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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1917)
ft . FULL LEASED WIRE DISPATCHES i, fjfm oft flM? - fl flk 1Mb $1IB ' ' CIRCULATION IS OVER 4300 DAILY . X SimrnFFiinfriJi w t t -r T u w FORTIETH YEAR NO. " - . . , lMWMMMWWWMMMMM,w,MMaMMMM D. S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDADAMSONLAW Opinion Holds That Cong.V Had the Power To fix Hours Constituting Day's Work YFcr fixing Wages :Court Points Out This Was Done But Limited Period LeaY- ing Matter After That Time l o Be Arranged by Men and Managers Is Six to Three Decision Washington, March 19.-The Adamson eight hour is valid. This was the ruling of the supreme court today. Chief Justice White read the decision which declared constitutional the law passed under spectacular circum stances in the closing night hours of last summer's congress session. ' .. Besides declaring the Adamson law constitutional, the highest tribunal held congress has a right to legislate wages, the supreme court's decision today is a formal re versal of the opinion of Judge William C. Hook, Kansas City, who held the law unconstitutional. The court held the law constitutional in a division of six to three. Justices Pitney, Day, Vandeventer dissented. Chief Justice White and Justices Holmes, McReynolds, Brandeis and Clark signed the majority opinion; McKen na wrote seperate opinion but concurred. Justice Day read a dissenting opinion as soon. as the chief justice concluded the majority ruling. Contention Without Merit White in his opinion concluded "We say tlmt the contention that the act was void and could not be made operative becauso unworkability of its provisions is without merit, since we see no reason to doubt that if tho stand ard fixed by the act were made appli cable and a candid effort followed to carry it out, the result would be with out difficulty accomplished. It in true that it might follow that in some eas es, that because of particular terms of employment or exceptional surround ings some change "might be necessary hut these exceptions arford no ground lor holding' the act void because its provisions are susceptible in practice of being carried out. " Ifeing of the opinion that congress had the power to adopt the act in ques-J noil, wnerncr it oc vieweu as a direct fixing of wages to meet the absence of a standard on that subject resulting from the dispute between tho parties or as the exertion ot power by con gress which it undoubtedly possessed to provide' by appropriate legislation lor compulsory arbitration a power which' Inevitably resulted from its au thority to protect interstate commerce in dealing with a situation like that which was before it we conclude that the couit below erred in holding the statute was not within the power of congress to enact and in restraining its inforcenient and its decree there fore must be and it is reversed and the en use .remanded with instructions to dismiss the bill and it Is so ordered." Only Two Questions White did not stick to manuscript. His statement differed materially from the printed opinion- "All the propositions," he ruled, " ridied upon and arguments advanced ultimately come to two questions: " First, the entire want of constitu tional lower to deal with the subjects embraced -by the statute, mid second, such abuse of the power if possessed as rendered its exercise unconstitution al," White said in part. "We will con sider these subjects under distinct propositions separately. ' 4l'"irst is the entire want of consti tutional power to deal with the sub jects embraced by the statute. "There must be knowledge of the power exerted before determining whether as exercised it was constitu- ABE MARTIN I A good front is half th'. battle either ii love or war. Some . fellers, live, in o' open an others cultivate full page beardsh. . 1 . 