Capital A Journal
An Independent Newspaper Established 1888
GEORGE PUTNAM, Editor and Publisher
ROBERT LETTS JONES. Assistant Publisher
Published every afternoon except Sunday at 444 Che
meketa St., Salem Phones: Business, Newsroom, Want
Ads, 2-2406; Society Editor. 2-2409.
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news published therein.
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BY BECK
Such Is Life
4
Salem, Oreson, Monday, September 26, 1919
"The City of the Bees"
When Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian poet, mystic and
dreamer, dealing in symbolism, wrote in 1901 his classic,
"Life of the Bee," it was thought he had exhausted the
subject in his charming book, but now comes another story
of the bee that will delight nature lovers of all ages, "City
of the Bees' (Whittlesey House) by Frank S. Stewart, a
gifted Scotsman, now living in England.
The marvels of a society millions of years older than hu
manity, are portrayed in the story of a colony of wild bees,
the story of birth and death, tragedy and joy, victory and
defeat, prosperity and adversity, prodigious labor and
pure enjoyment of life which transcend human experience.
As the author states in his brief preface, "the book is an
imaginative fantasy" but written by one who, with scien
tific knowledge, has patiently studied the bees for many
years. He adds, "high romance always deals with realities,
and the events recorded really do happen to bees and birds
and animals in the same world where, so pitifully unheed
ing 'civilized man' stamps and frets along his little rut
into the grave, never looking around at the beauty, savag
ery, emotions and wonder that he rushes Mindly past."
The "City of the Bees" is bautifully told, really a poem
in exquisite prose, recording the events of the inhabitants
of "the golden city" in the heart of a forest oak, and is
one of the few recently written books that it will live
Ihrough the ages and be read with pleasure centuries
hence. The first few paragraphs. "Gold Dust Ballerina,"
give a sample of its poetic imagery :
"Into the air! The bee shot up Into the glowing sky, unable to
bent her wings fast enough to ease the rapture of her being.
Sixteen thousnnd times a mlnue, the tiny silver pinions beat the
air hut this was not enough. For she had never known and
would never know, the sadness of winter. Even the primrose
and the daffo J'I have memory of cold silences. The nightingale
cannot sing until the glory of her voice Is rounded by the wist
ful knowledge lhat summer dies.
"But this bee had been born on a day when Persephone stole
bark from Hades, smiling so that black trees, gray grass and
ruffled birds stirred like sleepers kissed. To begin such a day
Is to enter life with warmth that never ebbs, but throws its own
sunshine outwards from winter."
The Dollar Devaluation
The devaluation of the British pound sterling is the big
news of the day. Its pre-war value in dollars was $4.8fi.
In the last World War it was pegged at a little over $4.00,
but lately, had dropped to around $2.80 in the free market
of Switzerland. It has now officially been pegged at that
figure.
In 1034. our dollar was put through the devaluation
vats, but without causing such a commotion.
The word "dollar," our unit of value, derives from the
low German "daler." Spanish dollars were in general cir
culation throughout the American colonies, and our silver
dollar, as authorized by the Coinage Act of 1702, corre
sponded roughly to their weight 416 grains, with a fine
ness of .89 plus. By the Act of 1837, this weight was
changed to iWi grains 910 fine.
Gold dollars, weighting 25.8 grains 910 fine were
authorized by the Act of 1849, but this coinage was discon
tinued in 1905. The gold dollar, however, weight and fine
ness as above, was declared in 1900 to be the United States
standard of value.
Under the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, President Roose
velt, by proclamation, fixed the weight of the gold dollar
at 15 521 grains 910 fine. Gold was to be bought and
sold by the U.S. treasury through the New York Federal
Reserve bank at $35.00 per fine Troy ounce, plus 'x per
cent handling charges.
For a time this change in price brought to the United
States an inflow of gold amounting to between $200,000,
000 and . $300,000,000 per month. In six years the U.S.
gold supply had jumped from $7,450,000,000 to $22,000,
000,000 at which time, 1910, foreign countries held
nround $8,840,000,000. In the next few years the hold
ings of foreign countries increased far more rapidly than
did those of the United States. When the readjustment
comes, however, it will be found that, as a result of World
War II, the distribution of the world's gold supply has been
subjected to many changes.
