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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1915)
0 THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, .PORTLAND, MONDAY EVENING, - FEBRUARY . 8. 1915. THE journal: AN IXngPKXOJENT NEWSPAPER C 8. JACKSON. ,.:.."..... Publisher i'nblbl ery twwng ,rpt Sander) and ( frf Sanilay morning vt Tbs Journal Bnlld - I:.: - Bfwilmy and VtroliVl sta.. PrtUn, Or. jbuterea it tbe piistofnt at rortlasd. Or., lor transmission . through b mails ai second V claa nutter. V--. i " - " 1 KI'H)XKS fo TtT3: Bom A-6031. AU ' department m?;Hl by tbesa number. Tell -lbopertor what - p rtroppt yua wot. OKfelUX aUVKM TISINO BEP -KSENTAXI VB Benjamin & Kentnor Co., Bronawlck Bid.. ; W fifth New York. 1218 Peopls'a Bids., Chicago. - HtiDcrlt km term Vy cull or to any so- r? In i tie Doited States or Mexico: : DAILY Ops yaar....... $5.00 or. month 9 , SUNDAY OQe-yr.......2.;k i One month -23 DA.ILV AND SUNDAY One yeaf.,;,,..J7.5J I One month T2- Tr T fan tnt on a touch of a. rosy sunset into the life of sny man pr woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God. O. MacDonald. EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS J y ESTERDAY, The Journal pub Vf - lished the official declara X HoJV'by which the German ' government extended the war zone and began a program of try ing to starve Great Britain through .a blockade of. British ports by use of submarines. January 31 a powerful German submarine appeared off the mouth of the Mersey, the entrance to Liv erpool harbor, more than 800 miles from its base, and spread terror to British shipping by tor pedoing three British merchant- ; men. The sinking of these ships in the Irish sea is one of the most sig- j nificant events of the war. If; one hostile under sea vessel can pass' unmolested through narrow waters' patroled by the greatest navy in the world and actually destroy shipping at the very en trance to Liverpool harbor, others may be expected to accomplish the same desperate feat, and the ques tion 'becomes, what are the possi bilities and what is to be the end 'of this daring conception in naval warfare. Equally extraordinary is the fact that on December 22, The Journal published an interview by Karl H. Vcn. "Wiegand of the United Press 'with Admiral von Tirpitz, head of 'the German navy, predicting that 'these i premier events in the great .war would happen. Admiral von Tirpits said in this remarkable in terview : 'Great Britain w?nts to starve us. We can play the same game. We can bottlo Kngland up by torpedoing every British or alli.-d Bliip which nears any English harbor, thereby cutting off the island's large food supply. Would not such action only be meting out to Great Britain what Great Britain is doing to us? Forty days before, the German submarine, with unprecedented skill and intrepidity, threaded its .way through vigilantly guarded and well nigh impassable waters and sunk - the British merchantmen, Mr. 'von Wiegand, writing from within the German lines in the heart Of the most colossal war in history, gave to the world the story of one of the most startling - war secrets ever related. His per soiiality and his skill as an inter viewer so won the confidence of the ' master of the German sea forces, that the United Press writer was able to give the world what" subsequent events have proven to be perhaps the most extraordinary war story ever written. " .. The new program of attempting the blockade of British ports is the most desperate and daring event .of the European conflict. That -it can succeed seems impos sible, but that it is actually pro grammed and has already sent British ships to the bottom : awakens a field of speculation " and expectation not hitherto en countered in naval warfare. It throws new aspects on the general situation. It raises new problems for the Washington gov ernment. It places our commerce In peril of clash, not only with British, but with German men of war, ' and doubles the complexi ties Of neutrality. Above all, it vastly increases the need of American shipping. THE NAVAL BILL mllE naval bill passed by the I House carries an appropria I lion of $144,648,902. It pro- vldes for two battleships of the dreadnought class costing $7, 800,000 each, exclusive of armor and armament. Representative Underwood led a fight against authorization of two battleships, pleading for economy, asserting that the nation Is In no more danger of war now than it was a year ago, and warning that if this; country enters into an ar mament race it will "mean war at tbe end of the story." There Is another reason for not building the proposed dreadnoughts at this time. . They will net be of the battle cruiser type tuch as the Brlt'sh" used in 'the Noijth Sea engagement. They, will lack speed, and if the European war has proved anything so far, it is that speed is as essential, as armor and armament. The Bluecher was lost to the Germans because it lacked speed.. There is another naval factor, the importance of which is un known. A-paragraph in Admiral Beatty's' report of the North- Sea fight Is significant. He says: . The i presence of the enemy's sub marines subsequently necessitated the action being broken off. Admiral Scott has predicted the passing of the huce warship. Ad miral Beatty's report is practical confirmation j of the prophesied 'u- ii cuiucjr 01 , ine ntue suDmanx ,s. If it coulC drive off swL't ; battle cruisers, what would be Its effect iveness , against clower dread noughts such as the United States proposc3 to build?' Senator Tillman, chairman of the Senate Naval Committee, says this country should learn all it can from the European war before