in 1911, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his elevation to the cardinalate, "and that is an ardent love for my country and her political institutions. I con sider the republic of the United States as one of the most precious heirlooms ever bestowed on man kind down the ages. It is the duty and should be the delight of every citizen to strengthen and perpetuate the government by observance of its laws and by the Integrity of its public life." Here was a prelate who was a man of peace, as befitted his calling, but who labored under no delusions as to the means by which peace might be brought -to this sad world. He was active in labor for the allies in the war and when the United States entered the conflict he threw the whole strength of his moral and spiritual support to the government, A splendid gift for relief of the Bel gians was only orre of his many benevolences. He early predicted the failure of Germany's aims at world conquest. He was nevertheless an earnest advocate of permanent arbi tration of differences between na- j tions. The quality of his patriotism was militant. He believed that it was the duty of a churchman freely to express himself on public questions. His views on political, economic and sociological issues were the product of serious thinking and the weight of his influence was on the side of evolution, against revolution: for moral and intellectual' education. and for.stimulation of the Christian spirit of netghborliness and frater nity among all Americans. He re peatedly placed himself on record as believing that two of the chief issues before the people were pres ervation of the sanctity of the home and perfection of the American sys tem of popular education. The more intimate aspects of his career are an example of the heights to which all men may aspire in America. He began work as a gro cer's boy, was largely self-educated, rose to eminence by virtue of his own power and" for more years than span the lives of most men he was a leader in moral movements. The breadth of his spirit was indicated by his strong support of and co operation with the Salvation Army during the world war. The practi cal side of his philosophy was revealed by his leadership of the Catholic laymen's movement, which held Its first congress in this country twenty-three years ago. In any account of the work of men who have exercised a strong influence for good in this republic that of Cardinal Gibbons must be included. THE AMAZING AUTOMOBILE. The department of agriculture has made a census of automobiles in the continental United States in 1920 and places the number at 9,211,295. This is a million more than the auto mobile trade . itself estimated. The investment in these eight million cars Is probably in excess of nine billion dollars. The number of motor cars in the country is seven times as large as it was at the beginning of the world war in 1914. If anyone doubts that an . econo mic change has come over the coun try, he need only turn to the railway statistics for 1919, prepared by Slason Thompson of the bureau of railway news and statistics. There he will find that the value of the equipment of all the railroads of the country that year, the latest for which figures have been compiled, is set down as $5,581,378,000. The calcu lation is for every kind of rolling stock, including locomotives, passen ger coaches, freight cars and com pany service cars. In other words. there Is 40 per cent more money nvested in automobiles than in rail way vehicles. What prophet of a decade ago would have risked his reputation on such a prediction? There la still talk about the 'saturation point" in automobile consumption. Tet it would be idle to place an arbitrary limit Twenty years ago no onedreamed that there ould ever be a million cars in use. A few years ago something was said to the effect that about 6,000,000 would represent the extreme of pos- Bible use. Now 10,000,000 does not seem unreasonable. But why-stop at 10,000,000? Why not keep ontuntil every family has a car, with an extra one for the children, and here and there one in reserve for emer gencies? Annual Interest on the investment in automobiles is perhaps half a billion dollars. It is - impossible to make an accurate estimate of . the sums tied up in garages, accessories and other facilities, but this must be enormous. The automobile has brought cood roads, and these cost billions more. The millions of men engaged in making automobiles, and accessories,, and roads for them to run on what were these men doing before the automobile came? Yet if the machine were suddenly to be removed from our midst by a cataclysm, there would be a revolu tion in the employment situation. It would take as long to adjust our selves to the new condition as it has taken to arrive at the present stage. Place the saturation point where you will there will henceforth be work -for automobile makers, and