A Fair, Not a Carnival
At least the county fair hasn't given way noticeably to
the commercial and carnival atmosphere of the state fair.
'1 lie .North Marion county fair, which closed Saturday
nielli, was still the typical county fair that America has
come to know so well.
The ncedle-in-the-haystack stunt added an unusual flair
t the Saturday festivities, and it was not touched with
commercialism. A visitor looking over the many exhibits
was certain to get a good idea of what is grown in the
county.
Leonard Hewitt and his fair Ixiard deserve credit for
making the fair representative of the county instead of
the entertainment interests. It was refreshing to find
the products of the county not overshadowed by carnival
barkers or sideshows.
.Members of Oregon's state fair board ought to visit one
of the county fairs to refresh their memory of what a fair
is supposed to be. They could profitably have taken in the
forui Clarion lair.
( ? f'y THE TROUBLE ISTSlV
I. V Y , ( " WITH THAT IS YS..
f MAW GEES tutr
ix j .y ' ; swell lawn, ( ...
r , "SiajjOfci' . . f I i BUT POP CANT t--
t ' N 'X13 ( SEE THE PCWZH-tj
tf'l IT'S KINO ) . 4 a MOWER.
Zl LIVE ACROSS V ,--iL y
THE STREET f cWj .7 ' ,
RUSSIA AND THE A-BOMB
Ever since the first atomic bomb landed on Hiroshima, and
World War II came to an end, people of every nation have
speculated as to when the United States' monopoly of the
bomb's secret would be broken by Russia,
Probably a lot of people didn't believe It then, but as far
back as May IS, 1948, Drew Pearson reported In the Wash
ington Merry-Go-Round that "definite information has been
obtained that Russia has the A-bomb. It's crude and only one
or two have been made yet, but she bas It , . ."
President Truman'a announcement on Friday. Sept. 23, that
an A-bomb explosion occurred in Russia In recent weeks now
substantiates Pearson's early report that Russia had been suc
cessful In obtaining- the aecret of the bomb.
by GUILD
Wizard of Odds
OODS APE ONLY 1
That a, blind PEPSO
CAN BEAD BRAILLE .
( AHSWSQ. SXV'A
PALM BACH, ft-A )
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
Two Men Dominate U. S. Steel
Policies: Fairless, Enders
By DREW PEARSON
Washington Two men dominate the policies of the giant U. S.
Steel corporation, and will also largely decide whether or not the
nation is stymied by a steel strike. They are:
Ben Fairless President of U. S. steel, son of a Welsh coal
miner, taught school, came up the hard way and is generally
sympathe 1 1 c to
SIPS FOR SUPPER
Streamlining the Legislature
By DON UPJOHN
The committee named by the legislature to make an interim
investigation as to how to streamline legislative procedure has
started off its work here and has assigned its various members
to scurry around for ideas and report later. It's to be hoped they
get somewhere and when they do have more luck than Mr. Hoover
has had so far
with the recom
m e n dations he
made, after in
tensive study,
for streamlining
the affairs of the V
ment. Maybe a
good approach
would be to gel
in touch with
the three boys
who down at the
labor.
Enders Voor
h e e s Chair
man of the fi
nance commit
tee of U.S. Steel,
son of a bank
pre s i d e n t , a
tightfisted New
Vnrlr F n t h -
man. and an ac-IV
countant whose ml
job is to pinch
then the Central Steel company,
then Republic Steel, and finally
U.S. Steel.
Just out of college, Fairless
married Blanche Truby, also a
school teacher and a subsequent
enthusiast over religious cults.
She died in 1942, and Fairless
married Hazel Sproul, divorced
wife of Jack Sproul, son of the
late GOP governor of Pennsylvania.
The new Mrs. Fairless is the
While ODOS are even youkE
A MEMBER OF SOME CHURCH,
IT'S iTOl A6AINST YOUR
ATTENDING CHURCH REGULARLY.
