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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1917)
STEDFORT) MATL TRIBUNE. MEDFORT). ORECJOX, MONDAY.- SEPTEMBER 24. 1917 PAGE TTTREE pENTY BILLIONS AMERICANS ON T0BESPENI1LY BATTLEFIELD ARE I HALF WAR COST KEEN FOR FIGHT i Just a Fifth of Nation's Income and l It Won t Break us Large Part is J Loan to Allies, Another Part Is for ; Merchant Ships and Another Block S W Airships Much of It Returns. a - i Bv BASIL M. MANLY ! . WASHINGTON, Sept. 24. Appro bations by congress' the present year will total more tliiiu twenty bil ' . lion dollars. This stupendous sum is j more than n third of the aiijrregate income of all the people of the United i: States. I Is all this wealth to be consumed in h the fire and smoke of battle, ns many ! pro-Qcrinan propagandists are trying JKtp make the people believe t yr , Are we simply throwing more than a third ot what the American people will produce this year into the lap of . the war god with no hope of return? Or is a large part of these thou sands of millions simply an invest -V ment, from which we shall reap com mensurate returns? Where Money. Goes; .Suppose we analyze for ourselves. 46k down the column for the largest :e item "loans to allies" $t 000,000,000. Here arc seven bil ls riLrlit at the start tor wuicn responsibility of interest and cap I payments rests not on us, but Our allies. iiid here's another big item JO,000,000 in round figure for uippiiig uuinu. I, Here is mm ney going f Why, into ships the t investment in the world for is after the wur. Some of these ps are sure to be sent to the bot 1, biit ns a whole they are not only og to pay for themselves, but, naged with judgment and effie 3y, will pay into the federal treas- an amount equal to their initial t every year they are operated, n if ocean freight rates drop to Lfniivl tlipir iirpsenf level. fhen there is $150,000,000 for the administration. This will be a (to purchase foodstuffs for re Tlie federal government will fefore always have in the form of key or food the full value of every nr. It is an investment and not expense. j War Risk Insurance, limilarly with $"r,000,000 apprp itcd for war risk insurance, used ply as a capital fund. Under sent rates and losses this capital (return to the treasury a consid ble profit. 'ten there arc items of $25,000,- On Historic Ground, Vanguard of Pershing's Army Is Working With in Reach of German Guns, But Forbidden to Go "Over the Top" Sneak Into British Trenches. 3 :S. 1 N00 for the Danish West Indies, $20, 0,000 for a nitrate plant which can oduoe fertilizer in times of peace, d $3,000,000 for the Alaska rail ly, all simply investments, to say thing of various amounts estimat jroughly at $100,000,000 expended enlarging the government's nrsen- t and other plants in no sense rrent expenditures, but renlly ad dons to the nation's capital. Now we come to another kind of m $050,000,000 for aviation ,iveou ever thought what the sit- tion would have been if the war 3 ended with America's aviation as was until this appropriation was idef. Let mo tell you. When peace returns the nir is go f to' be the great new highway of ' Jlhierco for passengers, letters and hi pnekages. During the war the intion progress has been at least i great as during ten years of peace id it has all been made by Euro lan 'countries with Uncle Sam deep at the switch, except for a !W private concerns. Arintion Program's Effect, (If we had not had a big aviation rogram forced on us by war, we fould have come into this great new ield of commerce at least ten years ehind France, England, Italy .and tcrmany. With the big sums the Jnited States is now investing in iirplane development, we arc going o enter the nl'tcr-the-war airplane lompetitmn on something like equal erms. So this airplane nppropna ion ought to be counted ns an invest neat. ' i Then there are about a billion and I half dollars for the ordinary gov irnment departments, which must be lupported in peace or war. Deducting these various items, wc find while wc mint raise about twen ly billion dollars during the present year at least half ought to be count ed as investment. Ten billion as actual war cxpendi ture is an enormous sum; but if we consider that it is onlY about a fifth of our Dationnl income, it become apparent that we are not going broke. and that the burden is not nearly n heavy an or pro-German friend would have us believe. H TTO WAR PROF TEERS IS NOW URGED Government Compelled to Use Strong Hand in Squeezing Out Extortion Coal Forced Down, Steel Com mandeered,' Oil Requisitioned and Policy Adopted Cost Plus Profit. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE BRITISH FRONT, IN FRANCE. Sept. 24- (By(the Associated Press) On a historic battlefield which merges Into the fighting lines are encamped many American troops, far removed from the rest of their com patriots, who form the vanguard of Uncle Sam's expeditionary force In France. For military reasons, it is Impos sible to tell the world just where these men are, who they are. or what they are doing to further the inter ests of the entente allied cause, but It may be said on authority to credit to the stars and strfpes which for the first time In history fly over a camp of American soldiers in this part of the war wrecked world. Under German Guns. Some of them have been working continually In a zone covered by Ger man guns and already two of their number have been wounded, a fact whereof they are exceedingly proud. The Associated Uress heard these men were here and sought them out The visit involved a long motor