i. -
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8
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1915.
-V t
THE JOURNAL
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t S. JACK&03 Publisher
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rOMtiON ADVKKTISINO KEPttESEMATIVli
Benjamin Kentnor Co.. Brunswick Bid-.,
V 146 iftb Ae.. New York; 1218 People
Uas BIdg.. Chicago
Sabacrlptlon teraft by mat or to any ad
dress Id the United States or Mexico:
DAILY 1MORNINO OB AFTIBSOOSl
(Doa year $5.00 Oct month I -SO
f SUNDAY
Dm year $2. SO One month S .25
OA1LY (MOE.N1NG OK AFTEENOON) AN'O
1 SUNDAY
(trie JT $7.50 : One month I M
America asks nothing for her
self but what 6he has a right to
ask for humanity itself.
WOODROW WILSON.
8
Kveryone Is poorer in pro
portion as lie lias more wants,
and counts not what he has,
but wishes for only what he
lias not. Manilius.
-S3
A SOLDI KR'S WARNING
BECAUSE lie Is not in accord
"with the War College" and
not in favor of "such exten
sion of the army ls the mili
tary men deem necessary," Secre
tary of War Garrison is attacked by
;the Army and Navy Journal. The
paper scathingly condemns him for
his alleged attempt to "belittle the
report of the War College, "in
'which military experts have under
taken to point out the needs of
the American army." -
If permitted to have their way,
It is probable that the "military
experts" woult' regulate the size of
' the army and Congress would be
merely an inbtrument to record
their edicts.
If the expedience of nations is
worth anything, we know that if
-given free hand, the "military ex
perts" would promptly exercise
Autocratic control over the army,
Stover Congress and over the Amer
ican people.
A proper reelect is due the "mil
itary experts," but that respect
does not mean that they should
9 allowed to take control of the
(policies of government. It is the
tknown control of "military exp
erts" over national policies that is
Jfchlefly responsible for the present
'lapse of Kurope into a state o"
eml-barbarisrn.
s- As custodian of the honor, safe'y
and prosperity of a nation, it is
"better to have men whose thoughts
Jncline to peaceful rather than war
like pursuits. Napoleon Bonaparte,
fwho knew more about "military ex
perts" than any other rar.n who
ver lived, said:
I If, three or four years from now, I
were dying ;n i
he. 1 of a fever an 1 '
If to erown thy romance 1 were o
enake my vviil, I would warn the na
ion against a military S'liprnm.-nt
i wouu nil it to t ho a . ivili.m i
Jtor its lust magistrate. it ls riot as
a general that I govern, but because
.he nation believes tnat I have civil
ian qualities tnat make nie fit for
COveming.
From what higher authority and
Xrom what experience so tremend
ous, could there come a warning
Eainst a government regulated by
'military experts."
f A Linn county man who pro
posed by mail, must pay $1000 for
jbreach of promise. Warned by his
experience, and realizing that there
ia a business end to a proposal by
mail, other Linn county swains
JwllI probably wireless their pal
pitating thoughts by phone here
tfter. THE FIRST MOVE
TT WAS announced a few days
ago that the American Inter-
.1 national Corporation had pur-1
, chased the Pacific Mail West
A. 1 A
"7, i always been encouraging. Wash-,
The American International Cor-jington gave up the business in dis- j
yoration was recently organized gust after an unhappy experience !
ith a capital stock of fifty mil- of graft and favoritism. Calif o r-1
Jlon dollars for the purpose of es-lnia was more persevering. Thai
Xablishing American supremacy in! Etate met with unpleasant inci-!
infomatlnnol f T-n r) q T-v. , ; . . . r . . .. . ..
,-vv.. i luuviiis
mil it in the oreanliat inn 1U C? Q J .
m ciaiu
iiaun. n. vouuemp or me DOOK3 at moderate prices. It is
fiational City bank of New York. ' commonly conceded that the ex
With him are associated as direo- j periment has succseded there. So
tors such men as J. Ogden Armour,) it might succeed in Oregon.
yt. E. Corey, James J. Hill, Otto The dangers to be avoided are
Jl. Kahn, Robert S. Lovett, Percy j fairly obvious. The ordinary po
Rockefeller and Theodore N. litical hanger-on Is hardly compe-
! tent to write a text book of arith-
-j me charter or the corporation
U a very broad one and provides
Jtor doing an international business,
promoting trade relations in mak-
Jng a world market for Americaa
products, financing and promoting
development in foreign countries
ly American engineers and manu
facturers of great public and
private undertakings, assisting in
financing the rehabilitation of in
dustries in foreign countries and
undertaking Btich domestic busi-
. uess as seems advantageous in
connection therewith.
-P'.The first field to be cultivated
ia Latin America and it was in
pursuance of this object that the
Pacific Mall vessels which had been
engaged in that trade were pur
chased. It Is planned to invade
Russia, the Orient and other 'quar
ters of the globe in due course of
time.