in vesting further in big battleships. It is advice worth heeding. THE BINGHAM BILL SENATOR BINGHAM ought to withdraw his compensation bill. He has never been a pleader for private interest in opposition to the public interest. He has never been disposed to run counter to tbe edicts of the popu lar will. He cannot well afford to change his position and repudiate the things he has stood for in the past. The present system of compensa tion in Oregon Is based on the best public policy. It permits nobody to make a profit out of the in juries and death of workers. It does not thro v the crushed limbs and broken bones of the victims of industrial accidents into the ring to become material out of which to coin dividends. On the contrary, it follows the plan of the Washington law, one of the best in the. country, and makes the state the real "adminis trative agent managing the com pensation fund. It does eo with out fees and without profits, so that the money paid from private sources into the fund goes intact to the injured workers. It Is a system framed on the true ideal, and the true Ideal is always the best public policy. There is no loud call, except from the casualty companies, for the kind of compensation proposed in Senator Bingham's bill. On the contrary, the House at Salem has just indorsed the present system by passing the required amend ments with only two dissenting votes. The 1913 legislature adopt ed the system with only three dis senting votes. When the system was refer ended, the people of Oregon in dorsed it by a majority of 40,000. The . bill carried every county in the state, some of the counties re turning a majority of three and four to one. Last Saturday at Cor vallis, the Willamette valley edi tors unanimously indorsed the plan. Senator Bingham stands almost alone' in his position. He ought to withdraw his bill. It cannot pass the House. What is the use of pushing it in the Senate? Why doesn't he withdraw it and give his support to the bill that the public is calling for? MAKING MEN HENRY FORD, Detroit auto mobile manufacturer, testi fying before the commission on industrial relations, said his idea is to aid men to help them selves. He said nearly all are willing to work for an adequate reward. We have all kinds of cripples In our employ, and they are making good. We have a great many who have been in prison, and who are outcasts from society. Every one of them is making a good showing and is gaining in self respect and strength of character. We will guarantee to take every man out of Sing Sing and make a man of him. Mr. Ford is not a visionary. He has built up a business whi?h last year paid profits of more than $25,000,000. That return on a capitalization of $2,000,000 was se cured with the aid of 150 former convicts, employes of his com pany. They are all making good. One holds an executive place and devotes much of his energies to helping those who had hem as un fortunate as himself. Mr. Ford may be mistaken in thinking he could take every man out of New York's notorious state prison and make a reliable, useful citizen of him. But suppose he is too sanguine as to latent possi bilities in twenty-five or even fifty per cent of the convicts. The fact remains that a hard-headed busi ness man, through experience, has learned that even a convict may be made a man. And what, if among all the men in his employ, he only salvages one derelict? "Will It not have been worth while? The Manlof Galilleo marked even a sparrow's fall. Mr. Ford says, give the convict a chance and aid him all you can. That is what intelligence says, what the Christian spirit of broth erhood says. NO CUT IN ROAD TAX A TACIT agreement has been reached by the two houses of the state legislature of Washington not to reduce the state levy for highways. The mill and one half levy for the per manent road fund and the mill levy for the public highway fund are to be continued. This makes a total levy of two and one half mills. The money derived from the permanent road levy 13 applied on farmer roads or trade center roads. The public highway levy is devoted to scenic or mountain roads connecting different parts of the state. Highway improvement is mak ing rapid strides in our neighbor ing state. A few days ago a hard surfaced road connecting Seattle i and Tacoma . was thrown open to travel. The King county end of the road is a vitrified brick pave- ment which cost $27,000 per mile. After experimenting with ; cheaper pavements the King county ; au thorities have come to the conclu- sion that the most expensive one ' I- it- - A. . tv:nJ cost of maintenance being reancea to a minimum. " In Washington as elsewhere there Is ' an urgent demand for f economy In state and county ad f ministration but the legislators with, the approval or taxpayers have taken the position that it is not economy to curtail road devel opment which is becoming an asset of permanent and tangible value to the people of the whole state. It Is the general opinion that the best economy is to build roads right and as rapidly as possible. OtTR TRADE BALANCE RETURNS from thirteen cus toms districts handling 86 per cent of our foreign trade show January exports of $238,574,096 and Imports of 107. 