67 tional and we must hence settle the dispute on that question before going further. Only an eight hour standard for work and wages ere provided, is the contention on the one side, and in substance only a scale of wages was provided, is the argument on the oth er. We are of the opinion that both are right and in a sense both wrong insofar as it is Assumed that tho one excludes tho other. The provision of section one that 'eight hours shall be deemed a day's work and tho measure or standard of day's work' leaves no doubt about the first proposition. As to the second this is equally true be cause of tho provision there forbidding any lowering of wages as a result of applying the eight hour standard es tablished by seetion one during Un limited period prescribed in section two. Both are Mandatory "Both provisions are equally man datory. "if it be said that the second, the depriving of all power to change the Continued on Page Seven.) Full Text of Agreement Between Managers and Men In Settlement New York, Mar. 19. The following agreement was signed today by the railway managers' committee and the brotherhood chiefs, formally settling unest;,.i.s over which they have been at odds: "New York, March 19. Settlement awarded by the committee of the Coun cil of National Defense: In all road service except passenger, where sched ules now read, 'one hundred miles or less, nine or ten hours or less, over time at ten or eleven miles per hour,' eight hours or less for a basic day and twelve and a half miles per hour for a speed basis for the purpose of com puting overtime to be paid for at not less than one eighth of a daily rate per hour. In all yards, switching and hostling service where schedules now read, '10, 11 or 12 hours, or less, shall constitute 'a day's work,' insert 'eight hours or less shall constitute a day's work at present ten hours' pay. ' "Overtime to be paid for at not less than one eighth of the daily rate per hour. "In yards now working on an eight hour basis the daily rate shall be the present ten hours' standard rate with overtime at one eighth' of the present standard daily rate. If Law is Unconstitutional "In case the law is declared uncon stitutional eight hours or less at pres- Corvallis, Or., March 19. Miss Irene eut ten hours' pay will constitute a Medinnes, age 23, is dead, and Mrs M day's work in hostling service. L. Granning, wife of Professor Gran- "In passenger service the present i ning of the Oregon Agricultural Col mileage basis will be maintained. On ; lege, is seriously injured today because roads now having a flat ten hour day tneir automobile turned turtle near in passenger service, the mlc will be amended to read 'eight within tea hours.' "For all classes of employes in short turn around passenger service, where the rule now reads 'eight within twelve hours', it will be amended to read 'eight within ten hours.' "For such territory as has no num ber of hours for a day's work in short turn around passenger service, the eight within ten hour rule applies. "Overtime to be paid tor at not less than one eiehth of the dailv rate i per hour. i operating- their plants on government "The general committees on indi-'. land without paying the rates- pre vidual roads mav elect to retain pros- scribed by recent laws, ent overtime rules in short turn around j- The government's demand for an ae passenger servicer or the-foregoing iro- j counting of money made by companies visions, but may not make a combina- in the past was granted. SALEM, RECENT EVTNTS NOT I" LEASING TO KAISTE Following arc some develop ment of the last few days that have uot met with the Ge-umn emperor's approval: Overthrow of liussinn thrm? and the reactionary govern ment that was uiilcr German influence; promise of new vig or in Russian war on Germany. Possible danger to kaiser's throne in effect Of victory of Russian people on the minds of the Oor.nan populccc. Evidence of unrest among German people; attack on gov ernment in Prussian Diet, ono deputy exclaiming: "We are no longer serfs whom the king can buy or sill or order us to bleed and die t t the word of com mand.'' Issuance of British statistics showing loss of ships through submarine warfare only 2 per cent; failure of submarine cam paign indicated. Loi-s of Bagdad rnd contin ued retreat by the Turkish for ces in Asia; continued advance by Russians through Persia. Rupture of diplomatic rela tions by China and seizure of German ships in Chinese wa ters. Further loss of ground, in cluding Iiapaume, on the Hom me fronts. Gain of depth of two miles on 13-mile front in the (Mac by French, Jap Fleet Watching Interned Steamers San Diego, Cnl., Mar. 19. Indica tions are todav that Japanese and Brit ish patrol vessels in the Pacific are taking every precaution to prevent the escape of the fleet of German steam ers and sailing vessels interned at San ta Rosalia, Lower California. Reports that these vessels were ready at any moment to take to sea, should America become involved in war with Germany. have reached