It is the first concrete action
that hik followed all the discus
sion of means to develop Ameri
can trade either by private effort
or by national aid.
It is doubtful whether any single
development In the remarkable
commercial and financial situa
tions which are the outcome of the
Kuropean war has larger significance.
With asset's of $1000, the bank
rupt Duke of Manchester has deb.s
of $975,000. The American heir
ess who became his bride found
marriage a tremendous liability.
TWO HARVESTS
AMERICAN harvests this year
surpass any ever recorded.
A It was a banner year both
in volume and value. Extra- i
ordinary production, and high.
prices were never before so pro
nounced. The areas planted were the
greatest in history. They were
larger than the1 combined area of
Germany, France, Belgium, Hol
land, Denmark and Switzerland.
The larger acreage in cultivation
was due to the effort of farmers .
to take every advantage of the de
mands incident to the world war.
The corn crop was the second
largest ever grown. It had a value
of $1,755,859,000. It exceeded in
value the most valuable corn crop
ever harvested by $33,000,000.
All former records were smashed
in the production of wheat, oats,
barley, rye, rice and hay. Exceut
barley, each of these crops yielded
records as the most valuable ever
grown. The wheat crop established
a new record in volume by pass
ing the billion bushel mark.
The wheat acreage was 6,000,
000 acres more than ever before.
The average yield was 16.9 bush
els per acre, the largest acre-yield
ior winter and spring wheat ever
attained in America. The value
was close to a billion dollars. The
crop exceeded last year's wheat
yield by more than 120,000,000
bushels.
Oats exceeded the record pro
duction by more than 122 million j
busceis, ana surpassed Its record
value by more than 56 million
dollars. Hay exceeded the record
output by 12,500,000 tons and'
broke its own record in value, by
55 million dollars.
Contemplation of the year's farm
production is a delightful reflec
tion. The farmers and their eons
Lore only the arms of peace. The
plow was their weapon and the
long furrows were their trenches.
Contrasting their vocation with
that of the farmers and farmers'
sons of Eurore, noting the bursting
granaries, loaded trains and over
burdened ships, all filled with the
products of their harvests in con
trast with the harvests of dead
and dying that European farmers I
are garnering, we can approach the j
Yuletide with a new faith in Amer
ica and a new devotion to good
will among men.
Returning from a trip as far
as New York, J. C. English, one
of Portland's substantial citizens,
rays not only are the factories i
tllal nroH M Co noce-Qcarirm KncL' Kiit
w.u... . . ... a . . i-i-ii.
toncerns that manufacture what
we would term luxuries ar-.
crowded with orders.'
It is with I
a splendid confidence in her ex- j
panding prosperity that America!
prepares for the Christmas dinner
STATE TEXT BOOKS
T
HERE is no convincing reason,
bo far as we know, why the
state of Oregon should not
print its own text books lor
the public schools. The Salem
Commercial club numbers seem
to favor such an enterprise, and
their estimate that it would savo
some 50 por cent of the cost of
school books is perhaps not far
from corroct. Certainly there
should be a subctantial saving, for
the profits from the sale of Bchool
books are very large and they are
Increased by these frequent changes
which pressure from outside pub
lishers forces upon the schools.
Some states have tried the ex-
neriment of orintinc their own
; text books and the results have not
; oenis ai nrsi. dui u uvea tnem i
, A t- T- n n fl mini riT-rtnn n Hn 1 a1
. " 11 "wtt gwu
metic. geography or morals
The
worKs snouia De prepared by per -
sons who know something besides
the art of cornering votes. And
the slimpsy binding of the usual
state publication w ould not serve
long in the school room. The work
of writing and otherwise prepar
ing the text books must be done
well or it were better left to the
regular publishers. Keeping a few
precautionary thoughts of this na
ture in mind, good citizens can
join with the Salem Commercial
club aud help onward the move
ment for state text books. Prop
erly managed it will save themjetrous chaos must be to business.
money and their children's Inter
ests will be as faithfully Berved as
tney are now.
PRIVATE WAR
ffl'
R. WILSON, the secretary of
labor, makes one ecom
mendaticn in his report that
will excite much discussion
and some opposition. He urges
congress to forbid the "transpor
tation of armed private police and
guards from one state to another.
The troubled relations between
employers and their workmen have
so stimulated this questionable in
dustry that it has reached great
proportions. Secretary Wilson po
litely speaks of the divisions of
armed men who are carried about
the country from one critical point
to another as "police" and
"guards." He would have been
quite as near the fact if he hai
called them "mercenary troops."
The country can hardly cloe its
eyes longer to the fact that wo
! live in a condition of private war-
rare very much like that of Italy
tow ard the close of the middle
ages.
The bands of mercenary troops
were known as "condottieri" in
those days. They had regular or
ganization and commanders and
were for hire to anybody who
could pay for them, like our pri
vate "police" and "guards." They
were often supplied by central
agencies like our "detective bu
reaus, and tney perrormea iunc
tions very similar to those of the
mine guards in Colorado.
