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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1915)
THJ3 OREGON DAU.Y JOURNAL, PORTLAND, THURSDAY MAY 27. 1915. rijr If"! I jrjrCI Al iM'r iauames, will be charges 1 J W WJNNW with, the duty r of supplying the INDEPENDENT gEWSr'Al'EB. C. 8. SA.CHSOS i'Uttlwbea werr nuiki ji-rrt Sunday ) an wig, sroaawsy ana I sainiii u., roaunarui. tntert-d t thpotoiiice' at I'ortland. Or., for tr mm jxUaoc lkrouii llis nuUi m seeoao clan stutter. ; - ' .'. k,U.tHiSi.ZrlUa 71T; Haw. A-OSJ. All eepartnieut reacted Jy apw somber. Tel) the epethUtr 4rhiit 4epartutet 90a west. - In fc fc.saj.uc .Co.. BfUimwlc ' BU-., . a llht., Chicago. - ' fcubscrJpUoo term ' by 'mil or to say ao rae Im ti Unite fcfetloes &A.1XY. On 6m year..,, ..3.00 I Ooe pojitli.I?, - -BO ear...... 12.60 J Od aooBtb......$ .23 DAILY AND SUNDAY. . Cm ru I7JW i Oae aiooth. ...... .9 -S3 Everylasting jife will "be yours if, you deserve It. But make sure of this: If you are to be a great soul in Heaven, you have got to begin to be a great soul here.r Elbert Hub bard. the j:RjJ4K4ar IT JS a fairly safe guess that, when a the facts are in, it will be found that the Nebraskan was not torpedoed. " the relations between Washing - ton and Berlin are so delicate at this time, that it is impossible to believe that a German submarine, even through nils taken Identity, aimed a torpedo at an American ship. To have done so by design of a submarine commander would be a most unfortunate act for Berlin, whose representations in the forthcoming reply to the Amer ican .note respecting the Lusitania couldj be prepared only ynder the greatest embarrassmept as a result of " the damaged Nebraskan.. While It way ultimately develop every consideration of djplomaey and the whole logic of the situation are against that theory. ITS FRIEXUS APPROVE M ANY expressions of comment dation are coming to The Journal over recent improve-; ments in the paper The frequent remark of read ers is that there is no use to -carrse the news of the world is printed in The Journal the after. noon before.f And that Is literally true. The i Journal's afternoos editions con-; tain- all the- big ews from the ; European capitals for which the reader of the morning paper must wait, until 6 or 7 o'clock the next day. The aoen, edition of , The "Journal carries miieh news which appears in the morning paper the next day, 18 to 20 hours later. ' , Most of the world from which news originates is abed within a short tithe after the last edition of The Journal appears. When it is" 3 o'clock in the afternoon in Portland, it is 11 o'clock in Lon don, 11:16 in Paris, midnight in Berlin, Vienna and Rome, and 1:45 a. m. in Petrograd. The " day's i work, whether in war or whatnot, is done, and nothing more happens until after the morning paper is Issued. Meanwhile,- all the his world happenings of the day have, through the cables and , telegraphs reached The Journal, haye been -hurried into the afternoon editions, and the paper has gone to its read ers for perusal on the day that the events occurred, so that there is little or nothing left for morning papers to add except unimportant ana oiten tedious details. Never before has The .Tnnmai been so full and so complete ' a newspaper. The many expressions - of 'approval from -its readers are gritifylng in the appreciation they show. Mpre improvements are to be made, for the paper has not reached -the ideal of its publisher. As the resources which the patrons of .the paper supply reach 'The Journal, they are constantly Dut back into the naner in added im- provements. ' Th Journal is an institution of which all who aid in its making are proud, because they think it ( representative of the enterprise and resources of the pregon country", BRITAIN'S NEW CABINET. GREAT BRITAIN'S new cabinet, undoubtedly contains Eng lands strongest men in pub lic life. It is composed of twelve Liberals, eight Unionists, one Laborite and one non-oartisan Lord Kitchener, who remains see-! retary of war. Reorganization of the cabinet was undertaken to restore public conriaenpe in tne government Criticism of the war and admiralty departments had become geyere Mr. Churchlli, ilrst lord of the ad miralty, was accused of opposing or ignoring trained sea fighters in directing operations of the British : fleet, ' '. Lord Kitchener was criticised for supplying the British troops ln France with shrapnel instead of hgh explosives, with the result, it i was ciaimea, : tnat trre troops suf fered unnecessary losses. It was admitted by all that Kitchener Is a good organizer, but ha critics in sisted that he di4 not appreciate a the start the sort of warfare which would be waged, .and depended too much upon methods he used in Africa. Kitchener remains secretary of war, but a large share of his for mer duties will be taken .over by David Lloyd-George, who, -as m in- . 