THE ATOM CENTER,
OAK RIDGE TENN., UKSNt
HAD A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
IN 3 YEARS
a BSE
a &
I meantime, you are going to have
to take whatever we can get to
gether in this last paragraph
Some wag painted a sign and
placed it in a prominent place
by the road near the forestry
j building out by the state pen-
ueiuiary. II .eau: utivc care
fully convicts crossing the
highway."
"'to"" Attention FT & BA
Depoe Bay Anybody lose his
Woodburn fair last week sue- false teeth in Davy Jones' lock
ceeded in locating the three er? Chuck and Tony Wisniew
needles in the haystack. The ski, teen-age cousins, hunting for
work of the legislative commit- sinkers on the rocks at Pirates'
lee in trying to delve for ways cove here, found two dental
and means to hustle up the leg- plates, not mates, unbroken, but
islature seems to be about on a covered with barnacles and sea
par with the task assigned to weed. Like Cinderalla's slipper,
the three lads. And they made they will be given to anyone
a success of the job. they fit, say the boys.
An Editor's Troubles
(Kiwanis Bulletin)
Your editor now knows why
the former editors found it such
a chore to make out the bulle
tin. When one runs out of ideas,
there isn't much one can put into
a bulletin. The stories we have
heard lately cannot be printed
here and there seems to be no
activity on the part of individual
Kiwanians. Even the fishermen
have failed to bring up any new
stories but now with the hunt
ing season approaching, maybe
we can get a few good stories out
of these experiences. In the
She Tried, Anyway
Lewistown, Mont. u. It was
the first day of the hunting sea
son, and the hunter's mind was
on prairie chickens. As he came
out of a coulee yesterday, a shot
gun blast roared over his head
and he hit the dirt. Shortly
thereafter a red-coated female
rushed up to him and asked if
he were hurt. "I'm awfully sor
ry," she apologized. "I thought
you were my husband."
Incidentally local sporting
goods stores report a tremendous
run on red hats and shirts to be
used as targets.
This One Should Have Been Good
Spokane, Wash. (URi Washington state patrol radio here
overheard the Fort Wayne, Ind., police radio order a prowl
car to a certain downtown Intersection.
"Car 42, car 42," the operator called. "Investigate man
walking down street with sack over his head. That is all."
POOR MAN'S PHILOSOPHER
How About Bonuses
For American Housewives?
By HAL BOYLE
New York M"l Government's most forgotten waif Is the Ameri
can housewife.
The hand that rocks the cradle may rule the world but it isn't
getting any handouts from Washington. And it appears to be the
only one that isn't.
There is a de
part m e n I of
com m c r c e to
help the tired
b u s i n e ssninn
solve his com
mercial woes
There is a de
partment of la
bor for the poor
working man
And there arc
so many agen
cies set up to
assist nature's nobleman, the
farmer, that he can plant his
In?)
U.I Bo?l
and getting educated; papa
makes like a hero because he
sallies forth five time a week to
bring home the bacon. But all
she is doing, she feels, is chas
ing dust and wiping dishes. It
is a drab reknown, and a small
world after all.
The answer, girls, is to organ
ize. A political league of house
wives would bring the politi
cians running to reward you for
your votes.
What do you want, ladies?
"7 ,, "u" 11 111 a m.r.cane Fr(,e ,cedl for vmr flowerbeds?
and still make money A sabbatical leave every four
But there is no Marsha 1 plan y.Br,? Government-paid maid
for the matrons, no subsidies ..,.. o.,j,..
for housewives.
This is certainly undemo
cratic, as there are more house-
wives than businessmen, more cash , th, t.y,,.
,t,,,,.- , r mm, muiwiiK IUCH,
more housewives than dirt farm
ers. And It is the housewives who
keep the. nation going.