road buildexs. and all the res'a At 10,000,000, there would be required an annual production of at least 2,000,000 to atone for depreciation. And tires wear out every day, and people who use -automobiles demand more and more expensive accom paniments. We are living in a new era of transportation and of social life. Moreover, we are committed to it. The luxuries "f yesterday are the necessities of today. The world does not move backward. It is now perfectly possible to live the simple life without dispensing with the car. THE YANKEE TWANG. Dr. Eugene C. Howe, professor of hygiene at Wellesley, thinks that the so-called "Yankee twang," or pecu liarity of speech of real New Eng enders, is due to "lazy jawbones." He does not pretend to account for it but finds by analysis of the laws of vocalization that the words that Yankees slight are those which, properly pronounced, call for exten sion of the lower jaw. The down easter does not open his mouth wide enough, that is all. The reason why a people in every other respect noted for their indus try should be afflicted with laziness of this most Important organ might make an interesting topic for re search. Yet we know that laziness of speech and other kinds of indo lence are not always associated. Gum-chewers, for example, have no toriously industrious jaws at all times except when they are talking. Then they are apt to slur their words to the point of unintelllgibility. Log ically the gum-chewer ought to be so strong of jaw as to be able to enun ciate anything calling for maxillary power. Actually he is not, or sne is not, as the case may be. British scientists disagree with tbe Wellesley professor. Professor Dan iel Jones of London university, whose specialty is phonetics, says that the Yankee's twang is due to his manner of using the hard or soft palate, a peculiar way that the Yankee has of curling the tip of his tongue, and partly also to a. different kind of r:se and fall of the voice. Lazinesshas nothing to do with this, of course. It consumes as much energy to curl the tip of the tongue as to let the jawbone drop the fraction . of an Inch. Professor Jones says that p ascribe the phenomenon to indolence is as absurd as it would be to at tribute the. difference between the vocalization of the English and the French to climate. Bret Harte's westerners, too, had a drawl, but they were no more open to the charge of being lazy than are the Yankees from whom in large part they descended. We shall need to go deeper to find the root of pecu liar mannerisms of speech. It may be that it is because of his self-centered quality that the Yan kee does not take the trouble to vocalize as a teacher of elocution would have him do. Those who are much given to thought are apt to be slow of speech. One who knows his own mind is likely to take - his hearer's understanding too much for granted. This is an engaging notion, even if it does not rest on a scientific basis. The man who fails to make himself understood is not lazy; he is only engrossed with his own thoughts. Unfortunately for the the ory, most school teachers have ob served, that bad diction is usually accompanied by' mental inertia. But the trouble is mental not physical. Here, however, we are confounded by the fact of New England culture. The thing simply cannot be explained on any reasonable ground. SPENDING MONEY FOR EDUCATION. Dr. P. P. Claxton, federal commis sioner of education, will be forgiven for having made a hobby of educa tion, a hobby that has led him to make an analysis of the amounts ex pended for instruction in the United States and to compare them with other items that go to make up the budget of . personal expenditure. Whether the figures prove anything or not his comparisons are illumin ating. For example, he discovers that in 1918, the last year for which com plete reports were compiled, ' the cost of elementary and secondary education in the country was $762, 259,154; for normal schools for the training of teachers it was $20,414, S89; and for higher education in col leges, universities and professional and technical schools whether pub licly or privately endowed, $137, 055,415. The total is $919,729,258. These sums include expenditures for buildings and equipment repairs, j heating,, lighting- and other inci dentals, as well as expenditures for teachers' salaries. The sum seems large in the aggregate, but the thing that disturbs Dr. Claxton is that it is not so impressive when set along side the costs of certain luxuries in which people, without giving them much thought, indulge. There are face powder, cosmetics and perfumes, for which Americans spent $750,000,000 in 1920, or only about $12,000,000 less than was spent for public elementary and sec ondary education, and within $50,- 000,000 or twice the total amount of salaries paid teachers in public ele-! mentary and secondary schools. The amount paid for jewelry is nearly $100,000,000 more than the salaries of teachers of elementary and high schools, and is more than the total of all productive funds of the col leges and universities in that year. The $300,000,000 paid for furs is more than twice the cost of all higher education, and the $350,000, 000 paid for soft drinks is more than tw and a half times as much. The sum of $50,000,000 paid for chewing gum is almost exactly the same as all state and city appro- priations for higher education. Cigar- , ettes cost twice as much as the sal aries of teachers in elementary and high schools, nearly $4 0,000,000 more than the total expenditures for elementary and secondary education, and almost the same as the total cost of elementary and secondary educa- tion public and private, including capital investments in new buildings and equipment, and the cost of heat ing and lighting of school rooms and all other expenses for upkeep. "Luxurious service," according to the government reports, cost the people of the United States $3,000, 000,000 in 1920. We are- not advised precisely as to what luxurious service consists of, but Dr, Claxton thinks It is worth mentioning that this sum is greater than all the cost of all public education in the four years from 1915 to 1918, inclusive, and only 45 ier cent higher than the total ever expended for higher edu cation in the history of the United States. These and other seeming anomalies appeal to the imagination of the good Dr. Claxton, who is moved to add: If, In some moment of high enthusiasm tobacco had agreed among themselves to smoke two cigarettes Instead of three, two cigars Instead of three, take two "chaws" Instead of three and two dips instead of three, and had paid to the support of the schools the money thus saved for the year, the salaries of teachers in schools of all grades, public and private, could have been increased by more than 1-0 per cent. For tobacco In lis various forms we paid more than we have paid for higher education since the founding of Harvard college in Massachusetts and William and Mary in Virginia. It is perhaps idle to look forward to the day when the people will make the concrete sacrifices depicted by the federal commissioner. Yet corresponding sacrifices have been made by individuals. The biogra- J, mo phies of great men are nowhere more interesting than in the pages in which are recounted their efforts to obtain instruction at whatever cost. When we are inclined to con gratulate ourselves . on our prodi gality in matters of higher moment it may be profitable to consider them In relation to our chewing gum and t'luxurious service" bills, which Dr. Claxton has set down in convenient form for ready reference. EXPANSION OF A PIONEER COLLEGE. The vitality of the missionary spirit of pioneer times in Oregon is recalled by the movement for expan sion of Pacific university at Forest Grove, which is with one exception the oldest institution of higher learn ing In the Oregon country. The foun dation on which Pacific university has been built goes back to the be- ginning of Immigration to Oregon. . Tha Rev. Harvey Clark and his wife, who taught the first school in what is now Washington county and who made Pacific university pos sible, were independent missionaries who came to the Oregon country in 1840 in the hope of establishing a mission among the Indians without the support of any home board. Jason Lee and his assistants in 1834 and Dr. Marcus Whitman and the Rev. H. H. Spalding and their wives in 1836 had preceded them and missionary enthusiasm was run ning high on the Atlantic seaboard. Perhaps no more impractical scheme could have been devised than that of Clark, the Rev. A. T. Smith and P. B. Littlejohn and their wives, who ventured into an unknown country In an attempt to convert a people of whom almost nothing was known. Failure of their original plans was inherent in the nature of them, yet it was fortunate for Oregon that they came. That the other missions failed of their primary purpose, although supported by their home institu tions, was proof sufficient that Clark's own idea was visionary. Yet he, in advance of some others, saw opportunity to perform for the first settlers a real service that had proved thankless as to the aborig ines. The coming of the Clarks to Ore gon coincided with the arrival of the firsj .family of avowed immigrants to Oregon. The word "family" marks the distinction between Joel P. Walker, his wife and five chil dren, and previous comers, notably the famous "Peoria party" of the preceding season, and also illum inates the social life of the country in that period. Only four years pre viously the first white women to cross the plains Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding had arrived as mis sionaries, and other missionaries' wives had come by ship to Oregon. The Clark party had not come as set tlers, but only in the hope of Im proving the spiritual condition