Capital journal., May 21, 1941, Image 4

Four
The Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon
Wednesday, May 21, 1941
CapitafflJournal
SALEM, OREGON
ESTABLISHED MARCH 1. 188$
An Independent Newspaper Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday
at 444 Chemeketa Ot Telephone Business Offlc 8671
Mews Room 8573: Society Editor 8573
GEORGE PUTNAM, Editor and Publisher
rULL LEASED WIRE SERVICE OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AND THE UNITED PRES8
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
BI CARRIER! Weekly $.16: Monthly $.60; One year $7.30.
B MAIL IN OREGON: Monthly, $.60; Bix Montha, $240; One Year. 15.00.
UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OREGON: Monthly, $.60; 8U Months, $3.00;
Veal. (6.00.
The Associated Press la exclusively entitled to the use for publication ol
all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited In this paper,
and also local news published herein.
"With or without of feme to friends or foe
I sketch your world exactly a it poe$."
Censorship Machinery
The senate has passed legislation to give permanent
ntatuatory authority to the office of "Government Reports,'
a part of the rapidly expanding administrative machinery of
the White House. Despite denials, the bill paves the way for
censorship and propaganda activities in behalf of the admin
tration at an initial cost of $1,500,000 a year.
The office was created, like so many other of our ex
panding federal agencies, by executive order of the president,
first as a temporary expedient to be made later a part of our
permanent bureaucracy, growing in extent and power as the
years pass. The president, wnose executive secretaries anu
their assistants will soon be numerous enough to fill an office
building of their own, told congress the office was needed to
"assist in dealing with special problems, serve as a clearing
house for information concerning federal activities ana re
port on the needs and desires of the citizens."
In other words the bureau will prepare "hand-outs" and
nronaeanda for the press, radio and public, same as many de
partments already put out, to state administrative viewpoint
of activities and ukases. Inasmuch as rulings, such as those
by the NLRB, the wage-hour administration, the HOLC, the
AAA, the RFC, the OMP and numerous other alphabetical
agencies have the force of law, a knowledge of the conflicting
and changing interpretations of decisions is perhaps
necessary.
Congress also has its Congressional Record which with
Jts appendix of extraneous matter, is a sounding board for
senators and representatives. It only costs the taxpayers $45
a page plus franking costs to spread the congressman s pro-
paganda over the nation. How this cost has pyramided is
shown by the report of the committee on printing. Its cost for
the 73rd congress, which began in 1933, was $981,630. It
steadily mounted until the 76th congress, which ended last
January, cost $1,795,310, almost doubled in eijfht years.
Which perhaps is the reason why the senate voted $1,500,000
a year for the president s propaganda agency.
The Fruits of Demagoguery
While Bonneville's "postage stamp" rate policy for the
wholesale distribution of electric power has backfired,, by
driving the Portland General Electric company into abandon
ment of that system and substitution of a schedule of charges
based upon local unit costs and consumption of energy, the
residents of rural areas who have been the staunchest
champions of public ownership are alone the sufferers.
At that, they lose nothing other than an equal oppor
tunity with townsfolk to share in future rate reductions such
as the four in which they have shared during the past 16
months. Their rates remain as they are, and there i3 little
hope for relief in the prospect of organizing public utility dis
tricts naving a sufficiently compact consumer concentration
to permit successful competition by a PUD.
The cities and towns are in a position to reap large bene
fits from the company's new tariff schedule, which places
their rates on a level with the standard Bonneville "objec
tive rate" plus varying small surcharges to cover tax and
franchise outlays, which will bring the rates in Salem and
other municipalities down to a level lower than that of most
publicly owned systems selling Bonneville power. The reason
for this lies in the lower cost of serving thickly populated
areas, and the elimination of subsidies saddled upon cities to
offset the deficits incident to-rural service under the blanket
rate plan.
Assured of the benefits of minimum rates without the
need for risking public investments, the cities and towns will
be slow to join in PUD or municipal ownership movements.
The high costs of separate rural distribution systems will dis
courage the creation of such units. Bonneville is reaping the
harvest of Its agitation of destructive competition based up
on unsound economics.