Toward the clpse of the feudal
era England was also troubled by
private warfare such as we have
in the United States, though its
causes were different. The vari
ous nobles kept armed troops at
their disposal, like the corpora
tion guards and detectives of to
day, and used them freely in their
personal quarrels. Some of these
mercenary bands grew so numer
ous and bold that they threatened
the stability of the throne and
parliament was obliged to legis
late against them. The account
cf the statutes against private war
fare forms an interesting chapter
in Blackstone. At some future day
no doubt a commentator on Ameri
can law will recount the efforts
congress must feel bound to make
against the private warfare that
is impairing the sovereignty of the
Tjnited States
From the employment of so
many lawyers to find out wlio is
head of the 6tate highway depart
ment, it might be reasonably in
ferred that some people have the
idea that the state highway tax Is
imposed not to improve highways,
but to build up lawyers.
THE OTHER MAN'S TIME
S"
PONGING on the time of others
is a prevalent practice. It is
manifested in two forms. One
is by tardiness at committee
meetings, and tho other the long
wait of the busy business man ac
t'ne telephone while r.nswcrlng the
call of the other business man
whose stenographer is arranging
the talk.
Modern business and modern
professional life is run by the
clock. If ten committeemen must
wait six minutes for a tardy elev
enth, the loss of time is not six
minutes, but sixty. It is a theft
bv the eleventh of a w hole hour of
i t. :. ii
imceiess unit, u is n rm;seiy laai
no man. however busy, has a right
to commit.
And so is the delav thrust noon
the business man at the phone by
the call of the other business man's
ftenographar. Both offenses are
rank and unforgivable, because
thefts of fleeting minutes that once
lest, cannot bo recovered.
Your engagements and appoint
ments are an honor test.
If baseball magnates can quit
j fighting, it ought also to be easy
for Europe to negotiate peace.
GOOD IN THE WAR
T
HE European war has made
all the world long to be ef
ficient and the notion is per
colating in many directions
that efficiency does not consist
wholly in military drill, flag wav
ing and big guns. The chances
are promising that before the rage
for It subsides a good many old
humbugs will have been weighed
in the balance and found wanting.
The deceptive bloom upon their
withered cheeks will not preserve
them from the fate thev have long
deserved. One such beldame t
the English system of weights an 1
measures. Ripe for the tomb cen-
turies ago. she has managed
... .
to
survive ana vex manKina ud
survive and vex mankind up to
the present, but the indications are
strong that her time has come at
last.
This "system" is the most un
systematic thing in the world, with
the solitary exception of English
spelling. Every table has a dif
ferent scale and every distinct
scale Is as irregular as maniac
i fancy could make it. In the tably
! of long measure, for instance, the
! scale runs 12 3 1760. with vari-
i ations in between
if we wish to
and furlones.
! measure in rods
Such a method of estimating dis
tance is a weariness to the flesh,
and when we contemplate our
yards, grains, pennyweights, scru
ples, ounces, tnree Kinds or pounds,
two kinds of tons, half a dozen va
rieties of barrels, firkins, and 9
on, all devised In tho most ha:
hazard way, we begin to appreci
ate what a hindrance the mon-
One reason why we do not succeed
better in trade with South America
ia because they use the scientific
metric system down there, while
we cling to the weird and wonder
ful English system.
There are mutterinss in Great
Britain against the old-fashioned
scheme of weights and measures
aa well as the pounds, shillings
and pence method of counting
money. The continental countries
all have decimal currencies like
our own, though with different
values, but British conservatism
has always clung tenaciously to its
unscientific way. It is said by
competent observers that commer
cial exigencies following the war
v.ill oblige tho British to abandon
their bewildering money Bcale and
adopt the decimal system. If English-speaking
people can get rid at
one swoop of their chaotic weights,
measures and currency and their
equally chaotic spelling by virtue
ol the war one feels that it will
not have been fought entirely in
vain. '
: STEPHEN PHILLIPS AND
, THE POETIC DRAMA
From the New York Evening Post.
WE are accustomed to thinking of
tho poetic drama as something
that In our time and language
if almost non-existent. Yet in the
dramatice history of the last two de
cades two of the chief Krltish poeta.
Stephen Phillips and W. B. Yates,
have devoted almost all their energies
to writing plays. Nor have they
written In the spirit in which Brown
ing and Tennyson, Swinburne and
Robert Bridges, wrote their dramas
in verse. Tennyson's1 "Queen Mary"
had a slight stage success, but only
after much remodelling; and no one
believes that it would ever have been
produced hg.d It not been the poet
laureate's. Phillips and Yeats rather
continued, and infinitely bettered, tht?
tradition of Taylor and Talfourd,
writing- with the definite purpose of
Lelng acted. If their materials and
methods In writing, their purposes in
seeking production, were absolutely
different, the fact but Illustrates the
range of dramatic possibilities still
inherent In poetry. Other and kindred
recent experiments In poetic drama
have made their mark on both sides
the Atlantic, chief among them bein
the versions of Euripides made by
Gilbert Murray, produced in succes
sive years at the Court theatre in
London before being brought to Amer
ica. There have been English trans
lations of Maeterlinck, Hauptmann.
end Rostand which had th spirit of
poetry If not its form, and -which
have held their audiences; and in re
cent years the pageant and the
masque, the superior forms of which
are always poetic, have had extra
ordinary vogue In England and Amer
ica. But to Stephen Phillips Is due spe
cial gratitude as the first Englisn
writer In years to show the possibili
ty of producing beautiful poetry, and
yet of attending to the technical re
quirements of the stage. His "Paolo
and Francesca" was not equalled In
definition of character, tragic pas
sion, and skilled handling of intenst
action by his later works. He tended
to substitute magnificence for actual
dramatic movement to a degree that
smothered even the poetry in stage
presentation. In "Ulysses" the poetry
had only a coordinate place with a
series of fine tableaux, and In "Nero"
the splendor of tho settings, and the
frvquency and pomp of the entrances
made it wholly subsidiary, while dra
matic nitliii' was blurred. But not
only wer" tie "Herod" and the "Sin
of David" adapted aa wholes to the
stage, but they and his first play
had individual scenes of unusual dra
matic merit. The two love scer3
of "Paolo and Krancesca" are among
the most beautiful of their kind in
all contemporary drama. Phillips
had been given a certain stage ex
perience during his connection with
Benson, and he ttlfo worked to thw
order of influential managers, and
was to some degree guided by their
ideas. Yeats, similarly, wrote with
the requirements of the Irish Nation
al theatre, of which he had partial
control. In mind. In Yeates, also, the
lull possibilities of poetic drama are
not revealed. His "On Balle's Strand,"
despite Its Sohrab and Rustum theme
of father flarhtlng son. Is not dra
matic, and neither "Delrdre" nor "The
Shadowy Waters" has anything like
the fine stirring appeal of the prose
"Kathleen ni Houlihan." But both,
to a far greater degree than Percy
MacKaye in "Jeanne d'Arc" or "The
Canterbury Pilgrims," or than writers
like Margaret Woods, have shown
that there may be realized an Eng
lish poetic drama of wide appeal,
much as Frenchmen and Germans
have realized it.
If Phillips' sense of dramatic re
quirements was such that early crit
ics accused him of merely giving a
poetic handling to old fashioned mel
odrama, he merits credit also for of
fering his actors verse of simple
character. Us rhythm obvious, and its
accent and emphasis much plalper
than the Elizabethans. A poetio
drama must not differ too markedly
in speech from one in proee. Men
declamation, the loading of the action
with meditative and moralizing verse
in Joanna Baillie vein, will not do
But there is no reason why the reci
tation of poetic dialogue should nut
treat it as poetry, should not bring
I out its values of rhyme and rythm
Our want of actors who can apeak
a scene from Shakespeare with real
feeling for blank versa is one reason
why the public does not oftener re
spond to Shakespearean revivals. At
one of the Granville Barker perform
ances of Euripides a critlo complained
that in the opening scene the actor
not only concealed from him the fact
that the lines were written in rhymed
verse, but convinced him that they
were not. There may be a division
among elocutionists over the propri
ety of accenting or evading rhythm.
But it is certain that the mass of
people who make up the potential
audiences of poetic drama wish to
hear verse read with delicate but per
ceptible appreciation of the fact that
It is verse. Plays like Maeterlinck's.
Rostand's, Phillips' and some of
Teats' it is easy to make scenic-ally
beautiful, but the acting and speak
ing require performers with a spe
cial training. Indeed, it is likely that
if poetic drama is to get a perma
nent audience, it will K'"t it without
gorgeous Mape trappings and with
r.o other accessories than good stag--management
anil good acting.
Of the prospects of poetic drama
it is possiblo to say little, because
production must always depend upon
the occurrence of dramatic faculty
and taste in some nun poetically en
dowed, and outer circumstances little
control that occurrence. But it is
hoped to find sinns that the poetic
drama, if well done, may have a mui
cordial reception in the future than
it has had in the past. The war in
particular has brought f"rward a
general view that cynicism and ultra
ee.ienttfl'; realism were alike becom
ing distasteful, and that in tht .r
f lace idealism, romanticism, and those
things that appeal to the emotions
were certain to be in demand, only
the event can test thus view, but
many theoretical reasons give it fore a.
If it actually proves that emotion
and romance have a new place in
popular taste, they arc sure to find
it In some fashion on the stage. H-iL
the believer in poetic drama would
contend that its place is permanent,
and that human nature's liking fo.
it Is little affected by changes such
as even a great war may bring.
Letters r-rom the People
(Communications rent to The Journal fr
publlcution In tblu department Hbculd be writ
ten on only one side of tbe paper, soculd net
eireed liOO words in length and niui be nr
rempuuied by Ibe name snd dkv9 f the
stijuer. If Ibe writer does nut desire to have
Uie name published, be nhould so stair.)
"Plscus'lon Is the greatest of all reformen.
It rationalizes everything- It touches. It robe
principle of all false sanctltj and tnrews tbem
back on ibelr reaaona blene&a. If Lbey have do
reoRonableness, it rutblesaly crushes them out
of existence sod ets up Its own conclusions
Ui their stead." V oodrow WUsoo.
Preparedness.
MilwaukieOr., Dec 14. To the Edi
tor of The Journal From my source
of knowledge I calculate there are from
40,ikp0,0U0 to 00,000.000 people in the
1'nitcd Statea alone, that study and
practice mental divine sciences, their
characteristics teaching how to acquire
eternal love, self control and pros
perity. Of course we know that the
majority of these people are no better
than those that are not yet interested
in the last and highest development
of mankind, but, bless them, they are
on the right path to perfection, how
ever slow their progress. I myself
have continuous evidence that nothing
ever stirred on this planet but what
mind or thoughts -directly made the
move. Now it ought to be plain even
to a 6-year-old child that if we In
dulge In untruthful, silly or profane
conversations we exercise and develop
an inferior Intelligence, being inevit
ably governed accordingly. Come
away from it and don't fertilize this
mortal mind with cheap literature,
but seekDivine intelligence as to thi.
prtparedness business. if there hud
not been one pound of war munitions
sent abroad we could discard or aban
don every warship and soldier with
perfect safety from outside attack.
Do we, citizens of the United States,
want to spend our money on armies
and navies or on highways and water
ways; both at the same time are rather
expensive. On which side are you go
ing to work out your salvation, with
ignorance and physical force, or with
intelligence and love.
FH ED ROET HL1SBERGER.
Xo War Without Capital.
Pendleton, Or, Dec. 14. To the Ed
itor of The Journal Henry Ford is
right in regard to capital and war. For
my part, I think there could not be
war without capital. It's this monster
that causes all the misery in this
world. There la an old saying that
"money is the root of all evil." It is
the truth. If there is t much evil
In money why not get rid of it? I
say there are two kinds of capital,
war capital and starvation capital.
War capital is a human blood sucker.
Starvation capital takes thsfoou out
Of the people's mouths.. And still they
endure such misery. Why'.' Because
they are Ignorant of the fact that they
make their own misery In this world.
For my part I Ay, root out the evil.
Some might ask how. I think we could
do it by a vote. Why? Because it
stands to reason that what the peo
ple vote for they git. The people
fight hard for an existence In this
world, on account of sickness and dis
eases.' Still they uphold war capital,
that blood-thlrsiy monster. Why? Me-
I cause they don't know they themselves
I create such conditions. Labor creates
wealth. The laborer gets a starvation
living out of it, say about one-ninth
of the wealth he creates. For my part
I think the capitalist gets the rest
of it. WM. SCHMADING.
The Auditorium.
Portland, Dec. li. 'To the Editor
of the Journal.) When the people of
Portland voted bonds for an auditor
ium on the Market black, the bonds
were more popular than now. The
grocery people and the beneficiaries,
were tyi the Job, but the public mar
ket is here to stay, nevertheless.
Portland is distinctively a show city,
a.-, shown by the high sign highways
the people are paying Interest on,
aside from the necessary roadways.
A half million dollars expended on
a small block of giound in one corner
of the city, with double streetcar
tracKs on two sides, and narrow
streets, that are often congested, f..r
a city of 2;,000 people, with a steady
growth, where t href -fourths If n..t
four-fifths of the citizens would have
to cross the river to reach it. would
be unthinkable. This would leave
SlOO.ooO contingent funds, to be takyn,
before and after, and should be sat
isfactory to the promoters. Give ui
a chance at the next election and see
whether the people don't put a quiet
us on the proceedings.
A RESIDENT.
Xo Time for Two-Spots.
From the New York Times.
Into the happy, ir.rfocent, pratting pa
rade of the favorite sons, the Little
Eord Kauntleroys of the Republican
party, there bursts a coarse, grown-up
person, and their pretty, piping little
f lutings are drowned out bv a baas
PERTINENT COMMENT
SMALL CHAAGE
It ia said hard time are only a mem
ory In the east, and even that shadow
of them is fading.
Austria wants to talk rather than
back down, but nothing Is to be gained
by a long international conversation.
Eastern Oregon" experience with
wildcats ought to prove valuable when
wildcat Insurance agents are around.
The Baker bride who says her mind
was deranged when she married may
be only a trifle more frank than some
of the others.