440,208. The trade balance in our favor was $131,133,888, said to be the largest favorable monthly balance we have ever had. The San Francisco Chronicle finds fault with the figures be cause in 1914 our exports were nearly $370,000,000 less than In 1913, because imports have de clined, and because the big gains in exports are In wheat, oats, flour and beef. The Chronicle says: In International finance, tbe favor able balance which we are accumu lating from the sale of foodstuffs at exhorbitant prices Is doubtless very convenient- But a similar balance re sulting from turning our foodstuffs and raw materials into manufactured products for export would be some thing worth while. Such petulence is more amusing than convincing. The Chronicle wants to blame the Wilson admin istration and in its fault-finding has to resort to the fact that Eu rope is at war, unable to buy many manufactures. The implication is that somebody in the United States, presumably President Wilson, is to blame for conditions brought about by world war. How can Europe buy agricul tural implements, steel rails, ma chinery and other American-made products when every cent the war ring nations can raise by mortgage is spent for gunpowder, cannon and food for armies, and when, by the reactionary hold-up of the ship purchase bill, we cannot carry all our products to world markets for lack of ocean carriers? PROGRESS OR REACTION c OMMENTING on the realign ment of senators on the ship purchase bill, the Boise Capi tal News says: It Is worthy of note that when a number of reactionary Democratic senators at Washington desired : to join with reactionary company, they went with the Republicans, while a number of progressively inclined Re publican senators who wanted to join in a progressive movement went with the Democrats. Who says that the alignment between those progres sively Inclined and those of reac tionary tendencies has been com pleted? In' his Indianapolis speech Presi dent Wilson gave warning that a few reactionaries within his party promised trouble. His warning was: If any group of men should dare to break the solidarity of the Demo cratic team for any purpose or from any motive, theirs will be a most unenviable notoriety and a responsi bility that will bring deep bitterness to them. It Is perfectly plain that the president knew what he was Calk ing about at Indianapolis. The Capital News in one paragraph has outlined the fight now going on in. this country. It is a contest be tween progress and reaction. THE OREGON SENATORS IN THE House Friday, Repre sentative Hare, in discussing the irrigation bill, is quoted as saying that "the Oregon sen ators" are at fault because Oregon has not received 'more reclamation funds. There is no better way to strengthen the Oregon senators in Oregon, where the people know all about why more federal reclama tion funds did not come to Ore gon. Their answer to that unjust charge in the case of Senator Chamberlain at the late election was a majority for him of 23,451, a majority greater than was ever received by a Democrat in the state of Oregon, a majority which came to Senator Chamberlain through support of him by 60,000 or 65,000 Republicans who were weary of seeing him made the tar get of unjust criticism. POLL ON EMBARGO THE Literary Digest has made a poll of the press of the United States on the question "Do you favor stopping by law the exportation of war ma terials to belligerents?" Of 440 replies received, 244 an swer "No,, 167 "Yes" and 29 are noncommittal. Considering in a special group the replies from cities of over 50,000 inhabitants, the "Noes" are even more in the majority, the vote standing 85 to 24.- Turning to cities and towns of smaller pop ulation' the opinion is much more evenly divided, 164 answers op posing embargo legislation and 140 approving it. Some papers considering the question from a commercial view point say in effect: "Sell the bel ligerents whatever they will pay for. Our business has suffered enough already because of the war, eo let's take what compensation we can get." Others would permit the exportation " of food, clothing and other supplies ' not ' directly used In killing men, but would pro hibit: the sale of arms and ammu nition. A concise statement of the gen eral basis of the opinions against embargo legislation is that , since "international law as it exists to day does not forbid the exporta tion of contraband subject to seiz ure it would be a breach of neu trality to take cognizance of any specific advantage to one nation or another." THE JOURNAL NATIONAL EDITORIAL THE COMMERCIAL THEATRE'S FAILURE By WALTER PRICHABD KATOJj Dramatic Critic and Essayist. ' THE commercially "conducted the atre in America is an avowed failure. This season has seen prominent commercial managers going into bankruptcy, theatres dark or running at a loss because of lack of paying attractions, and actors and actresses accept----wmMw ing anything that r i y ..h!......, , -$is offered in or- " SnroverhJal wolf i .- i f - -1 from the door. VIf the commer- A cial theatre can- 'Jnot justify, itself by being a suc- Icess from the box office standpoint, what else has it to justify itself? But its failure has been more Ill II, ij ttfcwMfl II W altar P. Eaton complete. It has failed to develop any body of native drama worthy of comparison with our printed literature; it has failed to develop acting which, save in rare instances, is above mediocrity; it has failed utterly to keep pace with the European stage in mechan ical equipment or in lighting and scene painting; it has failed to pro vide stable occupation for the actors or dignified conditions for the au thors; finally, above all, it has failed to keep the confidence of the public and to furnish any but the largest cities with worthy and reliable dra matic entertainment; The chief reason why the commer cial theatre has not developed a na tive drama is because it does not en courage, and does not dare accept, the serious work of serious authors. It dares accept only work which seems avowedly "popular." This is bound to be the case so long as the