of the natives. They became settlers Incidentally to that plan. They were imbued with the notion that the na tives were anxious to be instructed and that Indians might be willing to exchange their labor for the benefits of teaching. In this they were dis appointed. The Indians did not take kindly to work, and they were not as avid for enlightenment as people in the eastern states believed. The settlements in the Willamette valley were peopled by former attaches of the fur-trading companies, many of whom had taken Indian wives. Of American family immigration there was none: not even Joel Walker and his family remained long. These are said to have traveled on to Cali fornia in 1841. The Clarks estab lished themselves on a claim in the Tualatin valley, where the town of Forest Grove now stands, built a log house in vhich they soon afterward began teaching the children of set tlers who came to Oregon in the early forties, and became thus the first school teachers in what is now Washington county. It is unfortu nate for readers of history that rec ords of their early achievements are not as complete as could be desired, and this Is also an illustration of the value of contemporary records, set down in the lifetimes of those who make them. Enough is known of the labors of the Clarks to make it plain that they had a clear vision of the future educational needs of Oregon, and that their work was ac complished only by great sacrifice. Their gift of land for the founding of the academy which grew into Pa cific university is in itself a testi mony to their unselfishness. This amounted to 200 acres as an endow ment for the original school, and 150 acres later to aid in obtaining instructors. Mr. Clark, though Congregationalist was broadly un denominational, as was shown by his support of Jason Lee's Methodist school, which was organized in 1842 to give industrial instruction to the Indians, and by his work as teacher at the mission school at Champoeg. The story of that period is one of self-denial by a few for the ultimate benefit of the many who were to follow. The labors of Mrs. Clark in her school were supplemented by those of Mrs, Tabitba Brown, widow of an Episcopalian minister. She had reared a family of three sons who afterward became successful men and came to Oregon by ox-team over the Ill-fated southern route to be with her sons, who had preceded her. She became a "mother" in 1847 to some twenty orphans, and the num ber of her charges was increased in I 1848 by exodus of white settlers to the mines of California. The work which the Clarks already had begun was merged with that of Mrs. Brown. One of the most interesting letters in the early annals of Oregon was written by Mrs. Brown, then in her 75th year, in 1854 a letter in which she recounted that in' 1861 she had boarded forty inmates of1 her school at $2.50 a week, and "mixed with my own hands 3423 pounds of flour in five months." It is worth while for those who now have the inter ests of higher education at heart to know that notwithstanding the scantiness of her earthly reward she deeded to the college before her death a lot in the village and the log house upon it, which afterward were sold for $506. The sum was Invested, and, according to Profes- j sor Henry L. Bates, historian of the university, has now reached some thing like $5000. It is doubtful if any gift that is likely to be made to the cause of education in the present drive will represent more than a small fraction of the' labor and self-denial embodied in the donations of the Clarks, and of "Grandma" Brown, and of a few other pioneers who made the foun dation possible. A number of 'historic names stand out. in connection with the early history of this university. Dr. George H. Atkinson, Vvho will be remem- "creu .M ",Bl here by the American Home Mis i , : . ...... sionary society, and who came to Oregon by way ot Cape Horn and the Hawaiian islands in 1848, was one of 'hem. He later became a foremost citizen and teacher in Ore gon. The Rev. Cushing Eels was another. He had been a member of the only reinforcement ever sent by the American Board of Commission ers for Foreign Missions to the Whitman mission near Walla Walla and had served at the mission among the Spokanes near Chemakane. which was abandoned after the Whitman massacre in 1S47. Dr. Atkinson secured the future of the institution by obtaining support from the east. The interest on $10,000. then pledped to the institution, seems pitifully small by compari son with sums now being widely expended for education. It was a J princely largess then. Dr. Atkin son's influence was also exerted to persuade the Rev. Sidney Harper Marsh to emigrate from New Lng land and develop the school into a college. - , Those pioneers of Oregon educa tion understood its value and were willing to pay tha price of it. That price was immensely high, measured in terms of labor and sacrifice, by