8
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, MONDAY- EVENING, DECEMBER 28; '1914.
THE JOURNAL
a iJtnrprNnuwT nrwbpaprr.
. a. Jackson
. PnMlatwr.
t ubltiberi arrry evanlos (airapt Snn'lart a4
arary flaadif nornlna at Tna Jonrnal BerlM
Ids, Bmalwav anil YamMU ta.. Portland. Or
.utvrrd at tna pwtorflc at for 11 ad. Or., for
triattniMlun tkroask the Mils aecoeaj
iUh anatta.
IkUiPBUMf-Main 717-: UM. A-Oil. Alt
partnta raaebad by ILeaa Bomber. Tail
m rri"r wnat nr-iiarrmMK yon wm.
Bnjam1n Kant nor Co., Braonwrlca B)1..
825 Fifth .. Nttr Yoekw Ml Paopla-f
Vaa Rld.( rhlrarn. - ' WitwcaJ
I 1 " L. I
uuacriullua turn t,w null or tit au wi
aa ta ba GoHe.t States a Mextcoi
DAILY.
Om, aar....,,fS.oo I Ona , month, .....i JO
cjroAT. -
0b . raar 82.60 I Ona month. 3S
DAILY AXD SDNDAT.
On raar... . . .JtT M) I Oar month
The spirit of the world has
four, kinds of spirits diametri
cally opposed to charity," re
sentment, aversion. Jealousy
and 'Indifference, Bossuet.
11
A PKOSPEKITr PACT
OREGON wheat commands tne
highest price ever known.
Club for immediate delivery
in the Portland market Is
$1.30 per bushel. The figure is
not-only the highest ever known,
but the advance is the most spec
tacular ever known.
Forty-two centimeter cannon In
Europe do not produce wheat. It
isn't grain that they plant in the
trenches. Artillery and bayonets
are not plows and harrows. The
harvest in the big countries of
Europe Is not a harvest of bread
stuffs but a harvest of death.
More than eighteen million men
are now under arms. The issue is
not going to be settled in a day,
or a month and probably not in
a year. The forces of antagonism
In this war have been , gathering
for more than a generation, and
they are now in the full sweep of
accentuated bitterness.
This war is not accidental. Eu
rope could not go on forever as
an armed camp. The increasing
armaments were the visible proof
of a long-time fear by the nations
of what has come to pass a gigan
tic struggle to determine what is
to be the geography of the na
tions in the future. That is the
issue, and it is a fearful, a stupen
dous issue. On both sides, there
Is conviction that it ia a war to
prevent national degradation if not
national extinction, and that is a
cause that will draw the last re
source of each government into the
conflict before there can be' peace.
The past forty years of peace
In Europe has been an armed
peace. The burden of arming was
fast becoming too great. It was
submerging peoples and overwhelm
ing governments with debt, and
there was no end In sight. It was
a system that meant finally an aw
ful war, and that war is here with
all its-vastness, with all its huge
ness, with all Its devastation.
Oregon wheat is above all rec
ords because wheat doesn't grow
for the harvester on the red fields
of conflict.
OUR MERCHANT MARINE
FIGURES showing the compara
tive size of America's mer
chant marine have been com-
lled. They show that the
United States., in gross tonnage,
stands next to Great Britain among
nations of the world. The figures
are as follows:
Vessols.
British 11.287
American fsea and
great lakes) ..... 3,400
German 2,321
Norwegian 2,191
Japanese 1,037
Swedish 1,436
Italian 1.114
Dutch l.r.52
Danish 75!)
Tonnage.
20.431.543
5,427,638
5.082.0K1
2.457.890
1,500,014
1,047.270
1,521,942
2,201,104
1.309,840
1,011.414
Austrian
427
These figures indicate that ship
building in this country is not so
far behind other great commercial
nations as people have been led Co
believe. ' -Both in number of ves
sels and total tonnage the United
States ranks second. But nearly
one half the American tonnage is
afloat on the Great Lakes, and an
other considerable proportion is
! engaged in coastwise trade. It is
on the international routes that
the United, States is weak.
. : But the overseas merchant
marine is gaining ground. Not far
from 400,000 tons have been added
since foreign-built ships were per
mitted American registry. There
.Is good ground for hope that when
the European war is ended this
nation's peace fleet for commerce
with . other nations will not show
the disparity it has bhown since
the Civil war.
The futnre of American com
merce lies in building up the
American merchant marine. Al
ready over 100 additional American
ships are steaming to foreign ports
EFFICIENCY IN PEACE
(HE London Nation , says the
European war has established
two great facts. M8CUBging
Germany's ability to stand
off with 800,000 men Russian
armies of 2,000.000 men, the Na
' tion says:
' In the first place, we have learned
that efficiency in war is today a
function, a consequence, of efficiency
in peace., The French and the Ger
mans, not to mention ourselves, have
reaped tne fruits of a high organ
ization and a diffused education in
time of peace. The - Russians, in a
less degree than the Turks, are han
rlireppard by their more primitive civ
ilization. In the second place, it Is
proved that forty years of peace do
not corrupt a nation's courage.
The Nation does not refer espe
cially to Germany's great cannon
factories, nor to that nation's won
derful military establishment. The
building up of these things was' ac-
complished during forty years of jtration of disputes between tationsf cation and his later ' years wers
peace, but they are not the great- to prevent the wastage of war. The : years of enjoyment of the compe
est results of German initiative and j theory Is sound; nations should jtency he had won. It was more
industry. The reason whr Ger-itaks time to determine where right than a financial competency. It
many is strong In comparison with I
some of her neighbors is because
the German's efficiency on his daily
job makes a better soldier of him
when he is called upon to bear
arms. .