First Admission "of Failure
For the first time during his three terms of office, Pres
ident Roosevelt has confessed that he has made a mistake. He
admits that his experiments in changing the date of Thanks
giving from the last Thursday in November to the third
Thursday have been a failure and that beginning in 1942 the
holiday will again be established on its traditional date.
The president said that Thanksgiving day this year will
be proclaimed for the next to the last Thursday in November
because it is too late now to revise previous commitments to
calendar makers and other groups. Yet it is not as late as it
was in 1939 when the president proclaimed the change in
dates, regardless of the protests, previous commitments, foot
ball schedules Bnd calendar makers.
Most of the states followed the president In changing
dales, a great many refused to, so we had the confusion of
two Thanksgiving observances. The change was supposed to
stimulate retail business, but n survey reveals that it did not
and the president now describes it as "an experiment that did
not work.
There have been a good many of the president's other
experiments that did not work which he promised in ad
vance to abandon and try something else if they didn't, but
he has stubbornly refused to admit it and refused revision to
make them work. Is it too much to hone, that he will now fol
low his own precedent and admit mistakes?
Nichols Receives
Naval Commission
Bethel Madison (Hob) Nichols
has Just received his commission as
lieutenant commander In the civil
engineer corps of the U. 8. navy
according to a letter received by
his father and sister, J. M. Nichols
and Mrs. Lucy Nichols Haln.
He has been given the supervis
ion of the building of a marine base
at Jacksonville, NO,, being trans
ferred there from Jacksonville, Fla,
where he had completed his work
a chief engineer on the building of
an air base, preceding which he
served as Inspector of construction
on a large federal building project
In that city.
Nichols has been In the servlca of
the federal government in the ea
pactly of Inspector of building pro
jects for a number of years, aome
of which were spent In Hawaii, on
Important building works there. He
Is the son of the lata Mrs. Lula
Nichols and brother to the late
CasM NlrhoU anrt mnf hi. Hm.fe,w
and school years In this nelghbor-
nooa.
Recollections
luuu. t.-.-,-,-. By neck artn.......r..ntnmrii
THE WW MARRIAGE TO A CAREER ,
WOMAN WAS VISUALIZED IN TUB E
GOOD OLD DAYS
Kelly Says:
$35,000,000 for
Oregon Cantonmenti
Big Responsibility
For Medford, Eugene
Locations Have Some
Political Complexion
By John W. Kelly
(fop Supgieir
By Don Upjohn
Washington, May 31 Approxi
mately $36,000,000 will be Invested in
western Oregon by the war depart
ment In the two cantonments, one
at Medford and the other at Eu
gene. In making this announce
ment the war department very be
latedly confirms the prediction first
made In this space many months
ago and which the high command
repeatedly denied. The prediction
that a cantonment will go to eastern
Washington is yet unfulfilled, but
the "dope" on that is as authentic
as on the project in Oregon west of
the Cascades.
Under the army estimates, it is
calculated that the cost of a can
tonment la $500 per man. (There
are many contonments recently
built or now being constructed the
cost of which runs $700 per man and
at one place almost $2000). On the
brriart
$500 per man basis Medford's mili
tary camp will represent an invest
ment of $17,000,000. The same coat
at Eugene. This is the original in
vestment for barracks, mess halls,
administration hall, sewers, water,
lights (later a hospital of about 400
beds) and roadways.
Payroll Plenty Big
With 36,000 men In each canton
ment it means a payroll of substan
tial importance, The 70,000 men
will represent better than $1,500,000
a month; say about $800,000 per
camp. This la the payroll alone, and
troopers spend their money. It costs
approximately 50 cents a day to feed
a soldier, or for the two camps the
quartermaster department will spend
$35,000 a day or $1,050,000 each
month the troops are at the can
tonments, On a per year basis (per
iod of training) the grocery bill will
run In the neighborhood of $13,-
600,000,
Regulations call for furnishing
one-half pint of milk to every man
each day. This means $,760 quart
each for Medford and Eugene; to
tal, 17,400 quarts or 4350 gallons
every 34 hours tor both camps. Milk
sheds of the Willamette valley will
be drained to furnish this new
amount of consumption. When pos
sible, troops receive one apple or
one pear (sometimes a peach or
grapefruit), which will provide a
market for Oregon fruit, particularly
that of the Rogue river valley, site
of the Medford cantonment. Vege
tables and meat must be bought,
and when possible the local market
is patronized.