comparison with any sums now sought for the purpose, of carrying on the work that they began. Cl'KUJNCi THE SPlrtlT OF DESTRUC TION. Viscount Grey made an Interesting point recently in the course of an ad dress in support of a bill to prohibit destruction of birds for their plumage when he emphasized the desirability of curbing the spirit of wa,nton de struction. When men first began to inhabit the earth their destructive power was small by comparison with that of the present; but so greatly has it been developed that it is now within the power of men to estermi nate any species of animal, including themselves. Somewhere and at some time the line must be drawn. Growth of the movement for preservation of birds and animals has a spiritual and also a biological significance. It is a fair inference that Lord Grey believes that while they are develop ing the idea that protection of ani mal life is worth while, men will also acquire the notion that the lives of their own species are worth pro tecting. . "The more power man gets over the instruments of destruction the more necessary it Is for him to con trol the use of them," says Lord Grey. Association of the bird pro tection principle with the larger Issue of war prevention may not be so re mote as it seems to the unobserving. This appeal to the humane instincts of the race is novel because it fur nishes a new motive for self-repression and because it invokes the prin ciple of enlightened self-interest in its highest form. Lord Grey's conclusions as to the Instinctive friendliness of wild ani mals for men and his belief that fear is an acquired instinct will be shared by some lovers of wild ani mals and disputed by others, ac cording to the variety of their indi vidual experiences. He believes that It is easy to create sanctuaries where birds and animals remain wild but lose their fear of men and that the former In particular, sooji learning j-that they are safe on reserves, will return to them and be tame, though they have been haunted by fear dur ing the entire period of their ab sence. He holds that new fledglings have no inherent fear of human be ings, but that this is communicated to them by the parent birds, who have had reason to regard man as their enemy. He relates bis own experience in approaching a nest of young birds which showed no fear until they had received warning from their elders, whereupon they made every effort to evade observa tion. This has been a not uncom mon observation by nature lovers, but it is not universally true. Lord Grey mentions a conspicuous exception in his own outdoor adven tures. He once discovered a nest of young widgeons in a garden in which the parent birds had been so long protected that they had become tame. The youngsters were shy and refused to permit him to approach them, though the mother let him feed her from his hand. It took the old widgeon several days to inspire her brood with confidence'. This has been the exception . in Lord Grey's experience. He holds it to be the general principle that young things have no fear of men. The phenomenon of animal appre ciation of safety zones is not, how ever, uncommon. Every hunter knows how to tame the young pheas ant Is until the hunting season be gins and how even then birds are less wild within the limits of cities where shocting is prohibited than they are outside of them. In a not remote time when settlers were few and hunting was limited to the needs of the family larder, pot-shooting being then uncommon, all birds and most animals were relatively tame. Closed seasons mean tame birds. Even wild ducks have been seen by the pioneers to feed with their barnyard flocks and so wild a i species as the blue heron has been known to trust implicitly in men. j The instinct if not tbe intelligence of J wild things is one of the marvels of creation. The pending plumage bill repre sents an effort on the part of the British parliament to carry into ef fect the provisions of the migratory bird treaty, the effect of which will be to provide perpetual breeding grounds for all non-predatory birds. The economic aspect of the question was widely discussed at tbe time that the treaty was pending. It was then shown that birds are necessary to the success of agriculture and that but for their presence the balance between vegetable and insect life would soon be destroyed. As de stroyers of plant pests the smaller birds, which have no value as food, return with usurious interest the value of such food as they may inci dentally consume. AN ADEQUATE ARMY AND NAYT. 