There is food for thought in the
Nation's suggestion that a coun-
trv's Btrentrth dnet nnt. Ha ilnnn
. . . - . . ' .
Jn the Size Of its army There IS
a peace effiicency which can easily
be utilized In war. That is Ger
many's chief , resource. Forty-two
centimetre guns furjiish the spec
tacle, but it is the men who are
able to devise and make those guns
that are Germany's strength.
PROVEN AGAIN
I
N THE advance sheets of the
Pacific Reporter is a California
decision that annihilates the
arguments of those i who op
posed the tidelands legislation in
the recent Oregon election.
The California supreme court
holds that a riparian owner on
navigable water has no right to ob-
Ject to a public dock constructed
on tideland in front of his premises,
that be has no riparian or littoral
rights that entitle him to claim un
obstructed access to deep water..
"The, exact contrary of this prin
ciple was claimed in the Oregon
election by those who fought the
tideland legislation. They insisted
that even if the waterfront measures
should carry they would be held
unconstitutional, as depriving the
upland owner of bis riparian rights
to have access to deep water.
The California case is Dalton &
Sons versus the City of Oakland.
In the" improvement of its harbor,
the city was about to build a sea
wall at some distance out from
plaintiffs jland in tidewater, and
plaintiff sought to restrain the con
struction of municipal docks which
it was proposed to build thereafter
In front of his premises. The
court thus explained the proceed
ing: .
The theory under which appellant
framed its complaint is that as a
littoral or riparian owner of property
fronting on the bay, and Irrespective
of who may be the owner of the
tfdelands lying between highwater
mark and Its deep waters, plaintiff by
reason of such ownership of the up
land possesses certain rights incident
thereto. Including the right to free
and unobstructed access over such
tidelands, to construct suitable land
ings thereon, and to enjoy exclusive
occupancy thereof, subject only to
the paramount public right of navi
gation; that the city has no right to
erect structures, such as it contem-
plaes, which will cut off access from
the lands of plaintiff to the deep
waters of the bay and ? destroy its
ngni or navigation over them.
The court denied plaintiff's con
tention, reasoning that any rights
he had as riparian owner were sub
ject to the paramount right of
navigation vested In the state and
the United States. The decision
adds:
When the public; authorities see fit
to make improvements on the land
below high water mark for purposes
of . navigation, the riparian owner
must yield thereto, as his right is
subordinate to the public right.
Here is affirmation by the Cali
fornia supreme court of the prin
ciple which It was sought by the
waterfront measures to confirm in
Oregon. It is flat contradiction
by a high court of arguments put
forth by the railroads and others
who fought the waterfront meas
ures. They asserted that the prin
ciple laid down by the Oregon wa
terfront measures would be "con
fiscation." But the court of last
resort in the state of California
contradicts them and says that
"when the public authorities see
fit to make improvements on the
land below high water mark for
purposes of navigation, the riparian
owner must yield thereto, as his
right is subordinate to the public
right."
The decision is exactly in line
with that of a federal court re
cently which ordered the buildings
of a riparian owner torn down to
make room for an improvement by
the public, and that no compensa
tion should be given the riparian
owner.
Decisions will continue to be !
made on these points, and every
one of them handed down will be
an indictment of the position of
those who fought the waterfront
measures in the late Oregon elec
tion. By and by, the people will1
learn that they were bamboozled j in excess of Germany's expendl
by the railroads and corporation , tu res and yet some of the naval
lawyers, and that The Journal was highbrows sayweb.ave little or
right and the real tribune of the nothing to show for it.
people in that struggle. j In 1913 the United States gov
iom ii.i lTinv mrnTa
. i
aoii AiNU UtJMMEJN T apubli -
cation i -t "
C
r.V. . . r TJ
;..Hr,- f ' The figures speak for them
suggesting court reforms in . s-
the United States. Courts of con-
"l tuu
cuiauon are discussed and an-
proved, Denmark's experience be-: ? , , tiidiTe- for same from the Union Me
Ing used to illustrate how such' 0t mnty xP.n1dltue?- 1 taUlc Cartridge company; 200,000
trihiinauT nnrV ! The screams against the navy j rlfies and 200,000,000 cartridges from
nlfr! tw. . , are the publicity scheme of the 'the Winchester Arms company; the
ueiore a Dane goes to law for . . t whole production of gun ammunition
8 fight to the finish be must call
hia nnnnndnt hsfnu t
, i . . .
m i- " mo wuuimissiuu j
ui cuucuiauon. ii a settlement is
reached. It hasthe effect of a fi
nal judgment." -If a : settlement
cannot be reached, the complain
ant" receives back his complaint
with attestation that conciliation
nas been tried in vain. Then the
legal fight may start as it does in
?, .u 7' . His life was a modest one and
if the Danish defendant Is measured by the standard of men,
warned to be In court on a certainja successful one. r Meanured by
day to present his side of the con- years it was one that had rnn its
troversy; and fails to be there. ;,full course. To thev younger gen
Judgment for the entire amount jeration his record j of achievement
claimed, with interest and costs, is -is an inspiration. !
entered against him. Ills early years j were years o
.tere Is much talk about arbl-lself denial and labor for an edu-
lies before resorting to arms. But
arbitration between nations is no
more desirable than conciliation
between Individuals. ;
" The American people are paying
enormous sums each year as a
tribute to warfare In the conrts.