1 array witft .he aimnniuoii u neas, ana ait it seeds. The sigaifieauce ,0$ (bjs change JJUss in the "fact that the former chancellor of .the ex chequer is supposed to be the best man in JEpgJand handle labor problems. : . Mr. Churchill will hold a compar atively unimportant, position . as chancellor of the Duchy, of JancasT ter. Jlr. Balfour, who succeeds him as first Jprd of the admiralty, is one ot the strong men of Eng land. :yj . The personnel of the new cabinet Bhows that ,the Liberals will retain chief responsibility for the conduct of government. Nt PLACE ; 1PK POMTICIAA'S T HE proposal te partylze the Portland city hall has been abandoned by (he Republican county committee. It is a wise decision. Politics couldn't possibly be of assistance in preparing the annual budget of expenditures. Partisanship wouldn't lower the cost of, paving nor get a better quality of paving. Filling the city hall with poll ticians wouldn't increase the effi? clency of the police, p.or add. to the effectiveness of the firemen, or secure better regulation of public service corporations. Putting poll ticians on the city pay rolls wouldn't lower the cost of governments but would add to the cost of govern ment; wouldn't put municipal af fairs on a more businesslike bass, but a less businesslike basis; wouldn't improve the tone of the city administration, but would lower the tone of city administra tion, Ever since politics was removed irom tne city nan oy adoption 01 the commission charter, people have a new confidence in their public affairs They have a new confidence in their public officials. They have ; a new confidence in their city government. By being divereed from politics, the officials at the head of the city government are free tg devote all their time to elty business. By'be- iQg under no obligations 'to poll ticians, the officials feel that they owe obligations only to , the people, and theyf therefore, apply all their It i3 a condition tl at oust not to' be changed, because it is an ap- ,.: proxjmation of ideal government. Jt is a kind of government rare among cities, a kind of government that the people Of most cities are lone- ing for. It is a kind of government that Portland should hold to and pro- tect, by resisting every effort of politicians tq again get their hands on the business affairs of this city. A WAY TO CHEAPER WATER- I T OUGHT to be the aim in Port land tQ lower the. eeat of water to consumers. Water is a parjtof life. The human body is 67 per cent water. There must be water at every step in existence. Water is as essential M a'r an ou5Bt t0 e almost as Cheap But very little has been done in Portland to make water cheaper, Mayor Lane in his time strove for reductions. Commissioner Daly has reduced and is striviag to still fur ther reduce rates. Bu politicians ang certain in terests have always insisted upon a policy that has kept rates high and that, if continued will make them still higher. They demand that there shall be no . regulation of the flow of water out f the distribution system, They want tbe delivery end of the system to be a Sat unregulated gejve " - "'vHtj wliv vur u floods, unchecked, unobserved, un measured and unp'id for. With no restraint upen the out flow, there naturally has te be provision for enormous volumes of water in order to keep the pipes full. With no dam at the lower end, there must be vast pipe line capacity : to Bull Run. Provision jfor these added pipe lines to Bull Ran at more tnan a miliiea dollars : apiece costs heavily, and the water consumers have ultimately to pay That help.s keep water rafes high. To deliver through the city all this water that is escaping unpaid for at the lower end of the system, theremust be more and bigger dis? tributing mains. They are putting in such a mala for the raertheast side now at a cost of $312,000. It is supplementary to a 24-inch main already in that service and would not be needed except for the. great wasted flow; of water that runs through the pipes unpaid for. That added pipe line posting $32,0Q0 has to be paid for ultimately by water consumers, and it helps keep rates hiih. i Other mains, lilr it ! all over town a,nd still others that must be built and to be paid for by water consumers, help to keep rates high. Thf S there are reservoirs that have to.be built aj'Ve'paired and maintained because of the unregu lated and unchecked flOW Of UUt paid for water at the delivery end of the system, which the water consumers ' haye to pay for ulti mately, and they help to keep rates high. ,.; Here is an illustration of how this unbusinesslike conduct of the water system works: Pipe Iinhro. 1 delivers, 2 2.QG0, 000 gallons I of water from Btjji Run to Portland every 24 hpurs. At the present rate of 12 cents per 1000 rations which consumers pay for water, the revenue from f) I: i " . the 22.000,000 galloaa ia that pips line would ue 12640 per day, S 79. 20p permonth and 96i,00 per year. Yet "all the reweaue the city gets Imb all the water delivered ia both the pipe lines to Bull Run is SS$0,eOO. That is ta say, the manner of getting pay for the water is so bad .that we get fits, 600 less revenue from all the water delivered through both pipe lines than we ought, by proper manage ment, to get from the old, and smaller pipe line. Si t . That ia why Portland consumers haye to pay 12 pants per 1000 gal? Ions for water, while Milwaukee, Wisconsin, consumers pay but six cents. ;; AJ KEEP COXIEGE. RECOMMENDATION for or ganized,' centralized and 0- ordioated philanthropy in Portlaad cawe fron th? Ore A gon State Conference of Charities and Corrections at Reed eollege. It Is on 9t numeroua excellent suggestions that have come out pf the conferences at that educational center. Radiating from that insti tution are many Influences for the betterment of life ; conditions. Among these Influences' are the training and thought impulses in grained into the many strong. young people attending the institu tion, who are presently te go out Into the world earrying with them - , x... ms uroaa iuw ui uuiiii. nuu atmosphere at Reed college, Prominent In the cqnference pro ceedings were the surveys by stu dents and the