'Both the army and navy appro priation Sills for the fiscal year be ginning July I having failed to be come law, congress will have to pass mw bills at the coming Bession. The battle between the big and little army and navy men will have to be fought again and its result must be influenced by the course of events in our foreign relations while the con test goes on. The first question to be decided is what policy our armed forces are to execute, for on that point will hang the decision as to the size and character of those forces. If we in tend to pursue a policy of isolation we must provide force sufficient to overcome any power or combination of powers that may be arrayed against us. If we intend in case of war to stand on the defensive, we shall need a smaller army than would be required to carry the war to the enemy, but we shall need as large a navy to prevent invasion by destroying an enemy's fleet as would be required to gain command of the sea for an expedition across either ocean. If we enter into a general agreement with other nations to dis arm and keep peace, we shall need a far smaller force on either sea or land than In either of the contin gencies described. Congress at the last session slashed both army and navy without knowing what policy our forces must support and without regard to any particular military policy. Senator Borah-and his associates tried to commit congress to naval disarma ment by the three principal naval powers and to cut the naval bill to suit it, but others cut the number of men, not In accordance with de fined foreign policy, but just to save money. They reduced the army to 175.000, then to 158,000 men, the navy from -143, COO to 100,000, then put it back to 120.000 men without regard to what these men would be expected to do. They reduced the number of officers without thinking that a surplus would be needed to train a great army of drafted citi zens in case of war or that officers are not made'in a day. The rational way to decide these questions Is first to adopt a foreign policy and put it in effect then ask the army and navy experts what force is needed to maintain it and to provide that force. Its size should be regulated not by congressmen's ideas of economy; solely by its ade quacy to support the national pur pose. Chicago will be the farthest in land ocean port In the world when plans mature. . Portland is inland, too, with an open channel all the year, which the lake city will not have when the St Lawrence is frozen. Portland, therefore, leads. Coffee at ports of entry is said to have reached the lowest price -level since 1908 and when ham and eggs and breakfast food and a few other Items follow its example the Ameri can breakfast will have returned to normalcy. Once more experiments are being made with music as a cure for in sanity, and again the old conclusion is likely to be reached that some forms of so-called music are not curative, but provocative. Two per cent will be fair for the community chest. Some men tithe their income and others also tithe the remainder; but 2 per cent will be about fair for the man who has other drains on his purse. The question how much beer ought to be allowed on a single pre scription does not, however, have anything more than academic inter est for the citizens of states that are dry under their own laws. Madame Curie attributes the world's heat to radiiyit, which will be a blow to those who have thought it waa the fervor of their Ideas that kept the globe from becoming a solid mass of ice. , The king of Spain in providing funds for repatriation of those of his subjects who may wish to return home shows that there is one coun try in Europe that is not afraid of its own people. ' One trouble about some folks' gardening operations at this time of year is that the first angleworm turned up inspires them with an ir resistible desire to go fishing. The stage character who began by seeking a cabinet position and wound up with a campaign for the job as minister to Dahomey is a reality in Washington these days. The allies suspect that the German uprising was only a stage-managed fraud. "Made in Germany" doesn't seem to be a label to inspire confi dence any more. Without having seen the book, we venture the guess that Mr. Lansing's latest "now it can be told" story contains no foreword by Woodrow Wilson. It is a pleasing reflection that spring, however long delayed, is bound to come some time, even in Oregon in 1921. Comrade Lenine seems to be be ginning to understand that there are worse things than the horrors of "capitalism." . The drive for slackers, now nhnnt to begin, is a reminder that the hy- I pherrates too are still keeping in I their holes. I The Listening .Post. Maarollae Follies, 1'ru.on Poetry and Useful Bees Draw Comment. EVENING gowns are becoming familiar sight at the ringsido when New York professionals ftifht and scientists are commenting on tls latest phase of modern life. One psy choanalyst who has written learned book on "suppressions, repressions and complexes" holds that women go to these battles for the same reason that men buy front row seats a. "ballet shows," I. e. to view the phy sically perfect and beautiful. Now comes Dr. Tom Ross of Port land, peculiarly qualified to speak jn the subject for the