British nnd French con sular representatives and been trans mitted to the representatives of this country. As tho ships are in Mexican waters the United Htates has no jurisdiction over them, but should steamers of the ore carrying fleet make sea and be captured by allied warships lurking in v.ait thev would prove valuable prizes. There are eleven German vessels- in tho harbor at Santa Rosalia, with crews aggregating about 400 men. A number of these sailors have managed i. desert, and made their way into this country ns seamen on coasting steamers. FOB PREPAREDNESS Boston, Mass., March 39. Governor McCall cms afternoon sent a message to the legislature calling for an appro priation of $1,000,000 for emergency defense measures. of the Strike tion of both to pensation than basis. produce greater com s provided in cither If Constitutional "In the event tho law is held to be constitutional, if the foregoing settle ment is inconsistent with the decision of tho court, the application will be adjusted to the decision. If declared unconstitutional the above stands wjtk all the provisions as written. - "The foregoing to govern for such roads, classes of employes and classes of service represented by the national conference committee of the railways. "The schedules, except as modified by the above changes, remain as at present. (Signed) t " Franklin K. Lane, "Daniel Willard, "W. B. Wilson, "Samuel Gompers, "Accepted by: ' ' W. G. Lee, "L. E. Shephard, W. S. Stone, "W. S. Carter. "The national conference commit tee of railways, by Klisha Lee, chair- KILLED AT CORVALLIS. here yesterday. The two women were the only occupants of the car. Miss Medinnes was employed by a Portland bank. Sis months ago she came west from St. Paul, Minn., where her relatives live. UTAH LAW SUSTAINED. Washington, March 19. The supreme court, in a far reaching ruling today, upheld Utah state court decisions which enjoined power companies from OREGON, MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1917 PHESIOEIIT ORDERS RUSH WORK Oil G President- May Take More Drastic Step lean Arm ing Ships AN EXTRA SESSION OF CONGRESS MAY RESULT Sinking of American Vessels Is Direct Challenge To War By Robert S. Bonder (I'nited Press staff correspondent) Washington. Mar. 19. President Wilson authorizes Secretary Daniels to use $115,000,000 appropriation to speed up ship building. The president also authorized sus pension of the eight hour lw in ship yards as another sliced up measure. This applies to all plants having to dd with naval construction for the government. , The greater part of the money will be used in constructing submarine chasers and scout cruisers, according to tentative plans liade . by Daniels several weeks ago,, " : ' ' 'Whatever can be done will be done, Secretary Daniels declared in answer to questions as to dealing with the -submarine in thebarred area and likewise near our owh coast. Without detailing the full purpose of the more than ,. two hundred small fast motorboats, he designated them "an emergency purchase, it was sig nificant, too, that thd suspension and expansion of the eight hour system was ordered because of the existence of "a national emergency' . - President Wilson- and Secretary Dan iels did not take up the question of commandeering ship yards, but- Dan iels announced that this will be taken up "if necessary." Need small Boats ; Daniels laid particular stress upon the need for small boats, but said that a good deal of the $115,000,000 would be spent upon speeding up work oc the larger vessels. The whole amount mav not be used, but only such am ounts as the department "can wisely spend." While the secretary did not say so (Continued on. page six.) RUMOR OF GERMAN REVOLT New York, Mar. 19. Wild Tumors of a revolution in Berlin swept the United States and Canada this afternoon with no apparent basis bo far as could be ascertained. Apparently they were trace able to recent stories from con tinental sources stating there was unrest in Germany and that the success of the Russian revo lution might, in the opinion of some, embolden the people of other Kuroponn nations to take control. THREE SHIPS SUNK BY American Vessels Sent Down Wrdiout Warning One Boat Missing Washington, Mar. 19. Fear that Cap tain Boruin and nine missing seamen of the City of Memphis, American freigh ter, are now possibly prisoners aboard the German submarine which sank the ship was conveyed in the second of two