theatre remains entirely a competi tive gambling game. It has failed to develop acting because there are no permanent companies where young players can be adequately trained. It has failed to keep pace with Europe in scenery, lights and mechanical equipment because these things cost money, they are a "risk," and in com merce one takes as few risks as pos sible. It has failed to provide digni fied conditions for the artists, be cause the kind of men who are now attracted into theatre management are for the most part unacquainted with the meaning of this adjective. But why should the commercial theatre fail to keep the confidence of the public and fail to furnish the best it can offer to this public who bring it its profits? Self-preservation alone would seem to dictate the opposite policy. Ye,t, more and more in recent years, and strikingly this present winter, when people have been affected by the hard times, the theatrical business in the smaller cities has grown less and less profitable, an ever greater num ber of the smaller cities have been gradually drifting toward a condi tion where a really excellent play, well acted, is as rare as the dodo. The managers would now assert, no doubt, that self-preservation com pels them to abandon these cities altogether. A great many reasons have been put forward by a great many people to explain the situation. The most common is that the movies have "knocked the bottom out" of the spoken drama in the smaller towns. Such an assumption is manifestly an absurdity, for the spoken drama still flourishes in the large centers, and as a nation we are not yet re duced to the intellectual level of children. We must look deeper. Why are the movies more popular in the smaller towns? It is because they are cheaper, and also because much of thetime they are relatively better, and all the time more reliable. The commercial theatre, in the first place, sends its plays out "on the road" at much the same prices asked in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, and these prices are too high for the pocketbooks of the smaller towns. In the second place, the commercial theatre has sent to these towns in recent years second, third, even fourth and fifth: compa nies, which were often mere paro dies of the original production. Jn the third place, the public in the lesser cities have no means of find ing out in advance 'whether either the play or the production is to be worth while, and they have been "stung" so often that now they pre fer not to take the risk. In part, the stupidity of the commercial man agers is to blame for this, but in part, also and perhaps in larger part the blame is inherent in our present system. The result, how ever, is the same scores of Ameri can cities of from 20,000 to 50,000, or even 100,000 inhabitants, are practi cally without reliable dramatic en tertainment today, entertainment worthy of the intellectual capacities and better ideals of the communities , This is not a theory, it is a fact. The hard times of the current year are not to blame for it; they have only made the situation a bit worSe. The fault lies in our commercial sys tem of theatre management, with the sole headquarters in New York. And unless the bulk of the 90,000,000 Americans wish in the future to sub Try rr sist' solely on motion pictures and let tBe"beautif ut art of thr rama"re main .a' property of the larger centers,- the " remedy Willi hay to be found outside of our present system. . " Copyright, - 181a. Letters From the Peoplo - fCommanlcationa cent to Tbe Journal fat publication In this department aboald be writ tea eo only one tiide ot too paper, should not exeed 300 words in lenata and muat be ae ccmpanlad by tha name and addreaa ot tbe under. If tbe writer does not desire to tare be name imbliBhed, be snaaU te state.) "Discussion la the greatest of alt reformers. It rationalizes eTerrthiug it touches. It robs principles of all talks sanctity and throws tnetn back on their reasonableness. If - they have no reasonableness, it-ruthlessly crashes them oat of existence and ets op its own conclusions in their stead." Wood row Wilson. 1 The Economy That Economizes. Portland, Feb. 8. To the Editor of ThWournal This letter IS written to commend The Journal upon Its keen discrimination of- appropriations that are strictly state investments, those involving a necessary expense of main tenance and those which ars not Justi fiable since they do not return re sults, proportionate with the money spent. Such editorial comment Is con structive and not destructive of tha state development. Merely to set up a cry of economy and then doggedly to pursue that cry regardless of consequences Is maud lin In origin and Impotent In results. Such a plea for economy is based on ignorance of state affairs and instead of proving economical in . the last an alysis, ends in the grossest extrava gance, and waste. This negative atti tude also gives rise to a sense of temerity in coping with this vital problem of state expenditure. Your endorsement of the $450,000 appropriation to match dollar for dollar the United States reclamation service has offered for state coopera tion In reclaiming the arid land of the state Is fully justified. I am con vinced that the people would vote a large majority for this state invest ment If they knew that this federal aid is limited to June 30 of this year. Unless the legislature does vote an equal amount Oregon will lose the $450,000 which has been a standing offer so long a time. The people have too much common sense to overloolc so good a piece of business. This Is decidedly a state investment, since the money is returnable upon the sale of the lands. The tax levy for the construction of roads is no less important as a matter of state Investment. 