They control most of the
wealth, buy most of the goods,
pay most of the bills. If it were
n't for the financial genius of
thm U'rlnnM nf th V. . u.if
the homes In America would be m"? on th CP" ,0 c "u
Dearies, don't think you can't
get all this and more. And you
wouldn't have to fork over any
All you'd have to do to win
any demand would be to threat
en a country-wide strike. No
nation can live by the can-opener
alone. And if you quit wiping
Junior's nose, washing the dish
es, doing the laundry or cook
ing the groceries Whv, mil
lions of hungry husbands would
pennies for J. P. Morgan and daughter of GOP Governor Hat
Co., which largely owns and con- fjei,j 0( West Virginia, has made
trols U.S. Steel. Ben cut down his drinking, has
These two men sometimes pulled in his waistline, and has
disagree. And their disagreement married her daughter to Ben's
represents a seesaw between son by his first wife,
liberal and conservative policies when Ben retlrcf sjx year,
which have alternated in the hence t the age o 65 he wiU
management of U.S. Steel and J. receive , pension of $50,000 a
P. Morgan. year paid for by the company.
Originally U. S. Steel was one but the game company now
of the most reactionary firms in balkj at paying ,teelworkers
America. For years the famed pensions a, recommended by
Judge Elbert Gary ruled it with the fact.inding board.
an iron hand. Labor was treat- ...
ed like so many ingots or blast Enders McCIumpha Voorhees,
furnaces except that labor was the accountant who really domi-
a lot cheaper. nates U.S. Steel, is the son of an
Then a new day dawned in Amsterdam, N.Y., banker whose
the oak-paneled offices of J. P. family settled in New York in
Morgan. Myron Taylor, now am- 1660.
bassador to the Vatican, believ- A, a boy his father invested
ed in giving labor a break. in a knitting business which
Dwight Morrow, who later fol- went jnt0 bankruptcy, and
lowed amazingly liberal policies young Voorhees, convinced that
as ambassador to Mexico, also poor accounting methods were
leaned toward labor. And Tho- resp0nsible, decided to take up
mas W. Lamont, guiding genius accounting as his profession,
of the Morgan firm, was far since then he ha, ,eJ tne col.
more liberal than the public re- orlfis5 rather routine ,ife of .
allze1, financier, rose to be financial
So in 1937, the world was vice-president of Johns-Man ville
flabbergasted when Myron Tay- company, came to U.S. Steel in
lor negotiated a union contract i937i jg author of a new cost-
for U.S. Steel, for the first time accounting system of which he
in that firm's history. js pr0ud.
Voorhees has the natural ban
Then Myron Taylor stepped ker'i approach to labor prob
out of U.S. Steel in favor of the lems. Not being a talker, his
Vatican; Tom Lamont died, and views are not a matter of de
J. P. Morgan reverted to the con- tailed record,
servatives. Thus began the trend Judging from U.S. Steel'i re
toward conservatism again in the cent policies, however, plus re
giant steel corporation and the ports from his colleagues in
elevation of Enders Voorhees, banking circles, Voorhees feels
accountant son of a New York it would be better for labor to
banker, to the position of real take a bloody nose before man
influence, agement yields further on either
Finally it saw the wane of wages or pensions.
Ben Fairless, the traditional Furthermore, any settlement,
friend of labor. in the opinion of the Voorhees
It is significant that, during school of management, must
the lengthy sessions of the pre- come under the Taft-Hartley act.
aident's fact-finding board, the And so far, any invoking of Taft-
only head of a big steel corpor- Hartley has been deftly avoided
ation who made no appearance both by the White House and
was Ben Fairless. The tightfist- labor.
ed Voorhees appeared for him. Tne Taft.Hartley ,ct, or in.
Fairies, first got in wrong provide, lor a cdoling-
WLth h1!1 ?-,JP-MXI! "if " Pi 80 A1
Wuhe?, he. W.ihe h'VL 'I' "dy the steelworkers union has
shor ly after the war, that U.S. voluntarily po,tponed . .trike
Steel would accept the 18. for 76 d aJ of tod and
cents-an-hour wage ncrease. d as of 0ctober j Tne Taft.