Much of this is waste pare and sim
ple. If the United States should
, mi A n t, ni i
require uugauw w um uyormo"
disputes before engaging in legal 1
, ' .,Vl? . . . i j 7 j ;
hostilities, money woild be saved
and there would be ja closer ap
proach to the perfect; In tlie dis
pensation of Justice.
THE BLOOD ROLL
0
NE night recently in Atlanta,
a lawyer heard a noise in
his home. Suspecting the
rjresence of - a burglar, he
seized a revolver and went in
search. He fired three Shots, after I
which the burglar firfed one. The
lawyer was Instantly killed, and
the burglar escaped unhurt.
The Los Angeles case was not
widely different. "When the two
boy burglars entered' the million
aire's home, they were, of course,
fully armed. It's the business of
burglars to be armed; to be ready
to shoot, and to shoot to kill."
The son in the home fired twice.
He slightly wounded
in the leg. He ,was
one burglar
himself dan
gerously wounded. The father was
killed. The burglar and other
crooks are professional gunmen.
The peaceable citizen is an ama
teur. Usually, it la better that
there be no weapon In the house.
Every odd in the world is against
the citizen and on the side of the
crook. I
It was his revolver, handy for
use," that cost the Atlanta lawyer
his life. Many another good man
has been hurried off j to the ceme
tery for the same reason.
The blood roll of the United
States, on account ofj the revolver,
is about 10.-000 lives! a year. The
world ought to prohibit its manu
facture, i
AUTOS IN PORTLAND
N
EWSPAPERS throughout the
country are saying that in
Portland no One has been
injured, let alone killed, in
an automobile accident in the last
nine months. ' Cominent on this
statement by the Cedar Rapids Ga
zette Is reprinted by a Chicago
paper as "the best editorial of the
day." The Gazette says:
In Portland the automobile driver
who is caught while traveling at a
speed in excess of the limit pre
scribed. Is hurried to the police court,
tried, and, if found guilty, escorted
to the rock pile, there to work out
his sentence. No fines are levied.
Every conviction means ft sojourn
with the pick and rock squad.
The purpose here ls not to take
issue with newspapers that are
showering praise upon Portland.
But It is unfortunate that the city
does not command all the' respect
which comes to it voluntarily. If
Portland is not entitled to the best
editorial of the day, it is because
of a few people who are either
criminally careless or deliberately
lawless. j
There is much talk about adver
tising Portland as aidesirable place
in which to live. The Gazette's
editorial tvnical of manv others I
editorial, typical ot many otnera
In various newspapers, shows how j
easy it would be to secure the very j
best kind of advertising without i
the exnenditure of a nickel It is
tne expenditure oi a nicsei. it. is
up lO me BUlomouuB urivero.
them live up to jthe- reputation
which has been givn them.
NAVAL DEFICIENCIES '
h
T
ESTIMONY given before the
naval committee at Washing
ton cannot fee reconciled.
Some of the ekperts say this
country has the second best navy
in. the world; others .say it is be
hind 'the times, inadequate, short
of torpedoes, ammunition, officers
and men.
The New York Sim, a big navy
advocate, publishes j the appropria
tions made each year for naval
purposes by Germany and the
United States. from1899 to 1914.
The figures show that in fifteen
years this countrjy appropriated
$1,645,000,186 andi Germany only
$1,237,915,960. Diirinz that time
we sDent more than $400,000,000
ernment appropriated $133,262,
.
5oz ana tne uerman government '.
J120'063'4'75 - ,1,? 1914 f.FSf1
, States appropriation! was $140,718,-
,!15 and the German $121,988,035.
?eivef- " ? -u j
InfArlnr tn the kaiser's, as has
, j.. ,
77 Mr. mu . w
t tunes. .
SENECA SMITH
A
NOTHER link in the chain
connecting the Oregon of to
day with' the Oreson of 18 46
has been broken in the death
of Seneca Smith L miner, lawver
; and judge.
was an accumulation of self respect
and tributes of associates to a life
well spent.- His life was tlie typical
life of the pioneer and the world
Is ' better because he journeyed
through it.
Letters From the Peopls
(Communications aent to The Journal for
pwie" tuia eepartmaat should be writ-
n only one aids of tba paper, abould not
exceed 800 words In length and moat ba ac
companied dj us name and address or to a
sender. If tne writer does not desire to
bare tba name published, he sbculd so cute.)
- "Diaevaaloa Is the (Teatest of en reform
era. It rationalizes everything It toncbet. It
robs principle of all tale aeoctlty and
throws them bark on tbelr reasonableness. If
tbey bare oo reasonablenaa, it ruthlesa;
enwbea them oat of existence and et np lta
own conclusions to their stead." WooUrow
Vtlm.
Unemployment and Money.
Portland, Dec. 25. To the Editor of
The Journal-In this country today
are millions of moneyless, jobless
men, as the direct result of 'a money
system that makes no provision for
connecting the moneyless man,
through a job with money. Our money
system Ignores all the world except
the man who has money to deposit
and the man who has the best of
collateral on which to borrow. The
new currency law Is a banker's law
and merely intensifies this feature.
Think of the loss of say. three
millions; that is a low estimate, of
men with their splendid producing
capacity going to waste. Impoverish
ing us all by millions of dollars of
real wealth for every idle 'day they
live, beside plotting revolution, justi
fiable under the circumstances, gradu
ally drifting into crime at " worst; at
best into mental and physical deteri
oration. Suppose we brighten up this
picture a little. . Let's put these three'
million men at work on roads, con
servation projects, and especially on
those unruly rivers of the middle
west, under competent engineers, for
the prevention of their terrible spring
floods, say at 82 a day. Then, every
sunset would see all the people of the
United States richer than they were
at sunrise, by 86,000,000 of good sub
stantial improvements added to our
national wealth.