1 have talked with many taxpayers In all sections bf Oregon and they agree that thts talk" of economy has been exaggerated and 'that there Is danger of its being misconstrued to the detriment of the state. The local tax average is 87 Vn per cent of the total tax and the state tax Is 12 per cent. It is quite evident that the aptting could be done more effectively on the per cent. By the careful investment of state funds this local tax might be lessened considerably, but I anticipate that even radical cut ting of state budgets, while it may lessen the total state tax by the fraction of a mill, will probably re sult in ar reaction In local and county expense and that our ultimate tax will be increased. t Unless Oregon 'assumes a niore pro gressive attitude In state affairs which will increase the production and tax value of Its land so that it will sustain a larger rural population, and a less progressive interference by leg islation affecting business and the ex pansion of industry, the people will get no relief from the abnormally high local tax levy and will not receive much needed aid from outside, either federal or individual. TAXPAYER. Indorsing House Bill No. 448. Portland, Feb. 3. To the Editor of The Journal House Bill No. 448 stands for safety to our homes from a humanitarian standpoint. It is spon sored by the public safety commis sion to protect the lives of those who are careless and Indifferent to the danger of walking on the railroad tracks and trestles. During tha past 24 yeaxs 108.009 perhons have been killed and 117,257 persons have been Injured, a total of 225,266, trespassing on the railroad tracks in the United States. Oregon contributed its full quota. Of these, 149,163 were citi zens of the locality in which accidents occurred, mostly wage earners, or 66 per cent; 31,049 were children ; under 18 years of age, or 14 per cent; 45,054 were tramps and hoboes, or 20 per cent. A bill enacted, such as is now be fore the legislature, will be a step to ward reduction and final elmination of this fearful record. It will become a menace to the tramp, who will make a detour of Oregon In his hibernations. It will assist communities in getting rid of obnoxious hoboes by placing them at work improving our roads, and enable the authorities, where needed, to protect the foolhardy and chance taker. HARRY P. COFFIN. Chairman Public Safety Commission. Good Roads Bill Indorsed. Portland, Feb. 6. To the Editor of The Journal A bill has been intro duced in tho senate that ought to -become a law. I refer to the bill pre pared by S. H. Moore of Corvallis. known as the road lime and cement bill. It provides for the acquiring by the state of lime and shale deposits for the manufacture of cementrfor the building of hard surface roads by con vict labor, and for the quarrying and crushing of lime for use on the lands of Oregon, to be furnished to farmers at cost. All western Oregon farms would be greatly benefited by the application of lime, but it cannot be used at the prices at which it is sold. This plan would place it within reach of all farmers, and all farms would be ren dered much more productive. One of the greatest needs of the state is good, substantial roads. The plan most often advocated by good roads enthusiasts is to Issue long time bonds. It. is useless to talk to people already overburdeced with taxes about bonds. They will not stand for It, and they should not. Convict labor, used for road building, will not come In competition with free labor, for road building on an extensive scale Is out of the question If attempted by bond ing; so here Is a plan to which no laborer or taxpayer can object. I do not claim that this plan alone will build all the hard surface roads needed, but it Is a step in the right direction and should be passed and a start made In permanent road building. J. A. GILKEY. Commends Merciful Watchman. Portland, Feb. 4. To the Editor of The Journal Through your paper I wish to commend the nig"ht watchman, C P. Johnson, for his big manliness in not having the heart to shoot down one of his fellow beings, even though he was In the act of robberyi Who knows this robber's past life? Who knows what motive was the cause of the robbery? In the beginning he was one of those precious lltle child lives of God's which we love so much. Un doubtedly It once knew a mother's tender touch. If his mother was like mine or other mothers I have known, which I am sure she wan. as all moth ers are the same In this respect, she PERTINENT COMMENT SMALL CHANGE A man has na real kick ' coming when his wife taika to herself. , Many an expert sw1mmerhas been drowned lu th.sea of matrimony. . . Anyway, we admire a cheerful idiot more than we dp the other kind. - . Some- girls become squint eyed from perusing the magazine beauty hints. . . When an old fashioned farmer trav els he carries most of bis baggage in bis pockets. It takes a man to offer an explana tion to nls wife that doesn't explain anything. - The road to an but too many want to get there with 5 out the trouble of Koinjf. When a man tells a Joke to half a dozen women and they all laugh but one, that one Is his wife, . m r, , Every man who thinks he does all the work he is capable of doing would probably io more If offered a bonus. There are not many couples that can live UP to what the papers said about them when. they were married. It a man could live to be 200 or 300 years' old he might have sense enough to leave off cotton whiskers when he played Santa Claus. If all people were forced to pay as they