reports "of housing, sanitation and other life conditions in this. city. These are intensely practical applications of educative agancieg, and they are certain to ultimately exercise a strong ana elevating influence in the moulding of Portland. The recommendatioB fpr eo-or- dination and centralizing of Port? land charities is sound and con structive. In five months of effort, in which such co-ordination and co-operation were applied thrpijgh The Jpgrnal's Winter Relief Bu reau, a vast and useful experience was ghined, in which the waste of charity funds in overhead expense and duplication of work was power fully exemplified. Many applicants for aid under disorganized charity get double or treble allowances, wnie otners go hungry and shelterless. Heavy contributions of fund? never get to the needy at all, but are absosbed in rents, publicity, salaries and du plicated and often useless outlays. The Journal's "Winter Relief Bu reau was coordinated, and in co operation with -various other eharr ity organizations; and in the five months that it was kept in service the bureau carried charjty to more than 800 needy families, which in cluded more than 4000 persons. And the whole lesson of that ex tended experience is an impressive and convincing showing that there can be- pp intelligent pr effective charity work, except by organiza tion and co-ordination of all such activities under one centralized and intelligent, head. Assessor Reed figures that Ore gon pays 136,828,000 annually m government, state and mugjcipal taxes. It is S45. 41 per capita on an estimated population of 808,- 000. The figures are interesting, but their value lies in Mr. Reed'g statement that everybody pays taxes, whether a property owner or not. ,Thais one reason why everybody has a direct interest in government and should show it with the ballot. The Pullman Car company's Pprtjaad superintendent says all the, company's sleeping cars avail able for July and August have been eoatraeted for. Tourists are com, ing west by the carload, and they will have their eyes open. Port land should have its eyes epea to the necessity of demonstrating what a real city Portland is. A Philadelphia eommlttee is ar ranging for a national celebration of Independence Day, and asks that "The Star Spangled Banner" be sung all over tne United States at noon on July .4. That's the sort of safe and sane Fourth every American should enjoy. : Neither the pempcratjc bpf Re publican party will win at the next election, ' says Victor ; Murdock. g.O sweeping a. prediction by the popular Kansas statesman is like another bath in the River pf Doubt. New . York's constitutional cpb vention is to celebrate-the seven hundredth anniversary of Magna Charta June 15. It is significant that the celebration js to be Jq th8 Unite4 States, not EurPe- After the war is over no single political party in Great Britain can claim the credit-for victory or de feat. That is one advantage in hav ing a coalition eahinet. The feuek can not be passed. ; A. petrified dinosaur is said to have been dug up in. Colorado. A number of other unlovely things have been uncovered in that state, hut they were not . petrified. Oklahoma is inviting Invasion by an army of 20,000 harvest hands. It ij pleasant to contemplate in these times an invading host armed with harvesting tools. , " '."i . .-'-'';', Somebody has come forward with the discouraging Information that .it will take" 50 years after the war ta correct same ef the wajr.'ioeat. o - the futility suteamaa rumors. . ship ; eve$ whn most farrlght?l! - V 1 j r"1 1 , : ! tEBpecially bitter must be th dlsap Portland V will soon sea what real live rajah looks like. The Maharajah of Kapurthla, accom panied by one of hi Wives, la ea route,' Editorial paragrapheFs who try to a, void war topics, fid at the Close of the day that their battinf average Is about .160. Let us hope that the town of Szc?brzszyn, In Poland, wlljl ?ver hi besieged. ITALY'S PORTION IN THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE FMm U New Yojrk Bvoiar FMt. T JJE : Italian governnjent is not opjy raaiBj history today; i( is furnishing ne wknowledge of past history. By publishing the . dis patches which have passed between I&ome, and Vienna, it is giving te the? world a - better understanding than w have before had of the ex act nature of thg triple alliance. It is something like a secret article of secret treaty that ftaJy now fjaakes public, Without quoting this article except by number, the Green Book makes it cjear that Jtly had a tech nical case for "compensation.. ; That is te eay, if either Austria or Qer- T "Tt , f. Italy was to be enUUad to ter jiJ. sertion is made that the attack of Austria upon Serbia prpygftt . this se cret agreement Into play. Accordingly, the Italian government at once began to ress the Austrjaj for the "com pensations" due. At first, the Austrian foreign minister denied that Italy had a case: but finally 4t may be under German tutelage- he admitted the force of the Italian contention, and begun the Ions and rather sordid negotiation over terms. This has now broken down. The haggling is at an end. Italy has - declared the triple alliance no longer binding , upon her, and holds her band free to make war upon her former allies. . - These disclosures' put us for the first time in possession of what may be called Italy's standing in court. v aes njfw. v& wf coua o. pewrc ; -x'd love to go," explained the coo tbe tecfcflicjJ, SU iMla t?r hsr pro- sclentious maid, "but, to tell you the