Figures showing the extent to which
prosperity depends upon farm crops
again call attention to Oregon's crop
lrs.s ui res held out of use by land
bpeculatoi s.
Kitfht paroled men in Oregon s state
prison who tn ist have promises of em
ployment before thev will be releasi d
are a lairly good lest of the Christmas
spirit hereabouts
Reports of "uneniploj cd" enumerat
ors who t'ok the Portland 8chool cen-sl-,
an- further evidence that one trou
ble with some of the- unemployed s
thut tiny are unemployable.
Attorney Oer.eral llrnw n holds that
the pron i ti t'ou law maes no excep
tion of manufacturers using liquor ri
their products. Now is tne t'tne to
prove t'riit a substitute for booze is
better than the real thing.
THE NEED OF A NATIONAL BUDGET
Lr llenr.T ltruerc. rlumterlaln f New York
Ylt. formerly Director ol .V V. llureau
of Municipal Kosear h .
Congress has now before it requests
for appropriations for 1916-1317 lor
the Federal government aggregating
l.'J85.SiT,S08. This is an Increase of
SI TO, $;.;, 61 4 above the appropriations
Tor 191 D-l y 16. This vast increase in
the cost of the national government le(
chiefly caused by the proposed-program
of national preparedness and by
other new demands on the government
arising out of conditions due to the
war. This being the case it is prob
rble that congress will comply moie
lullj; than liertofore with the requests
of the departments for increased al
lowances. - An addition of S1T0, 853,614 to the
already great national budget means
.x momentous increase in taxes levied
on the country to support the federal
establishment. The budget proposed
is the largest budget in the history of
America, it has been prepared, -however,
and will be voted on in the same
manner as have budget or appropria
tion bills for the past 25 years. The
estimates as a whole have not been
reviewed by any responsible agency of
government, they will not be reviewed
by any single committee or division
under the direction of congress. On
their su'emission to congress they will
be assigned to ten different commit
tees of the house of representatives.
These committees will consider the es
timates separately. The total request
for all departments will never be
brought together for review by a sin
gle committee of the house. After they
have been approved in the form of
15 separate appropriation blll by the
house of representatives, they will be
transmitted to the senate where, if
the usual piactice is followed, the
recommendations of the house will be
Increased.
Never throughout the discussion of
the details of the estimates will the
methods, costs, organization and work
of one department be systematically
compared with those of another where
that work is similar and should be
(similarly performed.
The budget of the national govern
ment is voted in a way which would
mean ruination to the city of New
York or other American cities if sim
ilar methods were pursued.
In New York, estimates are sub
mitted by heads of departnjien ts to the
budget-mal-.ing body, the board Of es
timate and apportionment. They are
then examined In detail by the rep
resentatives of this body and reviewed
and compared one with the other.
They are finally brought together in
the form of a budget and submitted
for further discussion and reduction,
if need be, to the board of aldermen.
There arc two opportunities for the
r.ppeararc e -of taxpayers before the
I'Oar'l of estimate: first, with refer
ence to etiuiates. and second, with
reference : the t-ntative budcet. Tax-X-ayers
may again appear before the
finance committee of the board of al
dermen, to urge their re ommenda-t-ons
for a third time before the budget-makers.
This method of budget-making in
New York City has resulted in the
voice one of the few bass voices that
the Kepnbli'iin party has heard In re
rent years. It emeries from the sturdy
lungs of James U. Mann, one of the
few men in public life who acts in
variably ftJ5 if he believed that com
mon sense i a better political asset
than taffy. If that virile voice does
not waKe the party up from Its dream
and make It stop Its favorite-son non
sense, take serious thought to Itself,
and send Its crop of Eittle Rollo favor
ite sons about their business. It has
another lesson to learn In 1916 Ilk
the one it learned in 191:'.
The Republican party, Its houje
leader harshly informs I;, has "no
walkaway" and "cannot win with a
two-spot "
In ordinary times, he says. It coes
rot take rare wisdom or stale.sr.ua n
ship to i.e a president; -'but when the
:.ext president is elected he must be
a leader of men and the leaden" of the
nation." These are not ordinary times.
Portland's Ihue.
From th" Seattle I'ost Intelligencer
Portland's Chamber of Commerce,
if we may accept the statements of
the Portland press at par, has a
man's sie winter's work ahead c
it. Notwithstanding the hoary age
of the city on the Willamette river,
its status among competitive coast
centers is as much in doubt as
though somebody had Just settled on
the townslte and was trying to build
a city there.
Portland enjoys a parity of rail
rates from the east with Puget sound
ports, but the conveniences of Seat
tle and Tacoma and other ports, the
deep waters of the sound and th-
; handy tumlnal facilities of both rail
and water lines nave centered nonu
Pacific commerce on the sound. Now
Astoria, situated strategicaily at the
mouth of the Columbia river, is ask
ing to te given the same rates as
Puget'sound. which would also mean
the same rates as Portland. A por
tion of the Portland press is Inclined
to support this m"Tement. The re
mainder of the local press announce
that if Astoria Is given that rate.