dispatches received today from Consul Frost at Qucenstown. "No ijiews yet of Captain Borum, City of Memphis hip 'a papers found to day in biscuit tin tn captain's boat, which was picked up 11 a- m., 18th. Boat showed signs hastily abandon ment, discarded overcoats, etc., with white silk handkerchief at masthead as flag, showing boat not abandoned until after daylight. "It is barely possible that all nine in boat were taken by German submarine, but more probably by some friendly craft having no wireless. (Signed.), x Kuril. Empty Board Found. "Captain's boat did not separate from others until 1 a. m. today and was picked up empty at 10 a. m. Weather meantime remaining moderate. WARSHIP GUILD "essel cleared Cardiff lbth in bal last with 58 persons, including 29 Amer icans. At 3:55, 17th, submarine fired warning shot from three mile ou star board quarter. " Vessel was stopped. Submarine ap- (Contlnued on page three.) . uniro punTiinr HLLIEu OHMUIIL 1PREW ID W VILLAGES German Retreat Orderly But Persistently Harrassed by Allies NEW DEFENSES READY FOR TROOPS TO OCCUPY Turks Retreating Before Rus siansTwo Destroyers Torpedoed" By Ed L. Keen. (I'nited Press staff correspondent.) London, Mar. 19. The greatest oc cupancy of territory by any belligerent since the German sweep toward the Marne thrilled Knglnnd today. Allied forces this time are the gainers. It is the German line that has given way. Nearly OOO square miles of territory between the Arras sector and the River Oise have been added to the allies' holdings. Although there was general rejoicing today over the success of the allies' "push," experts were inclined to put the soft pedal on the popular tendency toward over-optimum. I hey pointed out that the German re treat was not a headlong flight, but a methodical, systematic turning back from untenable positions to others, doubtless long and carefully prepared- ihe relreat has undoubtedly been ac celerated by the allies' unexpected su periority unexpected to the Germans. They have harassed the enemy with the vigor ot their pursuit. But the lack of reports of any con siderable losses of men and materials by the Germans indicates the Withdrawal was far from disorderly, retreat.." There was much gnessing here today as to the new. line to which the Ger mans were retreating. The one most favored by militarv experts was from Donai to Cambrai. Ht. Quentin, La Fere and Soissons. Observers here do not think the Germans will permit the al lies to gain the approaches to the val leys of the Cambre, Hcheklt and Hcarpe without Btrenuously contesting ot their advance. Today the allies were systematically constructing their lines and still press ing steadily against the- Germans. On (Continued on Tage Three An Appeal to Oregon From Inmates of the Oregon State Penitentiary The' 29th legislative assembly intro duced house bill IS'o. 518 for an act to provide for the erection of a new state penitentiary. This bill got-a before the voters for their adoption or rejection on June 4, 1917. We, the prisoners con fined in the state penitentiary, ask the voters to act. favorably on this mea sure. March 5, 1917. To the Kditor: Having been confined in the Oregon state penitentiary for a period of four years, and during that, iimo carefully studied this institution, I feel that the readers of this article will appreciate what I am about to state,jiore than an article written by a prison reformer, and place more credence in it, because I can back the following by unquestion able proof. when I read ui the legislative pro gram house oil'. No. 518 my interest was immediately aroused and I obtained permission from the warden to have copies of the bill printed, and I person ally ask every prisoner confined here to enclose ono of the slips in his weekly letter. Of the 425 prisoners here, all but 35 were more than eager to be of help in making our confinement more humanely habitable- As the average visitor enters the south wing cell house, he or she, sees nothing especially depressing. The cor ridor is light and airy and sometimes the sun is shining in the windows, but manv, many times I have noticed visit ors, as they walked down the corridar, stop in front of a cell door, cup their hands at the sides of their eyes and try to see the interior of the cell. It is not possible to do so, with one or two ex ceptions. Think what it must bo to pris oners confined in that cell, 1 should say two prisoners, for the