feedings. She M-T a lawful claim under the treaty with AU8tria and Germany. This she has hcen press ing for months; and now, after she has failed to get as much as she wanted, she merely breaks the matter ' sfaprt, accuses Austria, of not living ; up to treaty obligations, and puts her- ! self In readiness for war. The world has long been wondering what osten- j sible casus hem Italy could find, Now we know. She can point to the triple alliaaee and affirm that the rights accorded her by It have pot been respected. This, pf epijrte. is a purely legalistic justfeatiB. t does not & t the moral bearings of the case. In impartial eye, it will pot make Italy's position glorious, or even handsome. She has today too much the appearance of having invited bids for her support in the war, and of having finally gone where the highest prUe was offered. That her statesmen have displayed great skill throughout the crisis must be admitted. They gained the delay necessary to. arm, at the same time that they took u the i same um i-ns-t wey w werk eg sluiping Italian pinion, and kept th PPWrs lp (Joubt. finally, , of dollars per day, were constantly at in most dramatic fashion, they forced 'work removing tb$ landslides. Recent th f th kinr and snJUpd th lly' after they had treated the 'lsas.8'' the 4 Wn " Plire!for months, they wisely concluded to suu - " uuuiinani aiujiiu, scrape off the mountain tops and thus If the war goes well, and Italian J "remove the cause." Now, Mr. Editor, dreams are realised, the aamas of jve us another of your able editorials Salandra and Sonnino will be placed. f" teU us ho J . whf ln yo"r opin" wm. . mwf . t w "jion, causes these drug fiends. No well alongside eaveur s. Yet even so the balanced mind will believe that any friends of Italy in peutral countries person is going to drug store and cannot help regretting that, in all ... v,,i: i,.- , .(j this business, she has not stood mor , erect before the world. e -.As for, the now defunct triple alli ance itself, it was always an un- natural alliance, so far as Italy was concerned. Sh may have found her, iust t it, especially by securing a freer hand Jn Africa, than she would, otherwise have had; but it remained foe her, as it did for Austria, a : strange wedding of incompatibilities, j Italy was taken into the triple alli aaee only because Russia withdrew from the dreikaiserbund. Bismarck and is responsible ror a large percent was always perfectly frank about of tlV-- a nerve - ,, ,., i I cries out to the brain that some organ this. And he never concealed his eypi-jof body is in distress, the medical cisra in regard te the position which j doctor narcoses the nerve with mor Italy might take ia case of war. His phlne and lets the disease take care of . lt4.t- v.VAIW . 'itself. However, if the doctor's wife hopes hardly Wt beyffnj an shouid ph0ne him at the office that his demonstraUPR ea th Freoch frontier. jretidence was on firet wouid he nkeiy $yt today fh lB across the frontier) cut the wire and let the house take in thS embrace of France!- There is'care of itself? So long as we license a paasagio BiSCWCre reminiscences ''Phf to mke drug fiends, why 9 - ' not license sajoons to make drunkardsT Iij which he comes pretty near to We alj believed opeg that certain foreseeing the atual situation today, amount of liquor was good for certain He thought it probable that, ope day, UUs of mankind. We know now that Austria nd Oermany would haye to 1 gj- and .-4 face Russia and Fraiee in arms. In j absolutely unnecessary, but that it is case Italy were"- to be loyal to the j the greatest eurse en the earth today. alliance, there need be no great fear. But Bismarck added that there was ever a possibility that ancient national animosities and ambitions might b stirred ia Itajy, and that she might matt war upn Austria in a struggle 7 1 VtrZ nt th. Adrtati. In for the control of the Adriatic, that event, pismarca reeoraea D9ipttpe.rB concerning Germany's ways, opinion that the fight would be "un-'which have been written by people who eaual" for Austria and Germany, 'evidently do not understand Germany's Wat would he have thought wttH England added te the list of Ger? many's enemies? . ,-'. The end of the triple alliance was assured before Italy formally "de nounced" It en May 4." The brains were out ef it long ago. its extinc tion was certain two months after the war broke out- Whatever : the outcome of the conflict, the old align ment of the European nations could not, persist- - Tt thers i an ioevi table sense of melancholy In witness ing this downfall Of tbe whols fabric reared by Bismarck. ' What a com- pointmeat at this failure ef what was Ions; hailed as the sure aruarawtee ef peace. Boastings on that score were no "more "common at the meetings of the three menarchs ef the triple alli ance 'that at the conferences between the czar of Russia and the president of , the French .republic, with their iteration of the phrase, "la paix est assuree. We "begin to understand bet ter, now what Sir Edward "ftrey meant when he warned the kaiser last July of the "incalculable- consequences' of war. Yet there are gentlemen in nearly every streeteajry certainly ii every club' asjso. we edmlt, in eorne news paper offices who are confidently re making the map .of Europe and read ing in oracular fashion the book of fake. The events we are witnessing reinforce the humble conclusion of the poet: "Sometimes t think 'twere best to leave the Lord alone." A FEW SMILES. The excite mnt of the biggest wheat crop he had ever