Portland will ask for lower rate
than either Puget sound or Astoria
on account of tlie alleged convenience
and economy of its water-level ap
proach by rail through the Colum
bia valley.
If Astoria fjets its parity of rates
1 with Portland, it is suggested the lat-
AND NEWS IN BRIEF
OREGON SIDELIGHTS
The Salem Cherrians will put on
their white suits Sunaay evening and
gy to church, according to the Daily
Capital Journal, which adds that "it
is their regular annual service."
Among the good work outlined by
the Jotph Commercial club is the im
provement of all roads leading Into
Jtseph. An effort will also be made
to interest the county court In widen
ing the road to the head of Wallowa
Like to double its present width.
a
Seeing a ray of hope in the situation,
the Harnev County News, Burns, says:
"As tho roads are now beginning to
di and freere to some extent, it seems
that truck tralfic might be resumed
between here and Bend 60 that the
News office will be ab.e to complete
Us job slock tor tne winter.
Colonel Clark Wood havirg been
lOtdi.Uly invited to come on over to
l'o.dleton and inspect the holiday de'--ora
I i nix. graciously responds: "l'tn-
.)......,. . .,.-r . . . . .. l.rlirht u M A r i II i -
pal lutle city, wtuch Is the reason why
it is the best advertised town of Its
sizo in tie United States." .
Proclaiming that Portland will have
nothing on Pendleton this year in the
way of a Chris'.n.as swim, the East
Ori-gonian announ. es that local ac
quatic enthusiasts arts planning a
plunge into tne waters of the natator
ium on Christmas morning and declare
they "will go through with it If they
have to break holes in the ice to reach
tlie water."
saying of millions of dollars to tax
payers and in a considerable decrease
111 the adminisiiati e cost of govern
ment, despite exter.aioi.s of re r vice.
In the pafcl two years, largely us a re
sult of careful budget-making, a gross
reduction of six per cent has been
made in the S'iO.OuO.OOO appropriated
for the mayor's departments inl'J14.
For the past eight years It has been
repeatedly asserted by persons In a
position to know that enormous
waste, unintentional, but none the less
costly, occurs in the national govern
ment. The estimate ran as high as
S30U, 000,000 when the total expendi
tures were only S900.000.u00. New
fork's Illuminating experience shows
that the most effective means of
checking wa.ste and improving meth
ods is through a careful examination
of the annual budget requests-
Congress has the power, if it wills,
to establish a budget procedure. Con
ties.s has the power. If it wills, to
send throughout tho departments of
tlie federal government examiners
who would interrogate division heads.
department heads, subordinates and
administrative officials as to plans
methods and results, as budget ex
amiiurs are accustomed to do In ttie
departments of the government of the
city of New York. This does not
mtwi a hostile inquiry, it means a
fact-searching inquiry often quite as
helpful to administrators as to bud
get-makers. Congress, through the
house of representatives, has the pow
er to establish a budget-making com
mittee which will be directed to frame
a budget for tlie nation to leplace the
separate unrelated appropriation bills,
and which may be charged with the
duty of basing the budget upon chal
lenged and approved facts, instead of
upon verbal testimony, assumption,
and ex-parte recommendations of the
spending officials.
This suggestion carries with it no
implication of Incompetence or ir
responsibility on the part of the ad
ministrative officials in charge of the
national departments. It Is based
upon the definite knowledge gained
in ten years of budget-making In New
York City that department heads are
rot able to frame all the details of
their estimates, that subordinates upon
whose recommendation such estimates
must be prepared are prone to ask for
sums out of proportion to the ability
of the government to provide them,
and otten In ignorance of better meth
ods by which smaller allowances
would produce the greater results de
sired. P-arely Is an opportunity afforded
such as is iiow given to develop pop
ular interest in the framing of a na
tional budget. The issue of prepared
ness is directing the attention of the
rtire country to the financial plans
of the government a.s never before. Is
;.ot a vital part of the necessary prep
aration of the country lor national ac
tion the establishment of a financial
system whi h will ensure the wise
use of public funds and supply the re
curring stimulus to administrative ef
ficiency which comes from thorough
going methods of budget-making? Is
not this preeminently the occasion for
establishing a federal budget system?
ter city might as Well move to As
toria. Again; a substantial portion of Ore
gon is . wildreness because the
Southern Paclfi, railway owns thou
sands of acres of land that the fed
eral govr rumen t Insists must not bt
sold for m 're ti.nTi $2.50 per acre,
but allows the railroad company to
elect its own time when It shall sell.
The Southern Pacific will not sell at
that price, and the Oregon wilderness
lias R fine chanee of remaining un
developed for many years. An Im
portant I art Of Portland's trade ter
ritory is thos locked up Indefinitely
In Idleness.