But at this suggestion the banker
men lock their safes and with their
backs against their safe doors, ask:
"Yes; all very well; but Where's the
money coming from to pay these
men?" Let us discard for the mo-,
ment all our banker made opinions
about money and all the banker pre
pared theories of money and look at
this thing through the eyes of sound
public policy apd, common sense.
With the exception of a paltry little
pile of gold, all our money is a debt,
Interest-bearing, "secured" by more
interest-bearing debts on which the
producing classes pay billions of in
terest every year for which they get
no return. But the word "security" in
this connection is a misnomer. A debt
is always an insecurity; there- is al
ways a doubt attached to it. What,
then, would be real "security" for
money? Obviously, labor performed
in return for it in advance of its
issue. On this there would be no in
terest charge and, no possible . loss,
sinco the nation already ia in posses
sion of the "security" the wealth
produced. At this the banker man
collapses In a heap before his locked
safe door. Why? Because we have
found a way to eliminate him. He
may have to go to work. Think of
that!
This expression of the money en
ergy is the logical corollary of the
obligation which society as a whole
is under, to provide the workless wjth
work, therefore with compensation for
that work. Let's consider that pleas
ant picture once more.. Three million
men at work for all the rest of us at
$2 a day, paid In receipts for labor
already done, these receipts receivable
for all obligations due the government.
These millions would not see the In
side of a .bank and no interest charge
would burden them. They would reach
tIrst tho peopl , who needed them
mo8t . The anxJous mother with her
shivering, half starved brood would be
fed with "daddy's" earnings; the man
"laid off." with foreclosure on his
mtl bome just ahead' would be
reached wUh thJs Hveiy money; the
Droud. .minted young fellow afloat.
jobless, would jump at the chance to
forget his half formed plan to go into
the holdup business; the man with
black bitterness in his heart at the
prosperity about him -which he could
not share would turn kindly again;
so, from those who need it most, this
living energy, freed by the one and
only true liberator, would work' its
way up from the bottom, carrying me,
hope, happiness all the way.
' But some- timorous soul, so accus
tomed to depressions and stringencies
as actually to be hysterical in the
presence of good times, asks: "But
how about getting too much of this
money?" The answer is that as yet
we have never had enough, into sev
eral billions of dollars; that as It Is
issued only for public service per
formed, as men went back to private
employment, as they would as "times
Improved,' the issue would cease; that
the government could, if it chose,
cancel all that returned to the treas
ury and not reissue it, though it
would be far better to keep it In cir
culation. There Is a good deal of simulated
concern over the unemployed problem..
Here is a cure which does not even
call for a constitutional amendment.
An act of congress is all that Is nec
essary. Now kindly note where op
position to this plan originates.
1C
... . , , tt;,i
NSSSln. Or... Dec. 24.-To the
E(Jltor of The Journal The president
has declined, to permit the nmiding
Of suBmarines tur me niis naucn
of Europe. So far, so good; but what
about these orders; Two hundred
thousand rifles from the Remington
, a-. rmnT,v; th soo.ooo.ooo car-
of. the Unton Metallic Cartridge eom-
' nnv 4.000.000 pounas oi powaer rrom
the Dupont Powder company; 1505
machine guns from the Colts; . 50,000
revolvers from the same company; 200
armored automobiles from the 1 Auto
Car company; 500,000 rifles of 23 cal
ibre, with ammunition for same, from
the Winchester Arms company; 800
( 'iflJr1.
another 7.000,000 pounds of powder
from the Dupont Powder company; 60
guns of 9.2 inch calibre from the Beth
lehem Steel company; another 2000
tons of powder from the Dupont Pow
der company; 100,000 carbines from
the Winchester Arms ; company, with
100,000,000 cartridges; aeroplanes from
different firms, the Wright company
alone sending 10 carloads; ammunition
to the value of $12,000,000 from the
Crucible Steel company. : .
Must the United States "pay the
piper," as you so aptly express it, Juat
A FEW SMILES
Mr.
'Grimbattley One would think
that Talkington had
. rr I had enough of his
XV Hi I wife's tongue, but he ,
oi puoiiuist iu - i ch
ords, and he runs
' niera over every uo
I ; W, while she's away.
r' r Mr. NU-But think
or the
pleasure ho gets Jn talking back
when
they run down.
"My dear, you ought
to pass up
mvoioug things and
take an Interest In
deep subjects. Take
history, for instance.
Here is an interest
ing item. Gessler, the
tryant, put up a hat
for the Swiss to sa
lute." The lady was
a trifle interested. .
"How was it trimmed?" she inquired.
"The constitution distinctly states "
Ambassador Walter H. Page was
piloting some friends from America
through the museum at Hastings
when he observed
an unhappy attend
ant wearing a mili
tary uniform, with a
helmet adorned with
a chin strap. at
whom an inquisitive
tourist was firing all
manner of silly ques
tions.
Finally, as the tourist turned and
was about to quit the building, he ,
asked: "Say, what is tnat cnin strap
under your chin for?"