known led a farmer near "Wlnfleld, tCan., to rouse his men at 3 o'clock in the morning on the first dfLy of the harvest. One Ozark "hill billy," iwho had sought work la the western wheat fields, tumbled out of bed at the farm er's call ana was eagerly eating break fast when . his fellow workmen ap peared. After he had stowed away a quantity of hot cakes, four fried eggs and two cups of coffee, be arese from the table and grabbed his suitcase. The farmer caught the g leaps of the wan derlust in his eye. "Look here!" be said in alarm. Where are you startin' to?" The "hill billy" did not stop, but called back over his shoulder: "To find some decent place where I c'n sleep the" rest' " of " the 'night!" Youth's Companion'. Two nursemaids were wheeling their infant charges in the park when one asked the ether: "Are ypu going tp the dance tomorrow afternoon?" 'T am Afraid not." "W h a t!" e x- claimed the other. "And you so fond of dancing 11 am airia to leave tne baoy i with its mother." Percy "W a m, that fair down to your ehurch a suc cess?" Harold "Almost, But not quite." ' Percy "Why?" Harold "Two men managed to es- P wltil Uici1' carfare. Letters From the People (Communications sent to The Journal for ncbUcatioD Is ifcls department sbould be writ ten on only not side of the pi per, should nut txeeed 300 word is length sad nuts fc be ac companied by the came and address Vf the sender. If the writer does Dot desire to have mo luune puou&nea, ne suoe.14 so state.) "Discussion is the are test ef all reformers. It rationalizes everything it teaches. It robe principles of aU fabla sanctity and throws then back on their reasonableness. If they have no reasonableness, it ruthlessly crushes them out ei exuieiicv mu sets up its own conclusions ta men - arw vtnsea. Why the Drug Fiend? Oregon City, Or., May 20. To the Ed itor of The Journal I have read your recent editorial relative to the drug h.hif nwr. in oi Di jnsense dredges, at the cost of thousands purchase morphine, codein, heroin or any or tne products or opium to deub- ooniV. v, av.it ty,- was a time when certain proprietary remedies, especially catarrh and cough remedies, contatnea narcotics to a great degree, but since a wise law has ' caused all formulas to be printed on every patent medicine label, much of this has been taken orr tne market. A man who would hesitate to commit a npltv r f f n t: o frvr- xxj H i t; U' v- wAillfl nraiiv oer to obtaln morphine, Why all this hullabaloo, then, about the saloon man, who sells a glass of br. ani nothing said about the doctor product of opium, is -the active princi ple of nearly every cough prescription Then why not ''remove the cause," Mr. Editor, and prohibit the dispensing of narcotics by doctors of medicine? Tall us your idea pf this, please. R. C. JH. Charges England With Lusitania. Payton. Or., May 84---TO the Editor ,ot The Journal I have notice Several trtteleB ln Thtt: journal and other that any nation has as .good a right to existence as any other, and has the right t to take the necessary steps to maintain its existence All was riding smoothly,. Then Eng land denied food to German civilians. Germany protested to England, meu trals and aU, but in vain. Then Ger many declared tbe blockade, which was right and Just, She told neutrals to look out,- and that they shipped at their own risk. But they said," -'We should worry," and went one And since then America, has lostyeraj ships . And then theLusltahia. There she was, a hostile ship, loaded with ammu nition; sad contraband, and carrying passengers, and neutrals too,' to pro tect war supplies, And bow that the r-" ' I PERTINENT COMMENT AND NEWS IN BRIEF SMALL CHANGE A cm is something known to but one person, e - The homelier a man the more his wife trusts him. If a man is married he is foolish to talk in his -sleep. Every man may have his price, but net every man finds a. market. , . Every man Imagines that he eau put up a convincing argument, but can net . , " The really smart man who has money te invest in a sure thing is too smart to do it. Experience teaches us that a lot of experience doesn't teach us acy thing. You cajj tell by some men's action that they are used to eating off a red tablecloth. . The workman's compensation law doesn't enutle a man to damages for the accident of birth. - ' So arrange your affairs that when a bill collector calls you won't need to invite him to call again. What has become of the old fashioned editor who used to say "Mesdames" when writing of two or more married women? The average man is proud of his ability as a letter writer until a few f them show up ia a breach ef prom ise suit.. HOW WILL YOU VOTE ON THIS? TO AMEND IMPROVEMENT BOND PROVISION To amend improvement bond pre vision. "An act repealing section 278 of the charter and enacting, a new section providing for the payment, in twenty semi-annual installments, ef assess ments of five dollars or more for the improvement of streets or the laying of , sewers, providing for the sale of bonds to pay for sueh improvements and sewers, and providing for the redemption thereof and for the sale of property for delinquent install ments. "Shall the charter be amended by repealing section J8 thereof and sub stituting in lieu of .said section S7S a new section numbered 278? "114. Yes. "115. No." This is one of the measures to be submitted -to the voters at the regu lar city election .Monday, June ?. It was initiated by the city council. The amendment, if adopted, will change the provisions of the present Bancroft bonding act, make it easier for the property 'owner to bond his property for street and sewer assess ments and 'at the same time afford the city more protection in handling the improvement bonds. It i looked upon with favor by all ef the city of ficials and apparently there is no op position. The present law allows property owners to bond the assessments for street or sewer work when the as sessments amount to $25 or more, and requires that application for bonding must be filed within 10 days after notice is given. The assessments or bonded install ments are for 10 years under the present act and these assessments are payable in 10 annual installments. The law requires that improvement bonds sold must not be of greater denomination than t&QQ, Under this WHY THE M., K. By John M. dsklson. To pay off obligations then falling due the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Rail road compajny on May 1, 1213, sold $ia,008,09t .of two year 5 per cent se cured gold notes. May 1, this year, those notes fell due. The railway company could not pay them. Over the pames 'of the company's chairman of the board of directors and president a plea to the noteholders for a year's extension at 6 per con; interest was put out- In the statement were these words: i "The present emergency Is not due to lack of earning power, as the prop erty is showing increases both in gross and net earnings and a surplus over aU fied charges, but is due to the maturing at r unfavorable time of this large amount of capital obli gations. A few days before the maturity of the $19,000,000 of notes another, but unsigned statement, went out to the noteholders, in which Jt was said that tVtolr nnlv hnn of zettine naid was to grant the asked-for extension. Nc4 creditor, said this statement, who rel fused to agree to exenange nis a per trick failed, they would embroil the world ia support of their methods. Lord Beresford accused Germany of doing this to make America declare war. and held that England was in no way responsible, but to my mind tbe old adage fits well in this case, "He who excuses, accuses." And that not only, but England has this circumstantial evidence against her: She knows the Russians are near ly useless now. She knows the Darda nelles will probably bold out. She knows to drive Germany back is next to an impossibility. She knows Ger many is self-supporting. She knows her men and money are going fast. She knows every German will fight to the last to protect the land he loves and that there are 12,000.000 yet under 45 which are in reserve- And knowing this she cannot but know, that unless other countries are drawn in to beip the allies, victory ror them is quite un certain, and as 'She faees tne grim reality she sees England's doom. So under the circumstances she is prone to do anything which win stir tne peutrals to action, and she made a great stroke in that direction when, in my belief, she made it a point to hart the Lusitania sunk. She knew that as sure as tbe sun would set. it would be sunk, so she crowded hundreds on, telling them a torpedo-could not sink her. a: submarine could net catch her and the English navy would protect and the pjgHsh nai her but it happened W. E. GRABENHORST. V Better Jlere. T Scotts Mills, Qr May 21. To the Editor of The Journal- The word of Herman Ridder ring true and clear. They show that the United States is not wrong when It accepts the pledge Of support from these who com for the purpose of making homes for them selves. . . " Dr. Demburg may tell them through some papers the things he wants them to know, but he cannot tell them for whose home they shall fight. I have lived In a German neighborhood for the past 15 years. Three or four days ago I cflled on family who have not lived png in this country. The carrier brought them a letter from Germany. Butter was 35 cents per pound; eggs 23 cents per dozen; pigs could be bad at $1 each; horses were high. In dis cussing tlie war you find Umlr every. OREGON SIDELIGHTS , The Eufcene Coffee elub, after an auspicious career of two years' dura tion, has been closed. -; "There are too many fires of uncer tain origin In this vicinity, let's have no more of them," admonishes tee Baker Herald. e e . A movement looking to the organiz ing of a union high school district has evoked favorable sentiment at Molalla. One meeting has already been held. "Some slight improvement of tbo matchwood market.' says the Bandon Recorder, "Is interesting the holders of this material. There is something iiae 6oa cords of matchwood cut in the vicinity of Bandon." e e Newberg Graphic: Every newspaper editor has a right to his own notions regarding the makeup of his paper, but the double column editorial fad of re cent years has never appealed to the writer a little bit. Ornithological appreciation in Leba non Express: "The birds do not seem to mind the rain, but are singing early and late. There Is a large variety of birds in .Lebanon and vicinity, and those who love the feathered songster greatly enjoy their presence." La Grande Observer: Equal assess ment of property is a Job that even John Eatoa of Union admits is ;huge undertaking. His address yesterday to th taxpayers indicates that I his board is ready to accept any proposi tion from the people that will clarify the atmosphere in the tax departments. law the city is required to pay the interest on the bonds semi-annually, while it collects from the property owners only annually, being required to advance money from the city's general fund every six months to pay the interest oh the bonds. Under the present system more than $760,000 has been advanced from the general fund, no part pf which haa ever been re turned. The present law also requires that if the installments are not tfaid when due, they become delinquent and may bo collected by the city? disposing of the property. v The amendmests, if adopted, Will allow any property owner, where the assessment is mora than IS, to bend, and will extend the time for filing bonding applications from 10 to 0 days. 