reason that he Is one of the city boxing commission's judges. "The argument that eastern women attend professional fights be cause here are no masculine 'follisV seems to me rather far-fetched," com mented this expert. "In the olden days the Greeks encouraged their women to view and take part in athletics for the reason that it gave all a thorough knowledge of physical perfection and encouraged the development of a hardy race. You can hardly say that professional pugilism as practiced to day does this for the paid pug is no. like the amateur, who is a clean-cut young fellow as & rule and fights with his head. The professional Is n to win and therefore necessarily is of the brute type and the Influence of this type on a delicate feminine mind is far from ideal." If the 50 or more women who attend nearly every Milwaukie commission show do so to get an eyeful of manly pulchritude. In the minds of manv male fans, thy manage well to hHe their admiration. The Porrtand com mission does not permit women fans, though some -have clipped In dressed as men and rumor has It that women who did not wish their presence known have donned male attire to camouflage their attendance a Mil waukie. However, they all admit that unit teur bouts are different and n Mar-h 31 the Armory Athletic club will hold the Pacific Northwest boxing and wrestling championships and the chances are that some of the fvr sex will be there. A. W. ("Doctor"; Frank Woods H preparing a "metrical narrative of the golden west" during his sojourns In penitentiaries. He began the series In the Oregon state prison at Salem a few years ago and Is said to b working on it at Walla Walla, where he is now serving from one to li years for forgery committed at Ta coma. He has served previous terms .n Walla Walla and Wyoming In add! tion to Oregon and could have been prosecuted under the habitual crimi nal act this time In Washington ami sentenced for life when found guilty. However he is also wanted In Van couver. B. C, for a similar offenae and will likely be turned over tJ the Canadian authorities as soon as he completes his present term. ' He is a talented man, but ha? turned his efforts to "hanging paper." which is argot for forgery. He is a barrister and a British subject, but the major portion of his operations have been In the United States. Tho three stanzas from his nine-vers poem "A Song of the Sage-Brush Land," quoted in "The Listening Post" on February 1, were the first to be published. R. P. Bonham. immigration Inspec tor, member of the Suey Quong cli'h, whose deliberations are reported in this column, has a complete file on the Woods case. Including Woods' recent arrest In Portland and a num ber of his poems. If you will call on Mr. Bonham at his office in the postoffice building he might give you the information you desire. The attention of a number ot prominent- liquid fanciers is being occupied at present with a study of the classics, the food of the gods on Olympus, nectar and ambrosia, and the inead that was the drink of early civilized nations. It all resulted fr..m a delightful case of elation discovered the other day wherein the cheery In dividual, pressed for his recipe, tola them to get a bee, "Jus" an' oi; buzy bee, and ferment him." There you have it. He vas "methegllnated." Much better word than "stewed." Had indulged r.ot wisely but too well In the fermented product of honey and water, the mead of the ancients, sometimes called metheglin. A number of those who heard of the new potion immediately set forth to charm a 'bee into their homes anO it may ensue that individual hives will take rank with breakfast nooks. The talented chiropodist was d:s cussing shop, in other words fee.. and the conversation veered around to stockings. "Ever think that feet are made just like hands," were words of wis dom that fell from his lips. j'That one is a left and the other a right and stockings are made just the same for both. Every stocking should be made like a mitten with a place for the great toe which would then have a chance for exercise." The hosiery wearers in the charmed circle leaned forward .as they heard much foot trouble attributed to Ill fitting stockings. But the climax to the conversation came from the wit who told of his system of breaking pairs of sox and wearing one of each color so that he could tell his right from his left foot, a trick that he said came from army training. In the course of an Investigation of permanent waves last week the information was obtained that many Portland beauty parlors had a good male clientele.. The manager of one said: "Don't you dare use my nani, but I'll tell you of some of them. Men are vain, but they are frightened to death that some one will find it out Women have been fighting the ravages of time for centuries and think nothing of It. but the men clip in here quietly and we shut the doors on the cosmetic scandal. If they, have to wait