The attendant sighed. "The strap
is to rest my jaw when I get tired
answering questions," he replied. -
so a very few large concerns can
make more blood money, concerns that
have no regard for humanity, who ex
ploit their working men, and who, by
filling these orders for supplies, are
exploiting the United States treas
ury? Let me point out that accord
ing to the following precedent the
United States is liable for heavy dam
ages: ,
"By the direction of the president
the department has compiled reasons
centering on the Alabama decision
which lost England 815,000,000. The
Confederate cruiser Alabama was built
in England, but It was not outfitted
as a warship there. England was
forced to pay $15,000,000 because she
permitted the Alabama to saiL"
What was the Alabama but war sup
plies? Therefore any of the above
enumerated goods will come under the
same head, and I just wonder what it
will cost us. Don't you think it would
just be a matter of self defense to
hai-e the delivery of these goods
stopped? HERMAN AHLEK3.
Hard Times and Prosperity.
Amity, Or., Dec. 19. To the Editor
of The Journal In the past few
months I have read many articles on
the question of the unemployed of our
state. Yet right at the bottom of
one of these articles one never falls
to find an article on the prosperity
of this state during the past year.
May I ask this question:- If this
country is so prosperous at the pres
ent time, why all this howl about the
poor condition of the working class?
If ali the building is going on that
we hear so much about. It seems like
it would put a stop to a portion of
the vagrancy charges in our cities.
Still on the heels of all this so called
prosperity that other thing grows in
stead of diminishing.
There is a class of people in our
state that could help, but they are too
stuBborn. Their reason for this is
that we have. a Democratic president.
I do not mean to say that that is my
opinion, but I do aim to say that were
it not for that, the mills and facto
ries of our land would not shut their
doors so early in the game. If you
remember, these same men started
In talking "hard times before Wilson
was elected. It is for that very rea
son that we have so little work this
winter. Wilson had the right idea,
if he had only carried it out. He said
when he first was elected that per
sons that' could not show a deficit on
their books would not be allowed to
close their doors. I believe If an in
vestigation was made at the present
time and Wilson would act on his
words that the labor question could be
solved. When the majority elects a
president I believe that the rest of
the people should be made to stand
by him in whatever he does. - Until
our people become more loyal to tho
executive of the land, what may we
hope for? O. E. HENDERSON.
Concerning Conductors.
Portland, Dec 26. To the Editor of
The Journal I would like to say a
few words in answer to "One Who
Rides on That Line," who in yester
day's Journal, praised the St. Johns
line street car conductors. To use the
slang phrase, they have nothing on
the Mount Scott conductors.' I will
give my experience with both. I live
in the Mount Scott district, and was
going to visit my sister In North Al
bina. I had two babies with me and
a good sized grip. -The Mount Scott
conductors helped me on and to a seat
in a pay-as-you-enter car, came back
after the car was well on Its way and
collected my Xare. and helped me off
again at Second' and Alder.
Carrying one baby and the grip and
leading the other baby, I finally got to
Fifth and Washington. After wait
ing 10 minutes, which seemed an hour
a St. Johns car came. I helped my
little 2-year-old on the car, set my
grip on the car floor, pulled myself up
the high steps and got to a seat whilj
the gallant conductor stood with his
hand on the bell cord, waiting to give
the signal to move on. At the carbarn
the car crew was changed. Now, I
thought, I would have help to get off,
only two stops farther down the line.
But what did this efficient, courte
ous, gentlemanly conductor do but
stand 'waiting until a lady, seeing he
was not going to help me, came and
helped me off the car, then went back
to her seat.
That was last summer, and I haven't
had the courage to take the trip again
alone and depend on the St. Johns
conductors for help in getting on and
off their cars. I take my hat off to
the Mount Scott conductors and wish
them one and all a merry Christmas
and a happy New Year, but the St.
Johns conductors nix. MRS. L. T.
Arrows and Grenadiers.
From the Chicago Post.
War, they say, is a throw-back. It
makes things as they were in days of
old.
We believe it Here is General von
Meyer killed by an arrow. So men
killed men before the huts on the sur
face of the Swiss lakes were flooded.
They shot the arrow from a bow in
stead of dropping It from an arrow
plane, but it was an arrow, just the
same.
We believe It again when we read
"Eyewitness at .British Field Head
quarters." In his latest pictures his
troops are fighting in - the trenches
with hand grenades. The "British
genadler," who passed out at Lexing
ton and Yorktown. thus come) back
onto the historic scene. ,
The most modern of modern war scl-
PERTINENT COMMENT
SMALL CHANGE
Even one enemy Is one too many.
Immigration Is the mother ot most
of our small troubles.
Ever meet a girl who
pretty as her own picture?
was as
A misdirected search for. happiness
is the stepmother of selfishness. :
And sometimes a word to the wife
is sufficient to start something. :
To th'e man who says "I will" the
chains of destiny are mere cobwebs.
Our idea of a wis man is one
who Is just a trifle less foolish than
the majority.
But If a man is foolish and doesn't
know it, it's a sign that he has no
wife to instruct him.
a
The average woman never calls It
flattery when a man praises her
for qualities she knows she doesn't
possess.
a
We ,do not claim to be a philoso
pher but we have observed that the
grind of life often sharpens a man's
wits. I
I
Many of the warring nations are to
participate in the San Francisco expo
sition, but it is not reported whether
their various exhibits will be fortified.
Well informed orientalists say that
chop suey is not really a Chinese dish,
but- other nations are treating China
just as if It were responsible, for chop
suey. ;
I
To ' say that a young baby Is a
perfeft image of its father ia not
always accepted bv the latter as a
compliment, especially if tha dear
little creature has a face that looks
like a pink wart.
From the Omaha World-Herald.