'They will allow1 property own ers to pay the assessments in 20 semi annual installments instead of 10 an nual installments. The changes, If mad, will allow the city to increase the denomination of the bends up to $1000, where the pres ent limit is f &oo, in many cases large bond buyers purchase blocks ef bonds amounting to thousands of dollars. It costs about 12 cents for each bond, and if the city can issue them in de nominations up to 11000 considerable will b saved, as in many instances it will be possible to Issue bonds In denominations) of S1000. With the changt-s mada the city will pay the Interest on the bonds semi-annually and collect from the property semi annually, thus obviating the necessity of making loans to provide for the payment of interest. The proposed amendment win pro vide that If assessments are not paid when duo all unpaid installments be come delinquent 20 days thereafter, but may be reinstated by the payment of s per cent on unpaid assessments Derore oaie oi sale. & T. CANT PAY cent due notes for 9 per cent notes due May I, 1916, would, get a dollar. Here is the end to which numbers of American railroads have come when they hav4 borrowed money ; en the gamble that they would do better in the future than they had been able to do in the past. "Wa can't pay you," the company says to its creditors, "because wo haven't got the money and the bankers won't lend it to us. A cynical writer In Wsjj street thinks he has discovered the .reason why an American railroad president draws from $20,000 to $200,000 a year He earns it explaining to stockhold ers why there are r.o dividends, and to bond and note holders why there is no money to pay Interest and prin cipal when they become due. Two years ago the preferred stock of thg Missouri, Kansas tt Texas was paying dividends; today, no. dividends and no money to pay note noiaersi What about May 1, 191i, supposing the extension is granted? How nice to be a railroad president and face such a year as lies ahead of the "Katy"2 pulse heat is for tbe fatherland. Ton sympathize with them. They haye brothers, uncles and cousins fighting in Germany. They are the ones whose pains would be greatest. Those who are hot-headed should think first of sueh as they. The parents in the above mentioned family speak very little English. During the discussion on the war in Europe the father pointed to a chair by his ewn fireside and said, "It Is better hese." HUGH MAUEg. ' Their Mother CTountry. ; Vancouver, Wash., May 35. -To the Editor of The JournalAll true Amer icans are gratified at the many ex pressions of loyalty by so-called German-Americans. But why term them German-Americans any . more than Americans of English descent 15hg-lish-Amcricans?" We should all want to be Americans, first; last and all the time- Americans of any nationality de wel to stand for America and rem em. ber that people of English descent here have fought two wars against England when most of our people were Of English extraction. And why should we not expect any people who have come hare to make their home and better their condition, to be equal, ly loyal to America, and If necessary, to take up arms against their mother country, even as Americans have done? That is what has made ' America fre ef European dominance, both north and south, and may we ever keep )t so. Real Americans don't Jove Eng land; neither do they love Germany, But we do love America,' where all nationalities may live in harmony and peace and where wo have no royal families to stir up strife fur their own selfish ends. if at tne end or this war tbe peo ple of Europe should come into their own and upset every throne, then this war- would, not have been fought in vain, and s If they repudiate all the debts piled en them, capital will net be in a hurry to finance another wgr. O. S. AT WATER. - , Yes. Falrview,iOr., May 25. Te the Edir tor of Theft Journal Jo playing crib base, I play a seven. My adversary plays an eight, making fifteen two. ,1 then play a-six. Am I entitled to a rua of three? - REGULAR (SUBSCRIBER, RECQN ' COUNTRY. "im aasiY pars er Fifl LeeUay. Special Staf Write Tbt jouxaeL Tbe Walla Walla & Columbia River railroad from Wallula to Walla Walla was the first railroad to be buil in what is now the state of Wellington. In talking of the building of this road ex-Governor Miles C. Moore told me many Interesting facts about his fatU-er-ln-iaw, Dr. D. 6. Baker, tbe builder of the road. "Dr. Baker's original Plan was to lay six inch wooden ruilo on the ties, but by the time 10 milea of the road had been laid from Wa'.. lula toward Walla Walla the first few miles of wooden rails were in spintein and it kept the section gang busy rt- piauug me worn out wooden rail. The whole thing seemed to be hoo doed. His log drive was hung up. U." W. Small, who had worked in tin lumber camp on the Yakima river, came to him .and said: 'i worked ln the woods in Maine and I can get thai log-drive out for you." pr. Baiter told nuq to go to It. 1 remember driving with