This brought rising temper- Ht, ct could have don,
atures to some of the gentlemen better
in J. P Morgan offices, and rurthermorei on, of th.
since then they have been more amendmenU to Taft-Hartley ac-
careful about letting Ben Fair- ted b lhe CIO duri Jenat9
less loose at a wage conference deba(e, lalt year wgl , lact.
without a chaperone. finding board to recommend set-
. , . tlements. This was exactly what
Ben Fairless was born 59 years President Truman appointed in
ago into a coal miner s family ,he eel dlspute ,nd tne union
at Pigeon Run, Ohio. His lath- js now wilUng t0 accept its re
er, too poor to educate his lirst commendation, in toto.
born, farmed him out to an un- But the teel indu5try ia not.
cle who ran a store at near-by Fori among other ,hing, t0 c.
Justus, Ohio. . cept the lact-linding recommen-
As a result, Ben took his un- dation, would ,how that iab0r's
cle s name, and always remem- metnod , ,ettli dlsputes was
bered his mother s resolve that. workable and that the Taft
come what may. he should never Har ct wa, ot fo essentlal
work in the mines. af)er aj
Fairless taught a one-room Those are some ol the views
country school in order to save held b ,ome o( (h, men wn0
up money for college, was gra- wi fina declde whether the
duated from Ohio Northern uni- nation., economv ta tied up by
versity Joined the Wheeling and a giant eel atrike
Lake Erie railroad as engineer, icopjriiht imii
OPEN FORUM
'Mess at State Penitentiary'
To the Editor: It seems to me it is about time ... to do some
thing about the , . , mess at the state penitentiary . . ,
We can see that it would be tough to keep watch of all the men
out there during the time the place is all torn up during con
struction, but I can't see why any one would let a man like
(William John Perkins) work
MacKENZIE'S COLUMN
Is Moscow Ready to Talk
Now About Atomic Control?
By DeWITT MacKENZIE
tuP! Foreign Affairs AnilvcO
President Truman's announcement (concurred in by Britain)
that there is evidence of an atomic explosion recently in Russia
should cause no surprise.
Such a development was a foregone conclusion. It had to come
sometime. '
complicated industrial facilities
and the industrial know-how to
construct a bomb. That's what
stymied Germany in World War.
Her scientists claim she had the
know-how lor the atom bomb,
but lacked the industrial set-up.
Has Russia overcome these in
dustrial hazards? Perhaps no
body outside Russia knows.
All we have been told is that
there has been an atomic ex
plosion in Russia. No details.
But supposing it was an atom-
sion, declared in Bonn, Germany h b ,.
"the news that Soviet Russia has one wouW Ruu
the atomic bomb is good news ,o look, jr war w,th ,
because "if both the United wh , h
States and Russia have it there . . . . ,, ,,,.
More over.,
there is no rea
son to assume
that this news
has increased
the danger o(
war between E
Russia and the l
western Pow
ers. In lact, it
may give a fil
lip to peace.
Prof. Otto
Hahn. regarded D""" ""
as a discoverer of nuclear fis-
W2
will be no war.'
The U. S. state department of
for emergencies.
Still, we can't overlook the
J.ciais generauy u. ... fgct thaj th mor(. atomic bomb,
that the danger of war hasn t there gre ,caUered about th,
been ncreased or decreased but world h t ,h, h
that, in fact, Russia may now be ( exloslon,. Men who carr
more ready to make a plan lor " tection hav. leny.
international atomic control. nerve, tne,r tr,gger fln.
Whether that was an inspired ger(
estimate of possibilities, the
lact remains that Soviet For- while we are ,urt neither
eign Minister Andrei Y. Vish- the United States nor Russia
insky in addressing the United wants war. we can't call that
Nations assembly at Lake Sue- good enough,
cess Friday called on the Big As President Truman says,
Five Powers to conclude a peace this explosion in Russia em
pact among themselves. He phasize again the necessity lor
ni'VTealZ ft ZZCAl "truly, effective, enforcibl. in-
' ' j, , ternational control of atomic n-
. ergy which this government and
the large majority ol the mem
bers of the United Nations sup
As remarked, there Is nothing Port."