An anonymous correspondent sends
to the World-Herald the following ar
gument In favor of militarism:
"Disarmament has never been tried,
but every, one of our cities could try
the experiment for itself by taking
away the clubs, guns and other weap
ons from its policemen. If we have
not the courage to live in our own
home cities in time of peace among
our own citizens without an armed
force to protect us, what nonsense it
is to speak of disarmament for , na
tions! You may advise all law-abiding
people to disarm, but you will
never disarm the criminal And the
desperado unless you disarm them by
force, and it takes arms to do that.
And if you need an armed force they
are best protected who have the best
force with the best arms.
The trouble with this illustration Is
that the analojry is not a true one. A
little study will disclose Its fallacy.
The people of our cities have already
disarmed at least the respectable and
law-abiding people have. And they
have created a police force to preserve
the peace, athd protect the .unarmed
many from the armed, criminal and
desperate few. This is what it is
proposed each of the nations of the
earth should do; that each lay aside
Its arms and create an international
police force of sufficient power, like
the police force of our cities, to en
force the law against those who will
not abide by the rules and ordinances
of civilized society If each citizen of
Omaha went armed to protect himself
against all other citizens; or if each
ward of Omaha maintained an armed
force to xrotect itself against the
other wards; or if Omaha kept a
standing army as means of defense
and aggression against Council Bluffs
and South Omaha and Sioux City and
I-lncoln and St, Joseph and Kansas
City, and if these cities each had a
standing army in its turn then the
condition would be somewhat analo
gous to that existing among the na
tions of the world.
But Omaha relies- on its few score
policemen to preserve peace and order
among its 160,000 people. It relies on
the laws, and if necessary on the mi
litia of the state to protect it against
South Omaha and Lincoln. It relies
on the law of the nation, and If : nec
essary Its standing army, to protect
it against Sioux City and Kansas City
and other envious cities in other
states. The consequence is thatevery
citizen in Omaha lives in reasonable
security. No. ward is fearful of
armed aggression from other wards
not even from the horrific "Third."
No city has the slightest reason to
fear an invasion of armed bands af
marauders led by the mayors of rival
cities. The reason is that each of
these peaceful units, from citizen to
state, realizes that the forces of the
commonwealth and of the nation are
By John M. Osklson.
Generally speaking, the various
"blue sky" laws passed by the states
have not been very effective In killing
off fraudulent schemes promoted by
unscrupulous "financiers." One reason
is that the organized Investment bank
ers have fought the laws because they
felt that the toes of legitimate se
rruities dealers were being trodden on.
I Another reason is that the promoters
have found a way around tiiem.
"Under the circumstances," says a
writer in Commercial West, "it de
volves upon the investment bankers
to keep up an aggressive campaign
of education, especially among sal
aried workers and wage earners. It
will need years of hammering to
pound into the heads of many people
the fundamental truth that their in
vestments should not be Jeopardized
In Speculative ventures." "
This man makes a distinction that
will need to be kept in mind by the
Inexperienced investor more than ever
before. He says:
"Besides the actual frauds, which of
course should be avoided, there are
numerous offerings continually en-
na includes arrows and grenades.
Aeroplanes and submarines rub shoul
ders with military devices as oia as
war itself.
Adopting Belgian Children.
From the Detroit News.
A Belgian priest in .this country has
effectually checked the movement
which bad been proposed to bring
Belgian children here for American
adoption. His reasons have proved
convincing.
He says that Belgium is now a dis
persed country, with the death list un-
! known, but not expected to be very
large in comparison wnn oiner oeaiu
lists.
It was the custom, he says, for the
Invading army to range the men up on
one side of the village square, the
women and children on the other, ai:4
to march the men off. In this way
there are families of which all mem
bers are und6ubtedly alive, but the
men are prisoners and the separated
mothers and children are either still
wandering about in Holland or Eng
landso that, though they are now
dlsuerscd and know nothing of eacn
other's whereabouts, there ts prosper
"BLUE SKY" LAWS AND NEED FOR CAUTION
of reunions later on.
He says tnat
AND NEWS IN BRIEF
OREGON SIDELIGHTS
The management of the Central
Point Herald has passed from Haas
ler & Bebb to Royal K. Bebo, who
took over the business December 19.
a
The ice harvest at Union is on
and the Scout says the ice Is the
best for years. Continued dry weather
has helped out the situation and there
will be no ice famine in the city
next summer. i j
i
T. B. Phillips, secretary, has I in
stigated a lively campaign to swell
the membership of The Dalles Busi
ness Men s association. He is Bending
out letters to farmers as well as to
citizens of The Dalles.
.
"One of our citizens." says the
Sheridan Sun. "suggests that the hew
city hall be located at the west ter
mination of First street. The ,ugges
tion has real merit in- tho fact that
If carried out the building- would at
least cover up the quagmire of i Un
certain depth that Is now the .source
of so much profanity."
Hood Kiver News: Not for many
years has Hood River and this part
or tne state enjoyed sucn a
ong
spell of excellent skating.
RTiell or excellent Bkatlnar. . Tne
slough north of the station has been
swarmed early and late. Sunday
there were several hundred gliding
over the Bmooth surface, while local
ministers, it wss remarked, preached
to . suspiciously slim congregations.
Commenting on the recent levy,' the
Pendleton East Oregonian says: "The
making of the etate and county tax
levy eight mills instead of ten mills
as last year is a saving ' of nearly
8100.000 to the : taxpayers of : the
county. The , two mills extra on a
valuation of over 849,000,000 would
have produced over 898,000. The sav
ing this year resulted from a smaller
state tax and by reason of the fact
that, instead of having road bonds to
take up. the county has & surplus of
nearly 835,000 on hand." "
sufficient to insure enforcement of the
law and the preservation of jcrvil
rights. ! .