trip, but the sight ot their bronzed faces and the sound of their cheerful, de termined voices more than repaid for the long journey. They are a fine healthy looking lot, and nearly two months of hard work In the open un der Teal campaigning conditions has put them in shape and they are ready for anything. Forbidden Exposure. Especially are they prepared and anxious to try honors with the Ger mans. In fact, their only grievance is that for the present they are not permitted, except where necessity demands, to expose themselves to the enemy's big guns. They want to feel the thrill that one experiences when explosives are going up all about and when shells herald their approach across No Man's Land with a i wicked whine that gives notice that in a fraction of a minute deadly bits of ragged steel will be flying in all directions. American officers have hard times keeping their men out of the British front line trenches. It is said that more than one American soldier has crept away when off duty and after making friends with the "Tommies" has taken his place be side them for a few glorious minutes while a minor battle was progressing. Americans to I'lglit. It would have been unwise, per haps, for the correspondent to Inquire too closely when any of the American officers "had done their bit" In thli manner. Nevertheless the corespond ent had grave suspicions that some of them had been 'over the top" with their allies in early days before or ders forbade It. However, they are good disciplinarians and nobody is disregarding the edicts which have been issued by the higher command The correspondent visited two dif ferent camps and in each of them there were the same scenes of meth odical activity characteristic of Amer ican methods. Things were moving smoothly and no false motions were being made. Efficiency was the watchword everywhere. Iloston linked Ilcans. It was noon when the second camp was reached and the officers and men were preparing for mess. Several clean-cut young officers came out to greet the correspondent and it was a cheery welcome with a firm hand grip and a hearty "I'm mighty glad to see you." One would have known he was In an American camp had he been blindfolded. An Invitation was extended to mess and it was accepted. "I'm afraid we can't offer you very much to cat," said one of the officers. "You see our cook Is 111 and just at this moment we are got ting along as best we can. But we can give you plenty of beans and well, plenty more beans," ho ended with an apologetic laugh. So Boston baked beans were served, the first the correspondent had seen in two years of knocking about which had taken him from revolution-torn Dublin to the Mohamed revolt on the northwest frontier of India. And they were the best beans ever canned or that ever will be canned. By GILSON GARDNER. WASHINGTON, D. C, Sept. 24. The government is making a hard but winniiig fight to curb "wur prof iteering." The president has found business is only partly patriotic and a strong hand is required to squeeze out extortionate profits even in war's necessities. The first experience in this line was that of Secretary Daniels with the coal operators. The best price the operators had to offer was $2.95. The sccretnry used his war power to fix a tentative mine price of $2.35, since reduced by the president to $2. As the navy uses about 2,000,000 tons a year, the illegitimate profit squeezed out is $2,000,000 if meas ured by the operators' patriotic price," or $3,000,000 if measured by the current market price. "Patriotic Prices." A "putriotic price" was also made on steel. April 0, in response to Sec retary Daniels' request the steel op erators offered to sell 310,000 ton to the government at $58 a ton for ship plates anil $50 a ton for "bars and shapes." The market price was between .$80 and 85. This repre sented a saving of $7,500,000. But it soon uppearcd this was merely a beginning of what the gov ernment needed. The steel and cop per people were accordingly asked for a rock-bottom price. They de clined to make a price the same to allies and the general public, us well as to the government, so Daniels an nounced the government wou'd com mandeer steel. Producers wen told to furnish what the government need ed at "cost plus a reasonable profit." Steel costs are now being worked out by tho federal trade commission. Iluylng Fuel Oil. The same tro"ble was encountered I COWARDICE GERMAN REPLY ON POPE'S PEACE LONDON, Sept. 24. The Man chester Guurdian considers that the German reply is- not strictly an ans wer to the pope's appeal for peace. Tho Guardian says: "We 'arc sorry to say it, but we find a good deal of moral and polit ical cowardice in the note. There was only one way by which Germany could convince the world of the sin cerity of her return to the human ities, mid that was by explnininj why she deserted them and what atonement she meant to offer. That would have been the brave thing to do. but Germany, husn't done it." The Guardian considers that tho note shows how far tho cducution of the German rulers has progressed in the hard school of facts, if not the principles, and the language of the note indicates that tho rulers have been forced to puy marked deference to tho views of the reichstng. The Guardian draws the conclusion that Germany's rulprs desire peace with a passionate intensity, declaring "we must help tho German people so far as is possible for us in their 'strug gle with their government'' and con cludes: "But wo must beware of rallying the forces of tho enemy by langunge that will help the government to iden tify itself