Have to Amuse Them
An important responsibility de
volves upon citizens of Eugene and
Medford and nearby communities.
This is in providing amusement for
the troops. Many soldiers will visit
Portland to have a fling; many
others will not go so far. Someone
proposes that the town of Central
Point be taken over and made Into
a rest camp for the troops, with
movies, taverns, etc.
And before a contract is awarded
or even an appropriation made by
congress for these cantonments, a
group has started a campaign
against "sin," meaning hard liquor
and members of "Mrs. Warren's
Profession." Incidentally, it should
be mentioned that several chaplains
will be with the soldiers at the, can
tonments and there will be several
chapels.
Bigger Than Most Counties
Either cantonment will have a
larger population than 39 of Ore.
gon's 38 counties. Only Portland
will have a population in excess of
these camps, for second city In
Oregon is Salem with census popu
lation of 30,008, or 4000 fewer peo
ple than will be in the Eugene or
Medford establishment. Jackson
county is barely larger than the
proposed cantonment, the county
being credited with 36,213 in last
year's census figures. The camp wiu
double the population of the coun
ty (with camp followers) and will
triple the population of Medford,
II me CRnraummb con uc jesaraea
as in the metropolitan area. The-"
Eugene camp will be only 50 pel
cent of Lane county population but
will be 15,000 larger than Eugene.
Roughly, the two cantonment
will mean $30,340,000 a year new
money to these communities, plus
the capital investment oi jo,uvu,
000 in cantonments.
Partly Political
Selection or Meaiora ana sugena
was partly politics. War department
saw on its map that there was no
project west of the Cascades. Oreat
base for the army air corps Is build-
i in TnHltan? munitions riftnnt
Is under construction at Hermlston;
bombing range nas neen acquired
east of Arlington; i-oraana nas an
,n ir station, but there was a
perfect blank on the ocean side of
the Cascade mountains, ino plan
ning board spotted Medford and
Eugene for new developments when
the army is Increased and money
is available, but the brass hats of
war departments were unaware o
these preparations. Meanwhile of- -ficials
and public spirited citizens
quietly obtained options on tract
of land for the department, pre
venting any attempt at a hold-up.
There may be some difficulty in
obtaining funds for clearing the
bottleneck on the Pacific highway
for military purposes between
Grants Pass and Eugene, subject to
revision now with cantonment de
cided upon at Medford and Eugene.
Carey Martin has in effect offic
ially pronounced the official har
binger of summer, Just the same as
we've contended for years he's en
titled to be. For no sooner does
Carey show up In his straw hat
and ha the same duly chronicled
in our annual announcement as to
same, than Mayor BUI Chadwick
comes out with hi official proclam
ation designating Thursday, tomor
row, May 22, as Straw Hat Day In
the confines of his bailiwick. This
Is a tribute long due Carey and his
straw hat, even though a left hand
ed one that has to be visualized
between the lines.
Mayor Bill gave a lot of us an
out in his proclamation in decree
ing that straw hats "shall be donned
by the stalwart males of this city."
This permits us puny old weaklings
and others of that Ilk to slip out
from under and continue to use the
same old sunken cadies that came
Novelties
In the News
(Br the Aiiocltted Preu)
Contempt of Court
New York A duly qualnled
Queens county Judge and an assis
tant district attorney prepared to
make solemn affidavits it actually
happened.
Anyway, court procedure waa In
terrupted when Judge Charles S.
Golden wa distracted by a gnaw
ing sound. It was a small grey
mouse, chewing at the sole of a
newspaper reporter's shoe. The re
porter was so busy he hadn't no
ticed. A recess was called, and the
mouse was captured by two attendants.
False Alarm
Los Angeles An excited voice
phoned the fire department that the
Memorial coliseum was afire with
"flames leaping 100 feet in the air."
Six trucks roared out and back
to their stations.
The fire was atop the peristyle,
the flickering fUme of the Olympic
torch, lightrd for the 1033 Olym
piad and relighted for Youth Pre
paredness week.