in the lact that there has been u.N. Assembly President Car
at atomic explosion in Russia. It loi p. Romui0i alter learning of
would have been remarkable 11 the President's statement, said
It hadn't occurred, lor it was in the atomic control deadlock b
the books. fore the assembly becomes one
A couple ol months ago this ol the most pressing problems,
column reported there was wide- Heretolore, all efforts to reach
spread belief among scientific agreement have failed because
observers that Russia had at ol inability ol Russia and the
least the theoretical knowledge, Western Powers to get together,
as distinguished from the Indus- Therefore, the p a ra m o u n t
trial knowledge, of how to make question ol the moment is wheth
the bomb. Britain also had the er Mr. vishinsky'a proposal lor
,ecret- a Five-Power peace pact means
However, America was the Moscow Is ready to talk about
only nation having the vast and atomic control.
ence to draw their own con
clusions.
This Thief Took All
Minneapolis WHl Gerald Rienersina, Brewster, Minn., told
police that somebody broke Into his automobile and stole a rod
and reel, a suit ol clothes, one hunting knife, one pair of shoes,
a jacket, a canvas bag, one pair ol overalls, three shirts, a
war souvenir, a contract lor a house and a marriage license.
for
APPEARANCE
1
1
l with our
finer
Party-Line Proves Helpful
rortsmouth, N. II. IUP A party line telephone can be a
big help In answering radio quiisrs, Mrs. Mary Holman o(
Hampton ran tell you.
A local radio qulimaslrr phoned to ask her the M0 ques
tion: "Who was the first chief Justice of the I'nlted States?"
She started to answer. John" There was a click and a
whispered "Jay." Mrs. llnlmun won the $10.
Later, she said, she split It with her erudite and inquisitive
neighbor.
Golfer Scores Real Birdie
Fort Worth, Tel. OIPiBarton Cole, city Junior golf cham
pion, scored a birdie literally. Ills hall hit a mockingbird,
grounding It,
bankrupt in a year.
What recognition do house
wives get for keeping the coun
try on an even keel?
A few kind words on Mother's
day, a half dozen battered red
roses and maybe a dinner out
at the local beanery. Even then
the waiter usually hands her
the check, since she is the only
solvent member of the family.
But it isn't to be a bargain
basement Cinderella one eve
ning of the year, and a grease
monkey to a vacuum claner Die
other 364 days. So mama mopes
and feels frustrated and in
ferior. The kids are going to school
anything you asked.
But don't sell yourselves too
cheap. Make? 'em did up some ot
that filthy old gold in Fort
Knox and circulate it.
How about bonuses? Why not
government-paid trips to Europe
every other year to Investigate
what foreign housewives are do
ing? And wouldn't It be a good
Idea to create a new cabinet
post Secretary of the Depart
ment of the Home Held by a
housewife?
And don't forget pensions.
Senators get them. Why should
n't wives Senators' wives, too.
You girls Just don't know your
own muscle.
where he could get at pipe dred men at the pen. I can't tee
wrenches, saws and wrecking why a man that commits rape
bars to make a break and get would be put to work where he
on the outside. When a crimin- has access to tools or a 20
al like this Is loose, man, worn- foot ladder,
an or child isn't sate. ... O. A. PECK
While you have thirteen hun- Route 5, Salem
Increased Pensions in Colorado
To the Editor: More than 10 days ago the Associated Press
carried a story of a big increase in pensions in Colorado Irom
$7J to $80 a month, a new high, and this amount will be paid to
48.500 men and women, who in turn will place $3,880,000 directly
In life ol trade with the baker, the grocer, landlord and other
merchants right at the grass
roots Instead ol being borrow- trust the news is not too late to
ed Into circulation. find space in your valuable
We lailed to see this news in paper,
your columns, although wt read FRANK K. HASKELL
every word ol it daily. We Box 368, Wecoma
DRYCLEANING !
Think back to that first
day at school when yov
were ochildl That all
Important fiul impretiion
on lhe teacher and on
the ether kidilThen
lend ui your children's
cool-weather clothes.
is they can took their
beit, feel their best,
do their btitl
9
Electric Cleaners
36S Highland h. 34821