cell houses two men. They measure 5 1-2 by 6 1-2 by 8 feet and one-third of that small space is taken up by two bunks, one above the other. The cell I am sitting m, writing this article hat never known one single ray of sunshine. It is no wonder that on the day the doctor visits the prison he finds from 35 to 45 men lined up waiting for him. Their ailments are comprised mostly of sick headaches, bad stomachs, insonionia, rheumatism, etc There are no toilets in the cells, only ao PRICE TWO CENTS ST.83"? J State Fair Premiums WiOJotal 528,000 At the meeting of the state fair board Saturday afternoon, it was decided that the premiums qr the 1917 fair should be $28,000, r.birti is $4,500 more than the premiums for last year. Of this large amount, $17,500 comes from ap piopriat ions by the legislature. Thp re mainder comes fioju gate receipts and Tho total ltfmiflm fnr thm .nnt- . ultural exh;bits was fixed at $8,000, which is an increase of about $2,000. The increase goes for larger premiums on sheep, swine ad dairy cattle. On account of difficulty last year in the coat section, no nrmiinm. ni kn en them this vear. On inn n4 i...... being little competition on Dorset sheep and Essick swine, the premiums on these breeds were eliminated. The board added $2,500 from its fund to the $1,000 appropriated by the legis lature for the lllirimiu et nnMu;n k.A fair grounds with the Walem water svs tem. " ' For the Accnmmrwintmn r,t t xki:a the hnHI-H rlpririffH (a instnll 7? . i v juwn ill I'u inu lavatories, eight more water fountains. jrire ovurHiiis win re placed in the prin cipal hnililiti0a nntt oil ....1;: , - f- - 1 1U protection and safety improved. iurr was some question as to wheth er Or llOt tho hnru hnt mill I.. I this year or not. That matter was not decided at this meeting. Exports and Imports Show Great Decrease Washington, Mar. 19. American ex ports and imports decreased almost $190,000,000 in Fchruarv month of unrestricted German U-boat warrare according to a report of the department of commerce issued today. This is the largest loss in export and import trade in a single month ever reported. The report shows that exportsiell off $l47,0.'!2,r9, compared with the pre vious high month, while imports de creased $42,2:59,685. Government officials attributed a largo part of the enormous decrease in exports anil imnnrtu in nf tlta ii,il. less Gorman submarine campaign. ino total exports Tor February amounted to t4(ifi,523,034, whilo imports totaled $199,570,597. Gold imports during - February amounted to $103,760,495, while the ex ports' of gold were $22,068,059. For the eight months ending Feb ruary 28, the total exports showed an increase of $1,496,01.1,216 ovcrthe same period in 1916. . Imports for the same period Increased $256,858,645. TROOPS UNDER RED FLAG. Moscow, March 19. Troops and tho populace united under the red flag that formerly stood for anarchy and vio lence was the strange spectacle here today. Most of the soldiers wore bits of red ribbon. the People of iron bucket that docs not even boast o' a lid that fits. That bucket must be used, if the necessity arises, by both men anil then sits in the cell until 6:30 in the morning, You can understand the waiting line for the doctor. The wings and cells are kept as clean as possible, but all the soap and water and bug juice in chisicmloni cannot make ono of the floor tier cells fit for one manf much less two, to live in. , THe big windows can only be raised a small way. The air is so foul at night that two guards have been compelled to resign in the past six months on ac count of it. If big healthry able-bodied well nourished men can't stand it, what of the prisoner? The eells on the fourth tier, north wing, are even smaller, being 4 bq 7 by :9 feet, un.l tluy get the benefit of all the stench and foul air from tho three i tiers under them. I The cell house in winter time is so cold that one is compelled to go to bed during the day to keep warm. In the summer time, it is just tho opposite. Men in the cells pour water on the floor and then lie naked on the bed trying to sleep. The Chapel. - As you step from the turnkey's of fice into the chapel, which connects the north and south wing cell houses, you will notice, if you are acquainted with the buildings, that you are looking at a veritable fire trap. Tho wood ceiling, wooden floor and wood stairway erected many years ago, seasoned and dry as tinder, need but a chance