And so it is asked, why should not
the nations of the earth disarm,! cre
ate an international supreme court, an
International parliament, and an in
ternational police force to enforce the
decrees of the confederation against
any rebellious member who may feel.
like the train robber or the run man
an Irresistible Impulse io defy society
and have recourse to force and; out
lawry?
!
For one nation to attempt disarma
ment all by itself would be quite an
other matter. No considerable body
of public opinion in any country, seri
ously favors that experiment. Th
world is now living in the same state
that would prevail in Omaha if every
ward maintained a standing army of
its own, and if the statesmanship of
each ward were casting greedy; eyes
on the property of other wards; and
increasing Its military power mean
while. No one. ward could feel that
it could safely idisarm unless.; the
other wards did likewise and agreed
to trust to a common police power to
enforce the laws ; and the decrees of
the courts. !
The world Is at war. It Is testing
out the armament theory, muchjss it
was tested out, in the good old days,
in Dodge City and Deadwood; and
Leadville. Pending the settlement . it
behooves every nation that is yet at
peace to be on its guard, and look to
its arms and supply of ammunition,
though at the same time it may bo
preaching the gospel of international
peace and holding up blood-soaked Eu-
rope as a horrible example ot
militarism leads to.
wliat
That is what the United States is
doing. .We are preaching peace, we are
pushing for the adoption of treaties
that will promote peace, we are! eager
that tlie first steps toward disarma
ment Bhall be taken as soon as the
world will agree to take them but
meanwhile we are not disarming The
appropriations made by congress for
armv, navy and coast defenses and
the like average about 8250.000,000 a
year. In the last six years we have
spent approximately 81,400,000,000 on
our military establishment. The last
congress provided for two battleships,
eijrht submarines and six destroyers,
while the sale of two antiquated bat
tleships to Greece provides for an
other dreadnought. It is proDaDie tnat,
because of the world war, a disposi
tion will be manifested by- the govern
ment ,at W'ashington to further
strentHen our army. But our people
realize the folly of mankind that
makes such a policy, on the part of
a peaceful people, seem necessary.
They deplore it as barbarous and
wasteful. They believe it Is time the
world should emerge from the condi
tion that obtained in Dodge City In
the seventies, disarm as Dodpe City
disarmed, and create a police force.
couraglng people to put their i small
savings into Investments of a highly
speculative nature. Many of these
enterprises have small chance of suc
cess, even though their promoters 'are
most sanguine that large returns will
be netted the investor." i
He is quite right to point out that
Investments involving business! risks
should be taken by business people
people who know wbat the chances of
success really are, and who can af
ford to wait for returns.
More than ever before, men with
business projects seeking capital to
establish and carry on their work will
ask the small saver for money.! Such
men will offer the hopex of high re
turns much higher than the owner of
money can get from tried investments.
The arguments and figufes of the
business promoter wifl sound very
convincing. i
But for the inexperienced Investor
there always remains a test of the
soundness of an offering: What defi
nite guarantee is offered of the a ex
pected return? The answer for; all of
the speculative kind will be: j i -
None. Then ias H by. 1
even now, in England and Holland, the
scattered fragments of families are be
ing brought together as rapidly as con
ditions permit, i j
To enter upon wholesale adoption of
Belgian children now, he says, j would
be to finally separate families which,
later on, will have a chance f re
union; and he would wait until all the'
accounts are made up before making
disposition of the little ones.
There will doubtless be enough or
phans for the laudable and kindly pro
posal which was made in America, bnt
It will be obvious to every on that
if a child's parents are living, br one
of them, transportation across the sea
would make for separations that never
could be remedied. 1
As it is. Holland and England and
America have their task, in feeding
and clothing those made homeless by
the war. ; i
Any W ay l'on Vishu j
From the Kansas City Journal.'
"Yes, I can secure you a divorce.
And without publicity, too." . j
"You don't understand. I am an
aclress." .
"Pardon me. t understand. All the
publicity you want."
DISARMAMENT, j
OREGON
nr uut bays' i
By Fra4 lecklsy, Special Staff WHtar ef
The JovrsaJ. - j f- -
Samuel Bowles, who visited! Oregon
and Washington territory In tn sum-
rasr of 1885, writing to theii Spring
field Republican at Springfield, Mass..
gave an Interesting account jof the
Oregon and Washington territory of
ou years ago. Speaking ef tSie com
merce of the Columbia river,? e saM:
vi(auon ot tne tjoiumoia
river is In the hands of a strong,
energetto company, who have) the ca-
paclty to Improve all its present oppor
tunities and the foresight to seek and
create new ones. Thev are) making
new paths in the wilderness and show
more comprehension of the Situation
and purpose of development han any
ei or men .that I have yet mit on the
Pacific coast. f ,
"Organised la 1881 with ainroDertr
worth 8175,000. they now have 18 or
20 first class steamboats. a railroad -around
the Cascades and on; around
i. ne Dalies, warehouses In S all the
principal towns on the rlvr-and a
total property worth over 3 000.000.
alt earned from their business of navi
gation. They have paid ttftmselvea
8332,750 in dividends. So large has
been the travel and trade to e mines
of eastern Oregon and Idaho) that the
Oregon Steam Navigation company has
carnea to tne upper coiumtta. eo.szu
tons In the last four years. ey car
ried over 22,000 tons in 1864 fciid their
boats have carried up and 4own the
"er, approximately 100.000s passen
gers. In 1864 they had 36,00i passen- -gers
during the season. jj
In many ways Oregon iiand Its :
people make a pleasant arftf promising
impression. They lack nuusvi- of the
advantages of their neighbors to the
south. Their agriculture is 4js varied.
out It is more sure. Mlnlngi has not
poured such irregular and lntfxlcatlng
wealth Into their laps. They need
more varied farming and mgif varied
industry; they need intelligent and.
patient labor and more capital. They
have bullded what they have more
slowly and more wisely them jthe Call-
fornlans. They will have less severe
reaction from unhealthy growth and
less to unlearn. They are in I the way
to be the New England of thi' Pacific. .