go, many of us would not only have to quit going forward for a while, but we'd have to retreat, Strange things happen In this world. The story comes from Kew York of a woman who thought her husband dead, and when he appeared on the scene alive and well he 'found that she had not married again FARM MORTGAGE LOANS By John M. Oskison. A recent circular from the controller of the currency to the banks in the federal reserve system makes quite clear the conditions under which the "country bar.ks may lend money on real estate; that is, make farm loans. It is a new line of business for the na tional banks; and, of course, the regu lations look to the safety of the loans. Ordinary buyers of farm mortgages ought to know these requirements and follow them as closely as they can. Of tha seven restrictions on bank farm loans, five are of interest to you and me: 1. The . farm land on which loans are made must be improved. 2. There must be no prior lien. 3. Property must , be located in the district of the bank making the loan. 4. Tha amount of the loan must not exceed SO per cent tt the actual value of the property upon which It Is Se cured. 6. The loan must not be for a period longer than five years. The third requirement that for localizing the loans will not be of general Interest to private investors. used to lay awake nights thinking of what a great and good man her little boy would be some day. But perhaps he lost his mother soon, perhaps many other misfortunes attended his way of life we never had to go through. Per haps at the time of this robbery his body was aching and gnawing for a bit of something to eat, so he hardly knew what he was doing. Perhaps he had a wife and child at home that were hungry, and, being unable to secure work, In his great love and devotion to them ho had taken this last des perate means. Perhaps a thousand and one other thlng3. "But," you ask, "should we let him go unpunished?" No, of course not; but never take a "man's life Just be cause he took a few pieces of worldly metal from you. If necessary I would much rather step out and be shot down than to kill my fellow man. I have never owned a revolver. I wish to praise The Journal for its splendid editorials against tho deadly weapon. I am also highly elated over the abolishment of capital punishment. In my estimation, Mr. Johnson is a big, kind hearted fellow, a lover of his fellow man and worthy of a much higher position than a night watch man. I'd like to shake hands with him. B. "When You Were Unemployed." Portland, Feb. 6. To Ihe Editor of The Journal Were you ever unem ployed? Did you ever walk the street, from early morn till dark of night, trying to get work, and when Saturday night rolled around, you were no bet ter off than you were the first of the week, although you might have had a wagonload of promises? Did you ever try feeding your wife on oatmeal three times a day; your baby on milk, half bf which J you watered? Did you notice the bloom fade from your wife's cheeks and hear your baby's pleading cry, and did your dreams of work, de part, leaving you to face the leaden future? How lightly human sorrow moves the world! Unmindful men pursue their petty ways, swathed in their In dividual aims. Grim death smites some lone fallow creature, or dire want carves a pathetic picture of distress. We yearn and suffer, struggle and expire, unheeded by the tide of life that sweeps upon Its multitudinous ways engrossed in splendid ignorance of our plighted woe. False hopes swarm the dark, tut bright day depicts I reality. Life? What is life when your last dollar is gone, and you are unable to get work? If you have a position your friends are legion, but if unem ployed you have none. ' A mood of bitter reflection is the result of being unemployed. The hart is wounded in the very essence of its being. Yet I live on. and to live I must work; still,- no work, no money, no comforts,, only desolation and de spair my wife broken hearted, my baby pleading, and I unemployed and helpless to relieve the sufferings of my loved ones. , The silent, lonely, forlorn battle that has been going on in my heart dur ing these past few months seems more than I cart well endure; but sometimes, perhaps, when tbe roses bloom again, I can walk out of these shadows into the golden beauty of life if I can find employment. If you've never been up against It, you won't understand; but some day, you may. "JUST IT." Asiatics That Are Excluded. Mohler, Or., Feb. 8. To the Editor of The Journal Please state through your paper if there Is any law at this time excluding Chinese and Japanese from the United States. A SUBSCRIBER. Chinese laborers are. by direct and specific enactment, excluded from this country. Japanese laborers are, by in direction, also excluded. That is to say, the law provides they may not be admitted to the United States with out passports from the government of AND NEWS IN BRIEF OREGON. SIDELIGHTS l. - '-- ' I Th Macksburg correspondent of the Catiby Herald writes: 'when it is con aidered that for -many days the past month the children have had- to wade through water ankle deep, on the way to schawl, too much credit can hardly be accorded to parents and children- In homes from which pupils keep up an unbroken record for steadiness and punctuality in attendance throughout an entire month." - ! "Should the gold discoveries in thi section turn out as successful as pre dicted, says the Kedmond Spokesman, "there will be no need to ask the fed eral government for an appropriation to complete irrigation projects In this part of the state. There will be enough money, and to spare, taken out of the ground to finance every Irrigation project in tne siaie. J: Wlllamina Times: Some of the lea ing business men of the county con demn the wholesale planting of large tracts to orchards to be sold to outside investors." They are right. More cows, clover and mixed farming will prove better in the end. j Salary scale adopted February. 