Again; southern Oregon lumbermen
are flght'.r.g Portland beii that
city insists on equal advantage !p
lumber freight rates to Californii
poli.ts Much southern Oregon btmt
ness has hi en alienated from Port
land to San Franiic.o bcause of
the feelinT engendered.
Again. Portland .s Fhoutlng for
home industries and calling upon
Oregon people t, spend their money
at home. Meanwhi It Is poaching
in southern Washington and asking
Washington people to spend their
money In Oregon, all of which Is a
tremendous urrre to Portland busi
ness, with the reverse English.
To auN to the confusion. Constant
Reader. A Taxpayer, A Well Wisher
and Pro Bono Publico have formed
a habit it writing letters to the local
press, inquiring "what is the matter
with Portland?"
There are a few more vital Issues
lurking about, but these will do for
samples. In tiie midst of the diverse
and discordant voices we may well
believe that Portland and the Port
land Chamber of Commerce are as
busy as a one-armed man with a
cross wife and a Waterbury watch.
('hanging Seasons.
From Judge.
Crabshaw Ever see anything of that
fellow who used to borrow your lawn
mower last summer?
Suburt He's Just been around after
my car to carry home his wife's Christ
mas bundles.
Tis Ever Thus.
From the Toledo Blade.
After a man has been defeated by
a few votes his friends know Just
where they could have obtained the
required number to elect hlfn, had
they suspected the race was going to
be so close.
Tne0nce Over
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON when
there was a lull in the day's occu
pation I wert out to cruise up and
down and absorb some Christmas
spirit.
And I wa go.ng down Broadway
with Nick Pieroiig
and we came opposite Wiley B.
Allen's w lndow-rw hu h ts decorated
for Christmas.
J And among the decorations la a
lovely wax lady
with a smile that won't come off.
J And I was telling Nl.-k about the
Once over book which Is out today.
And he wanted to know if he waa
in It.
and I was telling l.im h .w many
times. and he was deeply Interested
when we came alongside the win
dow with the beautiful lailv.
f And Nick took off lis hat and -bow
ed.
and she smiled on.
JAnd I noticed he had slewed tip.
- and I akked what was Ihj mat
ter. JAnd Nick said "Oh - nothing
only I thought I saw some"ne I
knew."
And his face was red.
and I felt sorry for hini--
so I didn't lit him know that
I had seen l.im bow to the decora
tion. because I don't believe In em
barrassing people when It isn't nec
essary. J And w e went on down the street -to
the Mute' headquarters In the
Elks' building where Bill Strandborg
and his cohorts are doing what they
can to make a merry Christmas for
every boy and girl in Portland.
J And I learned of the children that
will have warm shoes and stockings.
and the habits that will have
milk.
and the mothers that will have
medical assistance.
and all the other ways that the
Muts have of bringing happiness
where it is most needed.
And I thought of the word mutt
In its original lowly meaning.
H And how Bill Strandborg took it.
and cut off a "t".
and added the gospel of human
brotherhood.
and made the title "Mut" one
of which to be proud.
51 And so I'm not worried about my
looks uny more.
because If I can't be handsome
like Billy Ma. Swain or Frank Me
(jett igaii--t her. ;s still a cliancc to
become a Mut.
JAnd I walked around -end looked
at the things In the Btore windows.
and the prices thereof.
JAnd I felt InSmy po' ket con
sulted iny exchequer so to speak.
JAnd of course I'm not a business
man and don't know much about
business principle but
J LISTEN So far as I'm concerned
I hope that our merchants will get
my Idea and do their Christ mas
chopping early.
Or, at a Pinch, Strabismus.
Although for years the bards have
utrl vtn
To get some proper rhymes for
ChrlFt mas.
At last reluctantly they're driven
To own the only one is Isthmus.
THE YEAR'S
END NUMBER
The Sunday Journal Mag
azine for December 26 will
contain a comprehensive and
brief review of the passing
twelvemonth.
Illustration will play an
important part in this num
ber and it will be of a char
acter quite in keeping with
the high quality of the text
The year has seen unprec
edented activity in highway
construction. An imposing
two-page display will show
new views of the Columbia
river highway.
Waterway development in .
the Pacific northwest has re
ceived a decided impetus.
This will be competently re
viewed in picture and story.
Building activity of a sub
stantial character has transpired-
What has been done
in this line will come in for
its full share of mention.
Oregon's livestock and ag
ricultural output for 1915
hits a new mark. Figures
from tne various lines of en
deavor will be found most
gratifying.
Portland has invested over
$600,000 in new school build
ings during the year. This
will be treated as indicative
of an improved public school
system.
The many other features
included in this number are
convincing of the fact that
the passing twelvemonth has
seen a substantial progress
in Portland and Oregon.
The Sunday Journal for
December 26, including the
Year's End Number, will be
mailed to any address for
five cents the copy. Order
extra copies early.
DECEMBER 26
V i