"May Oregon steady itself, or be
steadied by sufficiently earljf failure,
against such dangers as California's
experience with mining hat thrown
around her condition as a stita. The
uncertainty, the wrecklessftess, the i
gambling habit, which the varied and '
fickle results of gold minbjg. throw
over the whole business and florals of -a
community, that Is possessed by the
gold fever or passion for irdblng. are
great obstacles to permanenllpupsper
Ity. growth and high civilisation.
"Two days ago, on July t, we put -out
of Portland, steamed ?db"wn the
Columbia for 50 miles, up ite Uowllts
branch for a short distance, and landed
on the Washington. terrltoiJii side ot
two houses and a stage wagfdi bearing
the classic name of Monti5sUo. The ,
question here was how to ut eleven
passengers In an open wCgon that .
would hold only seven for aisf 90 mils
ride across Washington territory. We
settled It by putting three ot our pas
sengers on saddle horses. Tji'e road Is
rough beyond description. ,Jiiring the
winter rains It is abandoned., it In
ungraded and simply a 'path cut
through the dense forest, but the ma
jestic beauty of the., fir aid cedar
forests through which wejrode was
compensation for the disc yjnfort.
"We dined on the secojl day at
Skookem Chuck and came t the head
of Puget Sound, where we'jwere hos
pitably received by . Acting iUovernor
Kvans and other! official citizens.
Olympla has less than 500 habitants.
It Is the largest town In thri territory, .
except Wallula. It .-numbers more
stumps than houses and is : the social
and political center for a large extent
of country. Si
"If there Is one thing .fnore than
another among'.the facts ; iaf civiliza
tion which the Pacific coa' organizes
most quickly and completely! It Is good
eating. From the Occ-i denial at-San
Francisco to the loneliest: Tranches on
the weekly stage routes a good square
meal is the rule, while eachj village of
500 inhabitants ha Its j Restaurants
with French and Italian cooks.
"When the Puritans settled New
England, their first public) duty wss
to build a church, with thrifty thought
for their souls. Out here,! their de
generate sons begin with ' organizing
a restaurant, so the seat of. empire in
Its travel westward changes its basis
from soul to stomach. Petfh&ps It Is
only In obedience to that delicate law
of our later civilization, which forbids
us to enjoy our religion unbsfi we have '
already enjoyed our victuals -and which '
sends a dyspeptic to hell by fan eternal ;
regard to the fitness of things.
"Washington territory Is 'the upper
half of old Oregon, divlie by the
Columbia river and the foitleth par
allel for the southern boundary and
extending up to the forti'-nlnth, to
which, under the reaction f from the
unmartlal Polk's "flf ty-fouf-forty or
fight" pretensions, our northern line
was Ignominlously limited.'
"The population. of Washington ter
ritory is less than 20,000, and It Is not
likely to grow fast or make, a state for
many years to come. But it; holds sure
wealth and a large future through Its ,
Illimitable forests and ltn probable
Immense coal deposits. Not-more than
cne-eighth of Us surface wet of the
Cascades is open land. The 'rest is '
covered by a growth of tlmjer suchas
no other space on the car$'a surface
can boest." . '
The Unwritten Boobs. " v
From Collier's Weekly.
Sometimes we wonder; about ' the
books our favorite authors did not
write. In what ways would R. S.
Hawker's great poem about King Ar
thur and the Round Table have been
finer and richer than Tennyson's Ar
thurlan poems were. Would Bryant '
fave written other poems as good as j
"Thanatopsis" If lie bad f wot con- .
demncd himself to the dull respecta
bility of editing -the New; fork "1-Jve-nlng
Post"? Then there is'' Dickens,
iliom one thinks of only as a novelist.
Yet In, his letters there are passages :
that might have occurred! In 1-cigh :
Hunt's best essays. When Dlcken-r
came to America on a lecture tour he
went to Boston, of course, and "speou- ;
lated on the oyster men: , - -
"What do they do when oysters are
not In season? Is pickled salmon vend
ed there? Do they sell cTSBa. shrimps,
winkles, herrings? The.eyster open-,,
ers what do they do? Dor they com
mit sulcldeln despair, orywrench open ,
tight drawers and cupboarq and her
metically sealed bottles for practice?
Perhaps they are dentists,-; out of the v
oyster season. Who knows?"
On another page one finds Dickers I
wondering what emotions- stir post
office clerks when they .get a letter.
Read this passaje aloud and ask your-
self whether you might .--not have as
cribed it to Charles Lamb Jor Robert
Louis Stevenson If we hadn't told you
Dickens wrote it: , . - r1
"Vo you suppose the;, postofflro
clerks care to receive letters? I have
my doubts. - They get into) a dreadful,
habit of lnllf f-Tence. 'V ipostniari, t ,V
1 matt tne. Is quite callous! .. Conceive ,
his delivering one to himself without i
being startled by a preliminary double
V