2 by the Lebanon council: Recorder. $300 per year; treasurer, $120; attorney, $300 and extra pay for extraordinary work; marshal, 65 per month; health officer, $10 per year and $1.60 per call. The Moose committee at Hlllsboro. thf Arirua reDorta. Is winding HD its work preparatory to getting the papers ready for the issuing Ot tha bonds for the new Duiiaing. j The Sheridan Sun States that? count ing the trees that are to .be planted this year, there will be 6000 acres la iruit in ine vicinity ot onenaan. The rural press of Oregon- Is unani mous in the report that the ground hps pern is Barely past, xor mis year, Owners of money who livs in citis will not be able to satisfy themselves with farm mortgages on land which they can Inspect. They will have 'to depend upon mortgage dealers who can satisfy them that the other tests have been met. Another regulation dealing with tho banks that make farm loans suggests for the wise investor a measure of safety which he will find profitable to study. It is that the bank may not in v est in farm mortgages more than one- fourth of its. capital and surplus. . Diversification of investment is re quired of the- banks either under na.' tional or state control. Experience has shown its necessity If tha banks are to remain solvent and prosper. I be lieve the average active man who makes money and Invests a part Of what he makes is under the same necessity. Follow the government's practices in the regulation of bank investments and you will achieve the first and most vital end that of keping your money safe. And next, you wfll not be oaugbt with all your eggs In one basket if you have to raise money. A FEW SMILES To the grouchy looking person who bad boarded nls car tbe conductor said, as he re turned him his transfer: - j This transfer expired ten mi ro utes ago." J Whereupon, with a growl, the man dug for a nickel and, as he handed it to the conductor, ooservea: j "No wonder, with not a single ven tilator open in tha whole car." Har per's Magazine. . In a certain Arkansas logging camp the comnanv ma i ntnirtti iVira - w mm ar' Tva who attends, the residents, of the camp mm bubo ine lammea of such employes as live back In the hills. One day he was sum moned to the home of a newly hired native, with the assurance that he was "wanted powerful bad." With all haste he started, winding up one rough bollow after another. "uo me roaa was a mere tradition, and came at last to a decrepit log house. As he opened the gate a hun gry looking woman came to the door and called: "Be yo' the comp'ny doctor? "Yes. I'm the doctor. Who is slek?" "Don't reckon thars nobody sick, doctor." ; "Well, why In the world did you send for me if no one is sick?" "Hit's this way, doctor; we-uns is on the puny order a right smart, an' mought need yo' most any time. My ole man said yo" sure would cpme whenever we sent for yo'; but he's such a no 'count liar thet I dassen't trust his sayso, so I wanted to . see fo myself. An here yo' be!" Every body's Magazine. "Dear May," wrote the young man. "pardon me. but I'm getting so forgetful. I proposed to von last night, but reai- ' ly tofget whthr I you said yes or no" "Dear Will," -she replied by note, "nn glad to hoar, frnm you. i know I said W to some one last night, but I had forgotten Just who it was." , Japan; and that government refuses to Issue the passports. Subjects of both China and Japan, such as merchants travelers, students and others of like standing, are admitted. No Such Movement Apparent. I Portland, Or., Feb. 4. ..To the Editor of The Journal Is there a movement in Portland or other coast cities to or ganize the unorganized women, such as milliners, dressmakers, stenographers, domestic servants and so forth? How would such organisations he brought about? If there are any of The Jour nal's readers interested in this subject, I would be glad to have their opinions VI DEL JENNBi, ." Trial by Ordeal. From the Detroit News. j A man sning a railroad company in the United States court in New Or leans sought to convince the Jury that his legs were paralysed by having fire applied to the flesh. He mani fested no discomfort during tlvl de monstration. , i Nt day the railroad's attorney stabbed himself five times in the back of the hand to prove - that any man could steel - himself to endure pain without wincing. : i We await -word that the plaintiff has appeared in court wearing patent leather shoes two sizes smaller than his feet; that' the opposing counsel has pulled his own eye teeth; .that the plaintiff has retaliated by violently kicking a brick, and that, in summing up. the railroad lawyer pours a sack ful of bees down the back of his own neck. I 1 ZJ im I "IS fcAELT KITI" By Its IVoeUey. Bpsoial Staff Writar ot The journal. ; . The midsummer sun beats" merci lessly down upon the eastern Oregon desert.'; Tbe whole plain Is like the top of a vast superheated range. There is no escape from the grilling un uu v v nur itrai iTiivcicQ neat lrum shimmering sands under foot. Tho whole landscape is a-qulver with. the rising heat waves. The Wheels creak as they. sink Into the yielding sand while the perspir ing horses plod onward slowly. From the scanty shelter of the dust-covered sagebrush a J&ckrabbtt lopes awk wardly away, pausing a few yards dis tant, its mule-ltke ears pointing for ward , with curiosity. The horned toads, .like