outside for a few minutes they get all flustered up and pretend tbey are waiting for the!.' wives." To date we have never met any of these craturea- but our suspicions have been aroused at times. THE SCOUT. , Visions of Men. By Grace E. Hall. The fields are fragrant with the odor ous earth. In new-turned furrows that are glistening black; The larks pipe roundelays of cheer, each worth A pot of gold; upon the robin's back The sunlight glints in mellow tones of brown. Along the old rail fence the blades of green Are streamers fastened to a somber gown. And modest flower medallions have a sheen Unlike the art of man; the trees are dressed In robes of real filet, most deftly made; And every breeze ot secrets la pos sessed, Caught from the lips of spring within the glade. Yet those who have not vision pass each day Upon a stolid round; no magic sense; The plowman plods a dreary, earthy way. And sees but brown birds on a rotting fence; The trees are leafing and the winds do blow These are the thoughts of men who do not see; While all the earth is wrapped in wonder-glow, Of sweet spring planning Joys that are to be: They go their devioirs ways and are content. Though one may build his castles to the sky. The other keeps his blind eyes ev-er bent Dn things material that pass him by. I wonder do the weavers work in vain? And are the rolling fields but . broken sod? Ah! Still I praise that one whose magic brain Beholds, in all his work, the skill of God. EASTER. Winter has gone. I know. In spite of mist and rain and flying snow Come nesting birds to the still leaf less trees. Come hand in hand the blossoms and the bees, And from their winter camps In wav ering mass March with set spears the armies of the grass. Let the old sorrows die. Out of their grave-clothes shall rise by and by A grace beyond all dreams, above all hope. Not alway shall the wanderer climb and grope Godward, unhelped. Oh, he shall soon or late Hold Intimate high converse with the great. To love, to give, to grow. This is the best unfolding that I know: To wear life proudly as one wears a crown. Greatly to love end give, and when outgrown This human shell lies shattered at the bars. Pass singing to one's place among the stars. EVA B. P1LLSBURY. HOME-BREWED HAPFIN'ESS. Our greatest wealth is rugged health, No ampler gift than being well; Keys were given us to heaven, Alone the way is found to hell. The Joy of health comes not by stealth, Man must obey Dame Nature's law It's been defined, she is most kind And free from every I'trtial flaw The pessimist may shake his fist At Fate and Luck and all their kin. But the optimist turns out the grist To feed the soul that's sure to win. The thoughts we think, the dregs we drink Have a tendency to harm ns. Or it may be they will agrte And elevate and charm us. Kach effort spent to bring content. Each thought lord Zenith climb ing. Each sacrifice for paradise, Keep happy Joy-tx-lls chiming. All add at last to hold us fast To serene and normal living: Master or slave of things we crave. There's aught won without giving. MILDRED C. ARMSTRONG. THE BLACKBIRDS. Ohl the dearest, quaintest mu:;ic. Sweeter far than anything, Is an orchestra of blackbirds. Playing harmonies of spring. First, the leader, glossy coated, Mounts upon the highest tree, Gives a signal, and, full throated, Throbs the joyful symphony. Shrill their voices, hoarse and brazen, Fadins slow, to scattered notes; Then, to mounting diapason. Sharply sweet, the chorus floats "Hope with lovely spring Is wed; (is wed!) Rainbow blossomed days have come. Hours of sombre gloom are fled, (are fled!) Winter's angry voice is dumb. "Death assails with terrors strong! (So strong!) Life, the conqueror, prevails. Griefs unbidden stay is long! (is long!) , Heavy lidded sorrow fails." MARY ALETHEA WOODWARD. CETHSEAE. There are degrees 'of sorrow. Light sorrow like an April cloud Dispelled upon the morrow: And deeper sorrow known and shared Thus strongest ties are oft prepared. And none escape, for all must know Some touch of sorrow as they go. But O, that sorrow deep that clings. And though the very soul it wrings. No easing tears will flow; 'Twas known upon Gethsemane Deep, lonely sorrow's last degree That mortals seldom know. Yet sorrow's shaft that sinketh deep Awakens oft a soul asleep, And yields a touch divine. It seems God's plan that some de gree Of sorrow shall included be To season and refine. JANETTE MARTIN. SPRINGTIME MEMORIES. 'Tis spring, baby mine, and I miss you, For spring ever whispers of you. And the days when we gathered-the wildrose And strolled through the fields jest we two. I see round the stem of each daisy Baby fingers of rosy hue: I hear in the songs of the spring birds "See. mudder, pitty flowers for you!" Tis spring, baby mine, and I want to Hear you say, as you did long ago. 'Muddy dear, pease tome and pick lowers: I know where the bea-u-ty ones grow!" M1NA M. GATENS. 4