Free Ride Ends
Compton, Calif. Uncle Sam Is go.
lng for a $525 bus ride.
Postmaster Clark Wallace said
the postofflce department had
agreed to pay for the estimated
10.500 rides Compton postmen take
each year on local buses in making
their rounds.
Gnosis Brooka Home
Brooks Mr. and Mrs. Bert Sch
lewe and children Blllle, Grant and
Genleve Schlewe of Mullno were
dinner guests at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Charles Watt.
in with the Spanish-American war.
So when you see a chap going up
the street in a straw hat tomorrow
you'll know he's either a "stalwart
male" or else chiseling in on the
mayor's proclamation.
Prom Bishop Bruce Baxter comes
a note explaining the appearance
in the recent picture at the Ameri
can Bankers banquet in Portland
of what looked to be four siphon
squirter ranged on a shelf above
the heads of the bishop and the
bankers. "Sharpen your eyes," he
warns. vThose are four trophies,
awarded bank athletes, and have
nothing to do with squirting." If
same are such, then bankers have a
new Idea In trophies for their ath
letes and said trophies apparently
were all awarded at the nineteenth
hole.
Stalwart Males at Play.
(Olive Barber in Eugene News)
Man in the mass in his lighter
moment Is, to me, sort of over
whelming; completely so when these
men are 16ggers In congress assem
bled. Or rather, if I must be ac
curate, are they overwhelming when
the congress Is over and they aban
don themselves to elephantine gam
bollngs in time to the roarings and
bellowlngs they feel are appropriate
to having themselves a time.
Our Senators pulled a mathema
tical fast one at Vancouver (B.C.)
last evening when they laid a row
of nine goose eggs and on adding
same together we find the same to
total up to only one goose egg,
which Is a neat trick if you can
do it. The nine goose eggs, it ap
pears, when laid end to end made
a row nearly as long as a newspa
per column Is wide. Having done
so well at it on the first try, we
hope they now have all the goose
eggs out of their system.
Wonder where some of these an
cient expressions had their ori
gin? For Instance, there's the of
ten used one about the man who is
supposed to be "as Independent as
a hog on ice." If we were looking
around for a true statement of in
dependence, certainly the last thing
we would think to look for would
be a hog on Ice, and incidental
ly, that's about the last place we'd
look for a hog. IX anybody knows
where this expression had birth, and
why, we'd be glad to hear, Just for
the fun of It,
Joint Picnic Held
By School People
Valley View The Joint picnic of
Silver Cliff and Valley View schools
waa held Sunday at Valley View
school. There was a good attendance
in spite of the stormy weather. This
marked the closing of the two
schools.
Mrs. Daphne Hunt has been re
elected to teach the Valley View
school next year. Mrs. Iris Thork-
lldson ha resigned after finishing
her second year at 811ver Cliff. Mrs.
Deward Wolford ha been hired as
the new teacher.
Satem Sketched By Will Danch
"Let me know If you see Claudlne Queffroy coming. She Just
cant stand a horse that lsnt splrltedl"
"Cool" "Comfortable"
TIRAW
Go first-class
this summer
For finest straw hat quality The
Man's Shop features a famous
name. An "Ecuadorian Superna
tural Panama" is your safest, san
est money's worth this season.
Panamas - Cocoa Palms - Meshes
Sennits
Wide color selections and sizes
for every man
Comfortable Panamas-
Here are Panamas with the utmost in
styling; casual comfort. New original
shapes wider brims bright bands.
Make yours a genuine "Ecuadorian Su
pernatural Panama." Make your choice
early.
$350 to $5
Newest Straw Creations-
Pictured above is the newest straw cre
ation for men. Hand woven from the
fibres of the royal palm, this hat is rich
er and smarter than anything you've .
seen for years. For real summer' com
fort try on the Royal Palm today.
$95 tQ 5350 .
Smarter Sailors
See what the style trend has done to
make the sailor straw smarter than
ever. Wide handsome brim. Colorful
striped bands. Just the right mixture
of the formal and the informal.
THE MAN'S SHOP
MOXLEY& HUNTINGTON
The Store of Style, Quality and Value
416 State Street
3J