Dr. Baker across country to tha Yakima valley to see how the drive J getting along. We laid out tha "first night in the pnj?e brush. W& found the log drive had gotten about where the city of North Yakima, ia now, (To snow you how much fore sight and vision I had, I would not have paid a 2 cent postage stamp per acre for the whole Yakima valley). At last the log drive was delivered at the mill at Wallula and that tiuubio was out of the way. "Construction stopped at Touchet station till same method could be de vised to make more lieruianent road way. Finally Dr. liaker bought IJ 41es of Strapiron and screwed it down on the wooden stringers. This pre vented the splintering of the wooden ties but the screw woiked lootte ami the straplron curled up and at the most inopportune1 tims it would he driven through the floor or the car to th great detriment of the feelinjss of the passengers who, seeing a snake like strip of Iron suddenly com thrush the floor, would think they bad .'cm again,' and were seeing snakes. The iron rails would alaJ come through the floor of the box car and rip up the wheat sacks end with the Jouncing of the ears and the cracks in the floor a lot of wheat failed to reach Us destination. 'Dr. Baker decided to build his railroad in a permanent and substan tial manner. He went to Allen & Lewis, tne wholesale grocers, and or- .,ed L P11 f pound iron T rails. They came from Wales by way of the Horn in a clipper ship that was coming to Portland for a cargo cf wheat.' Tbe rails were rehandled five times between Portland and vyaHula. Twice at the Cascades, twice at The Dalles and agaiu at Wallula. To give you an idea of the freight rut Dr. Baker paid $450 freight on each of hid little enjines. The freight fro in Port-' land to Wallula was "more than the freight from Philadelphia to Portland via San Francisco, nr" Whitman station, six miles from Walla Walla. Dr. Baker had spent bis last available cent. H announced his road would , stop there. Wall WalJa was In despair, for it seemed as though a town would grow up around the ter minus of the railroad and Walla Walla might be killed. Walla Walla mer chants got busy and raised l&.ooo and gave it to Dr. Baker to finish the road to Wajla Walla. The engine were named,. so were the conchas. They were named for such men as iieeii, .Dadd and Thompson. At first there was only one' pauBcnger car. This was a box car with a bench along each side. The fare was 10 cents a mile. The freight rate from Walla Wallu to Portland oq wheat was accent, .i bushel. - Tbe rate on the 31 miles of railroad Was $5 a ton the trnsfur rate to the boats was &0 cents a ton, the rate on the boat to Portland wua $6 a ton, and the wharfage charge In Portland was 60 cents a ton. The schedule for the SI mile trip whs twj and a half hours. Whenever dark overtook the train It wuo tHl up, fur doctor wanted to take no changes of running by night. All these ' stories you hear- about it being a 'rawhid;1 road and the coyotes gnawing the raw hide off the stringers tnd putting tM road out of commission are rani in. ventione, 'In IWl while I'whs rnaynr nt WalU Walla, General frUierman snd his staff cam to Walla Walla. ,He had ridden on horseback from the '-Missouri river inspecting the various military estMb lishraents. He was a very ulain. un assuming man. When h Jtft he ak.-d Dr. Baker to furnish blra a private car-- Dr. Baker told him the Hearse,' as our passenger car was called, wai the only passenger car he bad and ho would have to take his chances with the other passengers. ' "The rod was a regular mint It paid frdm 2i to more than 50 per cent a year on the money invested. "Dr. Baker said to rneonoe. "If I were only 20 years younger would put a network of rails across the inland em pire and be tbe railroad king of the west He would have, too. for he da!t in deeds whjle others dealt la Words. "This road was never rnortarased While Dr. Baker owned it. He sold it Jn 1877 for a big price to the O. 8. N. company, retaining one-seventh ot the toca. yp July J. 1b7, the O. H. N. company sold out to Henry Villa id. Captain Alnswprth set the price to charge Villard. He said to the audi tor, add 100 per cent to the cost an.) multiply that by two,' This wa dons and Villard paid without a murmur. He paid $5,000,000 for the company nd $1,600,000 more for the steamers. Villard capitalized it for $,ooo,000 plus a bond issue ef $,60Q,000. Villard aid Dr. Baser $10,900 additional fcr hi one-seventh interest ln the rail. road. Dr. Baker- took half cash and half in stock and bond. The stock was oversubscribed two to one anl reached 170 in . a abort while. ! The gross earnings of the Oregon-Steam Navigation company were $1,300,000 a year when Villard took it over," - In Cose It Didn't Work. . Hudson Pout. . "Johnnie!" "Yes'm?" "Why are you sitting on that boy's c? , "Why, I" 1 "Did I not tell you to always count a hundred before yeu gave way to paa sion and struck another boy?" "Yes'm, and I'm dotn' it; I'm Juat sUtln' on his face so he'll be here when I'm don countln' the hundred." INDEX OF ADVANCING . TIDE OF PROSPERITY Pittt burg,' May 18--Tne plant of the American Locomotive -company iiere is being overhauled and plans are being made for a com plete resumption of wr, k. The plant Jias been practically Idle for two years. ; Officials of the com pany raid the business assigned this pjant by tbe parent Corpora tion is wkoljy domestic, bethjf or ders for Ipcomotives for Amer ican lailreads. About 1009 men will be atiecteq. .1 eeeeeeeeeaeeeea ajse A