match or coal from the big bar rel stove in the chapel to turn it into an inferno, that all the fire companies in the state could not subdue in time to save the lives of the prisoners confined in their cells because there are, no out lets from the cell houses except through the chapel. If such a catastrophe should occur, you, the people of Oregon will individually and collectively be re sponsible. In the past four months a small fire occurred in the library at 3 a. ni. Before it was extinguished the men in the cells nearest the library were nearly overcome by the smoke, and it was only a small blaze. , Above the chapel, the shoe shop, ber- (Continued on pag tw.) STRIKE AVERTED RAILROADS YIELD AT EAST LIIEHT Sinking Three American SInps Aided in Reaching Agreement WILL PAY NO ATTENTION iU lilt aUflttMh tUUiiT Will Carry Out Provisions of Law Regardless of Lat ters Decision Now York, Mar. 19. The railroads have met the fullest demands of the Adamson eight hour law and thereby definitely averted the threatened nation-wide strike with the country oa the verge of its most serious crisis. Patriotism, swayed to its heigkt by tho sinking of three American vessels, brought from the railway : managers' committee early today the announce ment tnat tftey would accept the broth erhoods' rather than givo the impression at home or abroad that the efficient operation of the country's would be hampered or inipair- cu in me race or us latest peril. The railroads surrendered complete ly, leaving their end of the adjustment entirely in the hands of President Wil son 's mediation board. A joint com mittee is to thresh out the minute de tails. Tho following statement was issued by the mediators at 0 a. m-: "We desire to express our apprecia tion of the large and patriotic action, of the railway managers' committee which has put beyond prcadventnre tho possibility of a nation-wide railroad strike. 1 "The railroads have met the tull de-- maims, ot tne Adamson eight hour Jaw. int.- ivutrwivu ns wruri'U ns tnc CUI- ini nation of two days of negotiations. ' Story of Conference. "Our first effort was to secure a postponement of the strike, which waa fixed for 'Saturday night. This was ee cured by presenting to tho railway mutt-, agers a memorandum agreement drain ed by the brotherhoods which, with some particularly expressed the pro vision of the Adamson law. "We asked the railways to agree that if the Adamson law was held to ha constitutional that this construction and application would be given to it. Tho railways agreed to this at a joint ses sion between the brotherhood chiefs and the managers. And with much difficulty tho chiefs stayed the strike, an act that was vital to the success of our efforts and further mediation. ' ' Wo next sought some adjustment that would be effective should the lawr be held to be unconstitutional. In this regard many propositions were made to both sides, but nono was accepted until the railroads expressed their willingness to place tho whole matter in the bands of this committee. "This action proceeded, as the letter from the railway managers states, from a desire to demonstrate to the country that the railroads would not allow their own conception of railroad policy toi stand in the way of the fullest use of the roads at a time of severe national strain. Ignore Supreme. Court. "The committee considered the mat ter and decided that in view of the ac tion of congress in passing the Adamson law and the necessity for immediate ac tion that it waa best to adopt at onco tho memorandum agreement of the pre vious day as applicable under all con ditions. "Thus the provision of tho eight hour law, by agreement between the roads and the men became the basis of the settlement and whether the supremo court holds for the validity of the law or not, there will be no strike." Tho decision of the railway manager which was as sudden as it was unex pected by all except those directly in tho conference, came after virtually 48 Hours' continuous conterence. The following letter was sent to the railroad managers' committee early to day by the mediation committee: Will 1 oiiow tne Lew. "EHsha Lee., Ksq., chairman national conference committee of the railways: "Dear Air. L.ee: we are in rceeipt (Continued on page three.) . THE WEATHER Oregon: Tonight and Tuesday un settled, probabtjr. wrnaigmti - t m m m northwest, partly c 1 oudy south and east portions; south westerly winds. ("I MAP