miniature gargoyles, squat inert by the roadside, .or,- alarmed, scurr& to shelter beneath the- twisted roots and contorted limbs of the sage brush. ' . - f-:- " ' ' Here the whitening bones of an In dian cayuse are scattered promiscu ously, a grim reminder of some long past banquet of prowling coyotes. The bare, 'weather-bleached skull with its brAsri nlh.. .. - . ..... w- fOMpv w a, L 1 W-aasasV , f a a perpetual smile, but the gayety Of the teeth Is belted by the sombre and. cavernous eye-sockets, eloquent of desolation. A mottled yellow-brown snake moves with sinuous grace among the bleaching bones. At your approach it pauses, throws . Its body Into coil, raises Its triangular shaped head, and you hear the weird, nerve racking warning of Its Vibrating rat tles. With sinister, unblinking eyes, it watches you. while its forked tongue plays angrily back and forth. A shadow moves slowly across the road in front of your horses. From the shadow you -look upward to where a buzzard floats In ever-widening Ir. cles, a black' silhouette against the cloudless turquoise of the sky. Tha whitened bones, , the cactus with' its blotched and spine-covereJ lobes, the circling buzzard, the cow ardly coyote slinking up the draw the scene is typical of death and deso lation. - When you pass that way again, you will see here and there khaki clad fig ures with their stakes and chains and instruments. A great gash has been cut across the sagebrush waste; scores of men .and teams are extending 'and widening tbe gray scar across the face Of the desolate plain. The clank of chains on scrapers, the creak ot sweat-covered harness as the straining horses drsg . the finely pulverized, flour-like volcanic, ash up the banks of the cut, comes to the ear. Event ually, a yellow-brown flood is led from the Umatilla river into the res ervoir and drawn through miles of radiating ditches. Come back again. Lot a miracle has taken place. Here, in the land of little rain, where sand and sage brush reigned supreme, you will see sn ever-extending carpet of velvety green. Where the rattlesnake crawled' over the bleaching bones stands the Hermiston school house with a score or so of bronzed-faced young Ameri cans playing 'in. the yard. - Here in the desert,- water Is king and the desert is the bride of the king. For centuries the great gray waste has lain passive, dormant, asleep. The desert has been waiting; she has not known for what At the coming of the king she feels, a thrill ot life, throws off her trance-like sleep, and., as though by magic, adorns herself in wondrous green, as befits a desert bride. When the desert and the water meet, things do not seem merely to grow- they almost leap from the fer tile earth, so rapid is their develop ment through nature's wondrous al chemy. Here in the one-time desert you may now see mile upon mile of Waving alfalfa. Stand by the side of a vividly green field of alfalfa, on a day In early summer, and watch It swaying and bending beneath the caress of the west wind until the whole' surface ripples with tiny waves, like the surface of some inland lake; the blossoms form a purple haze over the surface of the field, and as the delicate tints of green and purple blend and merge in the vagrant breeze It is as though you were looking at a field of-changeable silk shimmering In the sunlight. The swaying stalks, the nodding leaves and blossoms keep up a gentle murmur as though they were whispering age-old secrets learned from the Arabs who gave - alfalfa Its musical name, end who grew It when Mecca and Ispahan, Bagdad and Damascus were but vil lages. . ' . We are apt to think of alfalfa as a newcomer among the forage crops, yet it is as old as history. Long before the Christian era' the shepherds by the shores of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf knew Its worth.. Th flocks and herds of th snclent Greeks were fed on alfalfa and the world-conquering Romans carried the seeds of alfalfa to the countries they conquered. ' . When tha Spaniards came from Ara gon ahd Castile to the new "world on " ... y .. m,iui.liuii aiiu i;vii quest, they brought In- the holds of their vessels alfalfa hay for their horses, amd with a thought for the future they brought along and planted some alfalfa seed. From Mexico It was carried to the west coast '-. of South America. It did not come ' to to our own coast until the discovery of gold In California. The flrat we know of in the west was planted In California in 1854. It has turned th narren sagebrush waste of eastern Oregon into a farmer's paradise and has built railroads and cities through out tne semi-arid region. The Ragtime Muse i Divided Allegiance. I ussd to be the meanest kid ' That ever wuz I guess- I'd let my pup c-hsse all the cats And muddy sister's dress; I'd play in school, an' shoot a Jot O paper wads about. An' shin up. trees, an' scuff my shoes. An post ins winders out! But now I'm sick in bd, an' no X ain't so awful bad: I can't tell Just how sick I srn, Ner what I've gone an' had. I used to do lust what I pleased, But now, I'm tellln' you,. , I guess I Hln't a-doin' much X snouian t ougm to uv. Perhaps I ought to try an be A whole lot better boy An' make my parents proud an glad An' fill their hearts witn joy. X kind o almost wsnt a chance To be as good's I kin; But I won't know fer sure until The doctor has been In! Q. K. D. Answer. From Puck, Teacber-i-If a batted ball travels V feet In a second, how far will it go in 3 1-3 second s 7 ' Boy It depends on the outfilders. ma am. i ; Too Much to Hear. From Judge. ' Frisnd Why are you crying, Bobby ? Bobby Ma whipped me Iw-auw ray face was dirty, and then washed it.