with the interests of Ger many and her people which they so shamefully mismanaged." ASKED TO TESTIFY in buying fuel oil. The trust wanted $1.50 a barrel at San Francisco. The secretary fixed a tentative price at $1.08, which will be scaled down to a "cost plus" basis. On the amount of oil used by the navy in three months this saved $250,000. To get the oil trailsportcd the gov ernment had to requisition six tank ships with an aggregate capacity of 58,239 tons, at $1.75 a ton a month, instead of $2.50 a ton demanded. This saved $7,163,397 a year. With these beginnings it has be come the settled government policy to fix a price on basic materials and allow '-'cost plus n reasonable profit." Much depends on what figures are to be taken in estimating "cost." That battle is being fought desperately. The profiteers are striving to protect their enormous war profits. Hut ev ery day sees the anti-profiteering; press squeezing harder on the grist. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 24. Tes timony that she was Invited by the defendant to become a witness in "an Important case," which is declared by the prosecution to have been tho trial of Thomas J. Mooney for mur der as the result of a bomb explos ion here, was offered by Mrs. Hen rietta Rlgall of Grayvllle, Ills., in the trial here today ot Frank C. Oxmau, of Durkee, Ore., for attempted sub ornation of perjory. Oxman Is ac cused of endeavoring to secure F. E. Rlgdall, Mrs. Rlgdall's son, as a false witness against Mooney. "Mr. Oxman wrote to me telling me he would send transportation and that I would have a chance to see California," Mrs. Rigdall testified. "He Bald I would have a chance to be a witness in an important case. "I replied asking him why he did not send the transportation the same time he sent It to my son, Frank, when he desired him to be a witness In the case. He never replied to my lottor." Mrs. Rlgall testified that she had always known Oxman as "Cliff Ox man until she was told otherwise by her son. TO WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 Treas ury officials carrying out the gov ernment's policy governing the con servation of gold, have virtually de cided upon a policy prohibiting the export of gold to Spain. No gold bus been licensed for export to Spain since the" president's proclamation became effective, except several small shipments nlready loaded aboard steamers. Exportation of gold to Spain had been growing steadily up to the time of the president s proclamation. Be twecn January 1 and September 1 of this year the' voliimo approximated $88,000,000, the largest recorded in any similar period of time. It was adverse to the trade balance, which was in favor of the United States .September 1 to the extent of $50, (!0,000. CHICHESTER S PILLS Ltf Tina U Ut4 r.'i Void BirUlllAVv -rZ3 t,tr, ii-f nh pin V Vs J Trk Mtor. B oftMif , i D1A IO..B II RAN I) i'.UA b t SCLD Br DRUGGISTS VUMHIjiE Lifetime Shaves for 548 Metkusalehs only $1,000,000 We doubt if Methusaleh ever shaved at all. But he did live to be 1000 years old, they say. And for $1,000,000 he and 548 Brother Methusalehs could have lathered up every single morn ing of the whole 1000 years. All of which, smokers, goes to show how big is the reserve be hind the fragrance of your OWL Cigar. We mean the $1,000,000 or more of selected leaf which is constantly curing towards the "ready" point of Owl mellow ness and Owl fragrance. When you buy your next OWL Cigars remember that right now $1,000,000 or more in reserve leaf is insuring the fragrance of the Owl Cigars you'll smoke in 1918. If you remember this you'll know the "fragrance-reason" behind OWL'S mellowness. If we could be there when the cigar-man hands out the Owl box we'd say Thank you! THE MILLION DOLLAR (sTWAroHjj CIGAR XZZlJ r r ft7 ZfAA-A 74 It'll II Iaff If fr i i , JirtVlJttimM Showing exact aize of the iragiant, mellow Branded for your protection Ma EL M. A. il'XST ItlMVCH , ;i;Kiti, t if j it co. He's telling her that nothing he received from home brought more joy, longer-tasting Pleasure, greater relief from thirst and fatigue, than THE FLAVOR LASTS She slipped a stick in every letter and mailed him a box now and then. Naturally he loves her. she loves him. and they both love vVRIGLEVS. CHEW IT AFTER EUERY MEAL Three of a kind fieep them In mind Oregon's Greatest Exposition The Fifty-Sixth Annual OREGON STATE FAIR Salem, September 24-29 Sunday afternoon on September 23, an Ameri can Scandinavian Patrotic Festival, and the Fourth Centennial Anniversary will be held on the grounds. Mine. Alma "Webster Powell, world fa mous prima donna, will lead the musical program, and men of national renown will speak. Splendi dexhibits, daily lectures and demonstra tions on food production, a superb racing card, high class amusements, ideal camping grounds and best of accommidations for exhibitors and visitors. Excursion rates on all railroad lines. A. H. Lea, Secretary, Salem OREGON STATE FAIR SALEM SEPTEMBER 24-29 Afrrirtilturnl K.xliibils, Grnncl I.ivo Stock l'nrnilo, IlnriK'SH nml Snddlo Homes, liiinniiiK mid Trotting Knees, Hogs, Cat tle mid Poultry, l''nrm Mnnhincry Kx liibilH, Portland Day, Salem Day, Scandinavian Hay, Reformation Day and many otlier npacial events. Soma IliiiiR of interest ovcry minute. LOW ROUND TRIP FARES , i on wile September 201h to 2!)tli, from nil points in Oregon. Final return limit October .'lnl. All Trains Direct to Fair Grounds. Ask loral nk'cnt for fintlicr parllc ilium. John M. Scott, C.i'iieml 1'iuixcnKcr Affcnt, Portland. SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES