a THE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 1922

10More Truth Than Poetry.Those Who Come and Go. Burroughs Nature Club.The LUteningT Post.of auxiliaries, the powers may ex-

pend on other types of vessel themoney, that they save on battleshipsand may thus actually expand theirnavies beyond the agreed ratios.France by building submarines mayforce Great Britain to build anti-submarine craft. Until the limita-tion agreement is extended to auxil-iary craft, we should be cautious not

power enterprises, and a great in-

crease in building in Portland andother Pacific coast cities. Thoughwe. are still far from the summit .olProsperity Hill, we are on our way.

This will be sad news for thosedemocratic politicians, like NationalChairman Hull, whose political cap-italwhen out of office is calamity,The fruits of republican policy havetaken well-nig- h a year to show

.

pointed by the governor, take Itsplace; or to let rate regulation beleft more largely to "home rule Incities, or whether It is time to admitthat state regulation of public utili-ties has completely fallen down andthat a systeu--o- f broad statutory re-

strictions with original jurisdictionin the courts should be the alterna-tive whether one or the other oftheie things would be best it is notnecessary now to discuss.

The outstanding facts are that a

ESTABLISHED BY HENRY I,. PIXTOCKPublished by The Oreg-onls- Publishing Co..

135 Sixth Street, Portland, Oregon.C A. MORDEN, E. B. PIPER, '

Manager, Editor.The Oregonian is a member of the Asso-

ciated Prese. The Associated Press is ex-clusively entitled to the use for publicationof all news dispatches credited to it or nototherwise credited In this paper and alsothe local news published herein. All rightsof publication of special dispatches hereinare also reserved.

Bubwrription Rate Invariably in Advance(By Mail.)

Dally, Sunday included, one year fg.00Daily, Sunday included, six months ... 425Daily, Sunday included, three months . 2.25Daily, Sunday included, one month .75Daily, without Sunday, one year 6.00Dully, without Sunday, six months ... 8.25Dally, without Sunday, one month... .6"Sunday, one year , 2.50

(By Carrier.)Pally. Sunday Included, one year ..... .$9.00Daily, Sunday Included, three months. 2.25Daily, Sunday included, one month .. ... .75Daily, without Sunday, ons year..,. 780Daily, without Sundav, three months .. 1.95Dally, without Sunday, one month 65

How to Remit Send postoffiee moneyorder, express or personal cheek on yourlocal bank. Stamps, coin or currency areat owner's risk. Give postoffiee address infull. Including; county and state.

IVwtaire Rates 1 to 1" pages, 1 cent; 18to 32 pages, 2 oenta; ti to 48 pages, 3cent; SO to 64 pages. 4 cents; 66 to SOpages, 6 cents; 82 to 91 pages, 6 cents.Foreign postage double rate.

Eastern Business Office Verree Conk-lin. 300 Madison avenue. New York; Verree

Conklin, Stager building, Chicago; Ver-ree Conklin, Free Press building. De-troit, Mich.; Verree Conklin, MonadnoekbuiUIInif, San Francisco, cl.

ITS TTSEiTLNESS ENDED.At the end of Its opinion reaffirm-

ing its decision in the telephone ratecase the public service commissionrebukes tha petitioner! in the casefor causing expense and waste eftime through needless agitation, thereprimand, being In both English andLatin. The comment provokes thereminder that those who formallyappeared In the rehearing did soupon the Insistent demand of a pub-lic which, then believed and still be-

lieves Itself outraged. Believingalso, as It may have done, in thewisdom and fairness of the commis-sion, and In the righteousness of itsown cause. It of course did not fore-see that its agitation would be need-less. How could it? I'he augustand learned attitude of the commis-sion, after the case Is all heard, can

.lead only to the conclusion thatof any kind before the

commission as at present constitutedare a waste of time; that when itspeaks It speaks when it says thatis that, why that is that foreverafter.

Whatever ridiculous quality wasdeveloped in the course of the re-

hearing was not peculiar to one sidein the case. The issue here was arate schedule promulgated In a timeof decline in cost of commodities,which so enormously Increased ratesover anything ever before heard ofin this community that they werewrong and preposterous on theirface. In support of them there wasat hand a lot of flub-du- b in the formof valuations which segregatedproperties interlocked both physi-cally and In operative practice whichpurported to untangle an inextricJable mass of financial wires, whichestimated this and estimated thatand presented all the non-unde- r.

ytandable statistical formalities andsolemnities that always attend thatvariety of flub-du- b.

Let us repeat for emphasis. Thenew rates were on their face exorbi-tant and inexcusable. Every user ofthe telephone knew it and every userwas indignant. Conscious of injurythe public had no confidence in theintricacies of calculation with' whichthe commission justified that injury.The public was willing to concedethat there was but one orderly wayto correct the telephone rate abuse.That was through the formality ofanother hearing. It had some hopethat the obvious exorbitance of, thenew rates would convince the com-mission, as It had convinced thepublic, that the commission's calculations and estimates and theorieswere wrong; that being wrong theysave a false indication of companyprofits. It was a false hope. It mayhave been a foolish one. But It wasnot wrong to entertain it nor doesit justify a reprimand from the commission.

Now there will.be a new flare ofpublic indignation. That it will takethe form of revival of recall peti-tions already partly, perhaps fully,filled, is one of the things to be expected. It is also one of the resultsto be feared. - The recall movementhas not been in trustworthy halids.If continued ltg probable result, un-less It can be diverted to more re-

sponsible promotion, will be the can-didacy of theorists or adventurers oropportunists and the election of oneot them.

The public has in the past votedits indignation, rather than its goodsense, in a similar circumstance. Itretired from office a capable commissioner and elected in his stead atheretofore unknown man whoseprincipal qualification was the entlcfng slogan, "Six cents is too muchfor a ride." The public thusvented its indignation; it thus punlshed a commissioner; but It did notget the fare. Instead, thebrave and firm supporten, by impllcation, of the fare permittedstreetcar fares to go to 8 cents without his protest after he had beenelected.

The great defect In the recall is itsapplication, almost invariably, intime of public passion or resentmentand therefore in a time when publicjudgment is warped. But it will notbe disputed here that the publie.service commission, as now constltuted, has lost public confidence andis at the end of its usefulness. It

. ought to be dismissed, but dismissedby some dispassionate method.

The public service commission exists by will of the people expressedturecuy inrougn tne initiative orthrough their representatives in thelegislature. It can be abolished sim.nariy. i n e commissioners areelected by the people, two from districts and one at large. Whether itis because of the elective system orsome other factor, the quality ofmembership on the commission hasdeclined since the first few years ofits creation. Two capable, efficientmembers have been ejected; one hasretired to go on the interstate com.merce commission. We now haveon the commission the gentlemanwith the inventive genius for slogans,

By James J. Montague.

THE WAY TO FAME. -

When Gaggitt, the vodyveel actor.Was standing 'em up in the tanks.

By walking about with his coat Insideout

And other ludicrous pranks.The critics considered him vulgar . '.

And looked at him only to frown;We wonder," said they, "why the

public will payTo watch such a dull-witt- clown?"

Then Gaggitt went into tha moviesAnd thousands of houses he packed

By making his stuff quite a littlemore rough

Than it was in his vodyveel act.With placards the country has plas

teredWhich featured hia face and his

name.And shortly he found that tha whole

earth aroundWas singing his praises and fame.

And, lo! the once cynical criticsWrote reams-Tipo- n reams to impart

To their readers the fact that thisGaggitt could act

With a clever and consummate art.They spoke of the way that hia genlua

Made noble the lowliest role.And scribbled at length of the Bad

ness and strengthComposing his wonderful soul.

This incident teaches, dear children.That if you are aiming at fame

And hoping to shine in the Thespianline.

Which same is a difficult came.Don't seek to achieve the great prizes

By step after arduous step:The way to succeed and the way

that you needIs first to go after a rep.

Making It Tough.Every time business turns the cor-

ner it sees congress putting up a"Road closed for repairs" sign.

Acquiring Wisdom.The coal miners have discovered

that public sympathy is necesary tosuccess. They have deferred theirstrike till the weather gets warm.

Excellent Idea.President Harding Is going to in-

stall a wireless. Evidently he wantsto know what the .county thinks efhim without having the informationstrained through hia secretary.

(Copyright liy the BoU Syndicate, Ine.l

Tribute to a Woman.

By Grace E. Hall.

Oh, dainty creature of a thousandmoods.

With delicacy and skill so deftlyformed

I marvel that God labored thui tofashion yoli

And then gigantic error of a mastermind!

Placed you on earth to fret your daysaway.

Fettered with impediments of a hu-man form,

With all its grosser details and itsgrief. v

You should have been a bird, withgenerous, flaming wings,

(And such a song as bubbles from the

soulTn ecstacy of wild, full joy of life;Your soul is so much like a thing in

flightLifted forever high above this cloud-dimm-

sphereWhere ordinary flesh-cla- d mortals

blindly plod. j

Yes; aweet and dainty creature, youshould have been a bird,

And breathed the purer atmosphereabove

This narrow cosmic isle that otherstread;

Or, some gold-winge- d and brilliantbutterfly.

Etched, momentarily. In varied hues,against a lily-cu- p.

Ah! such a soul as yours-i- a like astar

That, fallen, struggles to regain Itslost estate;

And, shining here perforce, foreverreaches up

To touch once more the boundlessinfinite.

In Other Days.

Twenty-fiv- e Yeara Ago.From The Oregonian of February 22, 189".

Columbus, O. Governor Bushnellhas announced he will appoint MarcusA. Hanna United States senator whenSenator Sherman resigns to enter thecabinet of President McKInley.

Salem. Senator Mitchell said to-

night substantially that so far as hawas personally concerned he did notcare whether he was returned to theUnited States senate.

The hop industry which has re-

ceived such a backset In the stateduring the past few years on accountof continued low prices, is being re-

vived.

Rev. William Arnold, pastor of thaThird Presbyterian church, has re-

signed to accept a call in California.

Vlfty Yeara Ago.From The Oregonian of February 2- -. 1S72.

Trade and general business hasbeen excessively dull since the trainsstopped running because of floors inthe rivers. "

The city councilmen were silentlast night about J263.40 for lightingthe town clock, though excessivelyliberal in- - some other matters.

There will be a parade today of thesecond brigade of the Oregon militia,consisting of Brigadier-Gener- O. F.Bell and staff, the Washington guard,Emmet guard and Montgomery guard.

Liability on Withheld Check.PORTLAND, Feb. 21. (To the Edi-

tor.) A gives B a check on the Statebank dated February 11, 1922. B failsto deposit or cash check and nowholds It after the bank's doors areclosed. Is A liable to B for the amountof the check or is It up to B to collectfrom the bank? SUBSCRIBER.

A is liable for the amount of thecheck, unless a court holds that U

kept the check for an unreasonablelength of time before attempting tocash It. If B did not present thecheck to the bank within a reason-able period, B has no recourse, but"reasonable time" is not specificallyfixed and required court dttermina-tion- .

The bank is not liable, as thecheck is not an assignment of A's ac-

count in the bank 'untll the bank hascertified to it.

Knnria Raised for Cemetery.GASTON, Or., Feb. 21. (Special.)

To raise money for grading and rock-in- c

the road leading to the entranceI nf the rpmpterv at East Gaston, thetrustees of the Hill Cemetery associa-tion, Mrs. James Baker, Mrs. BertWhite and Thomas Carmichael, gavean entertainment last night at theschool auditorium, which was an aT- - "

tistic and financial success. A pro-gramme of vocal and Instrumentalmusic was given; also dramatioead-ings- ,

recitations and a pianologua.

Copyright, Houghton-Miffli- n Co.

Can "Von Answer These Questions t1. Ia the tip of an opossum's, nose

sensitive to a blow struck to kill?2. Does the ostrich really hide its

head in the sand to escape its enemy?3. Please tell me a way to tan red

squirrel skina.Answers in tomorrow's Nature Notes.

Answers to Previous Qaestions.1. Can you give a recipe for a home

made scent to attract skunks andcoyotes?

No, though we know such a thingis sometimes used. Rotted fish isusually the base. Bits of fish cutup and placed with a little water ina bottle are said to make a horriblyeffective fluid. To this some otherstrong-smellin- g stuff, oil of sassafras,or asafetida, is added as a reinforce-ment. Spoiled fish itself used in thetrap ia said to be effective bait.

2. Is it true that toads live to bevery old?

Barring acoident, they may live agood many years. The life span ofany wild creature is pretty much amatter of luck In keeping out ofharm, but the toad is a good hider,'relying on keeping quiet and matching its surroundings to escapeenemies. An authentic case of a toad36 years old is quoted by an authorityon amphibia.

3. If birds have their eyes on theside of the hepd, can they see oneobject with both eyes at once?

Apparently they- - can see straightahead, as otherwise they .could notfly accurately toward a mark. Ofcourse, it is impossible to observehow the eyes focus when the birdis in rapid flight, but from the unerring way a hawk, for instance, candrop onto prey from a. height, powerto focus both eyes on the same pointseems to be inferred.

RELIGION IV PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Laws Vary in States as to Readinffof Bible in Classrooms.

LEWISTON, Idaho, Feb. 20. (Totha Editor.) Please name (1) thestates , that require religious instruc-tion in the public schools; (2) thastates that prohibit it; (3) tha statesthat allow it.

HENRY L. TALKINGTON.

The constitutions of all states con"tain guarantees of religious freedom,and the term "religious instructions"is capable of wide differences of in-

terpretation. Taking the reading ofthe Bible In the schools as the basis,the laws of the states fall into twogeneral classes those which forbidthe use of any books in the schoolswhich may be calculated to favor thereligious tenets of any particularsect, leaving it to the courts to deter-mine whether a particular book issectarian, and, second, those whichspecifically provide that tha Bibleshall pot be excluded or which makemore or less limited provision for itsreading in the classroom.

According to the "Cyclopedia of Education," edited by Paul Monroe, thefollowing states have .declared by lawthat the Bible shall not be excluded,or have provided that it shall be readin the schools: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts,Mississippi, North Dakota and WestVirginia. Reading of the Bible is op-

tional or permissive, according to thewishes of each community, in Kansas, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Especialprovision is made by law for excusingpupils from attendance on classesduring the period Oiich the Bible fabeing read in Florida, Iowa, Louisiana,Massachusetts and North Dakota.

The extent to which the reading ofthe Bible may be regarded as "reli-gious instruction," in states whichhave nodefinite laws on the subject,is largely a matter of construction bycourts and the decisions on this pointare numerous and conflicting.

Popes, Ireland and Traveling Cheeks".BAR VIEW, Or., Feb. 19. (To the

Editor.) 1. Have any of the recentpopes been chosen from cardinals out-side ot Itjily or are all cardinals

Italian residents?2. As applied to Ireland what are

"republicans, black and tans, SinnFeiners"? What are tile different po-litical parties now in Ireland andwhat is their main difference in opinion :

3. A check drawn on the recentlyclosed Bay City bank was sent a Tillamook firm early in January last. Itwas returned to the maker February13, ana its indorsements showed Ithad passed through three or fourPortland banks.. How comes it thatit dog not go direct from the Tillamook bank, where It was deposited totne aay Ulty banR7 SUBSCRIBER.

i. xne laBt non-itaii- pope wasthe Belgian archbishop of Liege, bornin Holland. He became Adrian VI in1522.

2. The republicans are those whostand for an independent Irish repub-lic, entirely- - separated from GreatBritain or bound to it only by a defensive treaty. The black and tanswere an auxiliary police farce com-posed of of the Britisharmy, expressly to combat the rebellion. Sinn Fein is the organizationwhich conducted the war for Irish in-

dependence and which has acceptedthe treaty creating an Irish free state.There are now three parties in Ireland, unionists, who stood for com-plete union with Great Britain, thoughthey have accepted a separate parlia-ment and local autonomy with re-

duced representation In the Britishparliament; free staters, who acceptthe treaty with Great Britain bywhich southwest' Ireland has domin-ion government like that of Canadaand becomes a distinct member ofthe British empire on an equalitywith all other British nations, and re-

publicans under De Valera, who re-

ject the treaty and hold out for abso-lute separation as aepublic.

3. Its travels were doubtless gov-

erned by the business convenience otits various holders, about which we,of course, can know nothing specific.You would have to ask each indorser.

Widow Has Dower Right.CLATSKANIE, Or., Feb. 21 To

the Editor.) A man and wife, havingtwo children, separate .without di-

vorce. They have no property, butafterwards the man gains consider-able. He later dies and the wife mar-ries aga4n. When the two childrenare of aga they dispose of the prop-erty without consulting their mother.The estate was never administered.What recourse has she and what partof the property could she recover?

INTERESTED.

Regardless of" whose hands theproperty now may be in, the widowhas not lost her dower Interest 'orlife estate ia one-ha- lf the real prop-erty. If personal property Is re-

ferred to, she has a legal right toone-hal- f.

Tales ef Folk at the Hotels.

"Ever see the John Day highway?"inquired R. A. Ford of Dayville."When that road is finished peoplewill go crazy about the wonderfulscenery. The formation In the gorgeand the fossil beds will attract thousands of tourists. What we wantparticularly is transportation In ourcountry, for we have no .railroadsand no prospect of getting any, sotha John. Pay highway will bo ouroutlet. We don't want the truck reg-

ulations to apply on the John Dayhighway as they do on the pavedhighways, for the heavily loadedtruoks will simply compress thegravel surface and make the roadbetter than ever. The more loads thetrucks can carry the better it willbe for us, for it will reduce the costof operating trucks and, naturally,reduce tha freight rate. Do youknow that on many articles we haveto pay more freight than the articlecosts in Portland? At present allour supplies come in a round-abo- ut

way and the freight rate is exces-sive. Besides the route is circuitousand takes a lot of time. When theJohn Day highway is finished, and

Lit is almost completed now from Day- -vnie to tne coiuraoia Jttiver nignway.we can get our newspapers and let-

ters much quicker than at present;the distance will be more than 100miles shorter and there will also bea big reduction in tha freight charges.Tha John Day highway, is ona of thabiggest benefits that central Oregoncould have."

"Because tha present generation isstill fond ot peanuts and popcorn isthe result of Indianapolis vhaving thelargest plant in the world for themanufacturing of machines for pop-ping corn and roasting peanuts,states J. 8. Hough of the Holcombe& Hoke Manufacturing company, whois registered at the Multnomah. "Togive some idea of the great amountof peanuts consumed in, this country,I might state that farmers grew inthe United States 62,000,000 bushelsof peanuts, - and Jobbers Importedmore than that amount also to supplypopcorn to our customers. It took26,000 acres of the best corn land inIowa, Nebraska and Kansas to raiseit. Contrary to the general idea, popping corn, in order to pop, must becarefully grown and, if planted nearother eorn, will be of a mixed qual-ity and will not be suitable for popping. .Fortunes have been made inthe popcorn business. One Chicagofirm uses from 12,000 to 16,000 poundsdaily, and we know of one man whois only about 30 years old who savedup more than $20,000 selling popcornon a city corner, another who started14 years ago with $60 who is worth110,000."

There is a matter of about 1170.000of bond money dua the state highwaycommission from Walowa county.The commission, however, does notintend making a demand for thismoney at present, for the reason thatthe commisison wants to help thefarmers of that county. The bondmoney- is in the banks of Wallowacounty, divided according to the capital stocic and undivided profits, butthe cash will eome in handy to en-able the farmers to buy seed. CountyCommisisoner Johnson of Wallowayesterday came to Portland and offered to turn over the money if thehighway commission asked for it.He explained how the money willserve the farmers if left where it isfor a few months, and the hlghwaycommission agreed to have it naidover on the installment plan ' untilJune, --which will enable the banks tofinance the farmers at the time mostnecessary, waiiowa county la in apeculiar condition; more than (0 percent Is within the forest reserve andless than 40 per cent is on the taxrolls, while the population is 'about10,000. ,

Getting from Cove to Island Citynas been impossible recently, owingto the condition of the roads. Thetransportation problem ia such tlyitthe farmers are demanding thatsomething be done. Ray Duncan,cnairman or tne Cove farm bureau,and S. H. Weimer, secretary of theCove commercial club, and also in thetrucking business, are in town toconsult the highway - commissionabout the matter, although the Cove-Islan- d

City route is not on a stateroad. About 150 carloads of fruit areshipped from Cove a year and about

or berries, and the'Droducers want better means of gettingto marKet. it is possible that someway will be devised by the hierhwavcommission by which tha county canstart, mis year on the Cove-Islan- d

City road. Messrs. Duncan and Weimer are registered at the Imperial.

. r

Cold weather has prevented workin the past six weeks on the jrradlnerJob on The Dalles-Californ- ia highwaywmcn me county- - court has contracted to do in the southern end ofDesohutes county, according toCounty Judge Sawyer, registered atthe Hotel Portland. The Judge, whois also a newspaper editor and nro- -prietor. has been dickering with thehighway commission to get action onthe road between Sisters and Tumaloand Bend. The commission is talking of rushing the road from Sistersto Redmond, but while that ia alsowanted by the county court, the Judseaoesn z want tne Tumalo section overlooked. At Sisters the highway, aftercrossing the Cascades, divides, onegoing to Bend and the other to Redmond and on to Prineville and theMitchell country. '

With sawmills operating, La Grandeis in good shape, according to A. W.Nelson, manager of the Union CountyAd club, whd Js in the city. "Themarket for our lumber is in the eastwe cannot break into the Montanacountry," explained Mr. NelBon. "Theorchardists are harder hit than thegrain farmers in our county," he continued. "The reason for this is thevery high assessed valuation placedon orchard land by the county assessor. The orchards are assessed outof all proportion. This was shown recently in a study submitted to thestate tax investigation commission.I prepared some of the statistics forthis survey, and therefore know something of what the fruit men have tocontend with."

Former State Senator Johnson ofCorvallis, where he is in the bankingbusiness, was a Portland visitor yes-terday. He was here to urge that theroad between Corvallis tnd Albany heplaced on the state map. At one timetha highway commission favored thisidea and suggested its willingness tothe Benton county court, but thecourt declined, expressing a desire towait- - Now the commission has con-cluded that with the approachingcompletion of the West Side highwayand the Pacific highway the link be-tween Corvallis and Albany will notba such an important traffic artery inthe future.

Langnuge Changes Presented.: "The next round's on me.""We're going for aacentury run next

Sunday."i'She has such pretty ears.''"I'm not old enough to play golf.""Woman'splace is in the home.""Lift your skirt; this crossing is

muddy.""Speed limit, 12 miles.""Having a mlnuto or two to spare,

I telephoned' home.""Nickelodeon.""The land Of the free."

By DeWItt Harry.

CCASIONALLY through some for0" tunate combination of circumstances a person gains a reputationfor good works, enviable though un-

deserved' to some extent. Paul P,Nolan, who handles the cash for aninsurance, agency was once Just such

lucky man. Nolan is a stenographicexpert, and during hia student dayswas working out on speed tests. ' Thebest experience for work of this kindis to-- take the running remarks ofsome public speaker, for in this waythe student gains exceptional schooling. Nolan ia a Methodist and decidedhe would take his pastor'a Sundaysermon as part of his test, but thework was too clow. The sermon wasall right, but the divine too solemn,dignified and sedate, in his delivery

' ' 'no speed.So Nolan went to the Presbyterian

church the next week and found thesermon better, but not yet as rapid as

e wished. The third Sunday foundhim iq the Congregational church,where a fiery preacher just spoutedout the words and Nolan admits hegot the test of his life, so much sothat he returned agajn and again formore until he nearly became one ofthe fixtures of the congregation.

Of course any - preacher could heforgiven if he took mora than a passing interest in a member pf bia con-

gregation who cam night after nightand hung breathless on his everyword, and Nolan did just this. Nolan's

otebook was held belew the levelof the pew and few realized that hewas making hooks and scrawls as thepreacher talked, none less than thepreacher himself,' In any event thaminister singled Nolan out tor special

ttention and the young shorthandstudent . had , an embarraslng time

the mlnister'sinterest.'

Under tha rigid provisions of theChinese exclusion law it is exceedingly "difficult for any Chines toenter the United States. One excep-tion is made, a Chinaman who-- has aright to live in the United States maybring in his wife. That this privilegeis frequently abused goes withoutsaying. One recent case will serveas an- Illustration.

Classified as a merchant a localChinese had gone on a visit to Chinaand on his return was accompaniedby a woman he swore waa his wife."A wife's rights are no more than herhusband's, and in this case there wasnothing to prevent the Chinaman frombringing her into America, though itwould have been impossible for herto have entered alone as she hadnever set foot on this continent.

The Chinaman, who was an oldman and In delicate health, undertook this pilgrimage to the land ofhia birth likely in the full knowledgethat i( would be his last. The ship'sdoctor prescribed for him, but a Chi-

naman does not have any too muchfaith In civilised medicine, especiallywen the end appears near. One ofthe ship's officers came to inspect thecabin where the Chinaman was lyingand feund him wit,h his head coveredby a blanket. The medicine lay nearby, untouched, and investigationshewed that the man was dead.

The other oriental passengers onthe boat were trying their best tohide the fact of his. death so that'the woman posing as his wife couldbe landed. The minute ha died shelost all right to step ashore. In Chinait is possible tq purchase a fine wornantor a. lew nunurcq auuare, wnue inthis country a Chinese clave la literally worth her weight in gold. Five,ten or fifteen thousand dollars forone Chinese woman slave is not con-

sidered a high price In America andit means a tidy little fortune for theman who can manage to Import one,

e

To a taxi-driv- er life has no tinselor glitter. Many of his experiencesare sordid and he must always be onguard against the professional bilk.His is a detached viewpoint andeternal vigilance is the only methodof protecting his pocketbook for hemust stand bad bills from his ownsmall wage. v

A call came from a residence district. The cab stopped in front oftha house and a figurecame through the gate and tvied tostep kiside. The bedraggled individual who seemed so out of placein a taxi wore a voluminous pair ofgrimy and patched overalls, an oldslouch hat. patches of bare feetshowed through the broken shoes, anold coat about ready to fall apart.while from a corn-co- b pipe emergeda dense cloud of raw tobacco fumes.

No wonder there was an argumentwith the bum. Where would such acharacter get the price for a ride?The driver expostulated, barred thedoor, but the fare opened out a coatthat had been carried on an arm andoenoia mere appearea. wna an ex-pensive fur garment the person of ayoung woman.

She was trying her Hunt club masquerade costume on tha chauffeur,and proved that as Huckleberry Finnshe had nothing to fear. Anyhow, thetaxi-pilo- t, accustomed as he was tocharacters, paid her one of the bestcompliments an amateur could haveby mistaking her for a real bum.

Two office boys In an elevator, discussing the injustices of life. Saidone:

If I could only get paid all I earnI would be rich."

And these boys are nothing If notup on all the b.est tricks. Three ofthem waited on a aide street untilthe crowd began to jam the existsafter a film showing, and cleverlymanaged to worm their way insidethe theater without paying or beingcaught.

Big display ads in the newspaperscall attention to the desire of the gov- -

ernmentto dispose of a fleet of assorted ships, which causes one of theobserving "about-the-cl- ty boys" tosuggest that this might be a chanceto annex a navy and go to amnggling. Seldom doea a day go bywithout reports of submarines or fastcraft bringing in cargoes of illicitliquor from Canada, and' now therumor is that more money is beingmade by -- bootlegging- aliens barredunder the provisions of the new immigration law. While the Bahamasare far away and there Is no Biminibay on the Pacific many a rival, of"Dapper Don" Collins is getting away.with a fortune in smuggling.

unduly to weaken our navy in thUrespect.

f

DECLINING DEATH BATE.The figures of the federal census

bureau showing a decline of thedeath rate of the nation from 1496per 100,000 in 1910 to 1306 per 100,- -000 in 1920 contains no surprises forthose who have followed the recenttrend of events. The decrease forall groups is attributed largely toreduced rates from tuberculosis, ty-

phoid fever and Bright's disease.The showing in these particulars isthe more Impressive because it somuch more than offsets gains indeaths from cancer, about which weknow almost as little as we ever did,and from influenza, the recent epi-demic of which caught not only thiscountry but the whole world un-

aware. There is no mention ofsmallpox tin the comparative returnsbecause that malady was practicallyconquered by vaccination some timeprior to 1910 and figures negligiblyin' any of the statistics of recentyears.'Since it is seen that typhoid mustnevitably also yield to scientific

prophylaxis, it would seem that thevanquishing of the whiteplague is the next reliance of thosewho wish to banish sickness fromthe world. The' progress hereinmade is decidedly encouraging. Intwenty years the mortality rate frcmtuberculosis has been reduced from

little more than 2 to 1.26 perthousand. In some of the largercities, where congestion of popula-tion presented peculiar obstacles.the rate has been cut more thanhalf. The reduction is shown notonly in the United States, but in thegreater part of Europe as well. InBirmingham and Edinburgh, twoimportant cities of Great Britain, thetuberculosis death rate is even lowerthan that in New York, and Londonis on a par with the latter city.

The gradual conquest of tuberculosis is the product of several factors, but the important thing In con-nection with them is that thosewhich have counted for most havebeen those which involved civic ac-

tion. This is within the reach ofany people possessing capacity forsocial organization and consequentlyis most encouraging. Infected milkhas been eliminated in most com-munities, the water supplies of' mostcities are irreproachably pure, slumsare slowly being eradicated, cleanerand better food is constantly obtainable; in short, conditions favorableto the incubation and the spread ofthe tubercle bacillus are being overcome,. Incidentally, it ought to baplaced to the credit of the automobile that that Instrument of moderncivilization has played its part in theconquest of the disease. The resultis due to two causes a greater inclination to seek the open air andcleaner streets, due to the elimination of the horse. v.

Nor are the figures indicating asomewhat higher death rate fromthe degenerative diseases of laterlife as discouraging as they would onfirst glance appear to be. By reduc-ing the rate in the earlier years webring a larger number ot people tqthe later staged but this problem.judging from the experience of thapast, is also likely to be solved intime. " -

A healthy - product of Portlandshipping business is the Export andShipping Journal, the Februarynumber of which contains articleson what Is being done in that respectand who is doing it. A portrait ofH. L. Hudson, traffic manager of thePort of Portland dock commission,accompanies an article on how he is'Selling, the Port" abroad. K. D.

Dawson, manager of the ColumbiaPacific company; George Powell,president of the Oregon Pacific company; Arthur C Callan, agent of theWilliams line, and George N. Black,president of the Foreign Commerceclub, are portrayed in picture andwords, and much is told about thePort and the 1925 fair. There) isroom for this paper to grow.

Perhaps the MeCormicks finallyconsented to their daughter's marriage to that Swiss riding master onthe theory that It doesn t makemuch difference whom she marriesthe first time. .

It still ia good fashion to name aboy born this day after the Fatherof His Country. Martha, too, is afine name for a girl baby. She willnot be able to "Madilynne" It whengrown. '- -

Pretty near time to let the Mc- -Cormick girl alone. She'll be coming home agtiin, "by and by, anyway.Grandfather John is satisfied, orseems to be; he knows Americangirls.

The trouble with some peacemakers who try to pour oil ontroubled waters is that they use gasoline instead and then throwlighted match after it.

There is one comforting grain ofsalt in it all. When needed the telephone is the handiest invention ever,ranking the doctor's runabout " byjust one point.

Every small boy 'who is home doctored at the approach of springshould call his, mother's attention tothe dangers that lie in- that course ofmedicine.

"Americans are polite," says Mrs,Asquith in Chicago. ThereforeAmericans will refrain from tellingher to "Shut up and go home!"

The first horticultural "robin" ofthe season is seen at Hood River Inthe letting of a contract for strawberry boxes..

One comforting thing about thischilly weather is that it discouragesmost of the girls from rolling 'em.

There's nothing like doing thingsright. In time the government mayprovide a chaser for every drink.

Judge Landis may find it harderto bat 300 in baseball than he didon the Federal bench. .

Another holiday! Yet the fellowwho works today will feel better tomorrow morning;.

themselves, but the farm credit lawhas carried farmers and livestockmen over the steepest" and rockiestpart of the road, everybody feelseased of part of his tax load, andthere is good going on the roadahead. toward the- Progress ' summit of Prosperity Hill will soon beso fast and easy that the time is nearwhen any one who raises the cry ofcalamity will only provoke laughter.

. WHERE FAMINES OCCUR.It is a peculiar fact, to which his

torians have frequently (jailed at-

tention, that great famines havenearly always occurred in districtspredominantly given to the produc-tion of grain. This is largely trueIn Russia today, as it was in Chinaonly last year, and as it has beenelsewhere in other years. The stoniest valleys of the Balkans and theperilous mountain slopes of Switzerland have ' never known., completecolIApse of food resources such ashas been more than once witnessedin the more fertile regions which,taking one year with another, fur-nish the staple crops of theworld.

The reason Is partly that relianceon a one-cro- p system breeds lack ofresourcefulness,- - while-- in any ex-

tended period of years it incapaci-tates those - who practice it. frommaking quick recovery from disaster.. Dispatches from Russia nowintimate that the danger of starva-tion will not be passed even with thecoming of summer, that not untilthe grain harvest is made will therebe material relief, and that the peo-ple seem unprepared to meet thesituation with emergency crops.Almost anywhere else than in agrain country plans would alreadyhave been made for the period be-tween springtime and harvest. Par-ticularly la a district where diversi-fied agriculture had been the ruleand livestock had been part of thefarm scheme, the first spears ofgrass would have renewed the sup-ply of food. Tha nomada of thesemi-dese- rt countries had a stouterrod to lean on in their cattle andgoats tjhan the one-cro- p farmershave when anything happens to gowrong.

The steppes of Russia are not, ofcourse, the plains of America, butone wonders whether the pioneersof the west would ever have suffered from more than temporaryshortage of food. There might havebeen poverty, but certainly not star-vation. Not for more than a fewweeks at a time would they havebeen without something with whichto hold soul and body together. Oneapparent need of thefamine districts of the old world isa reconstruction of their wh-J- e sys.tern of agriculture, which hasproved itself a failure by the recurrence or iamine at intervals yearafter year. '

SAFETY IN NAVAL REDUCTION.As was to be expected, pacifists

and- - ultra-economi- in congresspropose to outdo the arms conference in reduction of armament.Some would follow scrapping of battleships by cutting the manpower ofthe navy to 50,000, and others wouldcut the Army to 100,000 men. Theywould cater to the uninformed opinion of those who consider the possibility of, war as practically elimi-nated by the Washington treatiesand by the exhausted condition ofEurope, and whose one thought isto reduce government expenses regardleas of consequences.

Tne limits set to the strength ofthe American navy in capital shipsare the limits of safetyin proportion to those set for othernavies by statesmen and naval experts. The whole purpose 'was toreduce our navy without weakeningour naval defense. When eighteenbattleships are set as our limit, thatnumber of ships fully equipped andfully manned was intended, for it isto be presumed that other nationswill keep their ships in all respectsready for action, the more so because there win be fewer of them,because their forces will be down tothe limit of safety and because theifpotential enemies are nearer to themthan ours are to us. It goes without saying that a battleship withouta fully trained crew is not an effective fighting unit and that in proportion as our ships are laid up forlack of crew or are undermanned,our navy will be below the ratio toothers that was adopted as the limitof safety. The smaller our navy is,the more care should be taken thatit is highly efficient and ready foraction. The navy department showsthat it is already underofficered andundermanned. Reduction of personnel should not go below the. pointwhere each ship has a full complement of officers and men. -

By proposing to scrap 100 destroyers and to reduce manpower by10,000, Secretary Denby seeks topractice economy without weakening defense. In order to combat thesubmarine we built a number of de-stroyers that is disproportionate tothe number of capital ships we hadin the war, and the scrapping ofthirty capital ships will increasethis disproportion. We are far fromany potential enemy, and by branding as pirates any submarines thatattack merchant ships the conference has virtually insured that allnations would combine to hunt themdown. Thus our destroyer force canbe reduced to the number needed tooperate with the battle fleet and todefend our coast and commerceagainst cruisers. Those requirements leave a" wide margin .for reauction. . .

But we are reminded by the Armsand Navy Journal that the failureof the conference to Umit numbers ofauxiliary craft leaves a considerablefield for competitive building. Itpoints out that the proportion ofships of each type in a balanced fleet"is elastic and depends upon thenature of the campaign to be ex-pected." t

and that "the fotal strengthof the fleet may be increased by theaddition of vessels of any class." Itgives this illustration:

During the height of the battle of Jut-land eleven Qerman destroyers made anattack which resulted in torpedoing oneBritish battleship and in forcing the wholegrand fleet to turn away, thus saving thehigh seas fleet. More German destroy-ers probably would have torpedoed morsBritish battleships, in spite of the Ger-man deficiency in battleships, the Germantotal strength would have been considera-bly increased by the addition of destroyers.

Being unrestricted in the number

change is advisable; that the recallIs inadequate and that the citizen inevery community has a duty to seethat the candidate for the legislature for whom he votes is committedto reform in the regulation of publicutilities.

ENDING THE SEED NUISANCE.The diligent correspondents, who

have set out to ascertain by personalobservation just what is happeningon the national political field, preliminary to the coming campaign,are agreed that Senator Jim Reed ofMissouri, has quite a fight on hiahands for

No doubt Missouri has had many- -

painful moments during the pastfive or six years over Mr. Reed. AndMr. Reed has had a few troublesomeexperiences on hia own account inthat time. His resignation was oncedemanded by the democratic politi-cal organization and he was denied

seat in the national democraticconvention at San Francisco, afterhaving been duly elected a districtdelegate.

After being thus kicked downstairs by his own party, one mightassume that Reed would take thehint, and get out. But that is notReed's way. He never gets out; hemust be put out. That hs will be renominated by the democratic primary is not likely; that he will bedefeated in the election if nominatedis certain.

If the republican party has its LaFollette, the democratic party hasits Reed. But La Follette has therepublican organization

(of Wiscon

sin in his pocket; Reed is not sofortunate ia his own state. It is nooffense in Wisconsin for a repub-lican, senator to repudiate a republican administration; but It is different in Missouri. A democratic sena-tor may not run muck, and" live,politically. S

Mr. Reed is never in step with hisparty, or his constituency, or his ad-ministration, or the senate. 'He isan incorrigible minority. sure ofhimself only when nobody agreeswith him. How do men get thatway?

PORTLAND STH.L THE TERMINUS.Proof, in the shape of the text of

the contract, that in its arrange-ment with the General Steamshipcorporation for Interchange of trans- -Pacific traffic, the Union Pacificrailroad named Portland as a termi-nal port on an equality with Seattlewill be welcome to Portland ship-pers, and they will join The Orego-nian in giving the Union Pacific duecredit. In making the synopsis ofthe contract which was published inThe Congressiorjal Record and fromwhich The Oregonian , quoted In aformer article, soipe employe of thenterstate commerce commission

made Seattle appear to be the pnlyPacific terminus recognized by therailroad and the steamship company,omitting the name of Portland en-tirely.

Portland will now be interested tosee the fact that the Union Pacificrecognizes this port as its real ter-minus reflected in the volume ottranscontinental traffic exchangedwith the steamships hre by com-parison with that at Seattle. Theremay have been a plausible excusefor the railroad-t- transfer its en-tire export and import traffic to Seattle 'while 'the Columbia riven barwas still an obstruction and whenthere was deficient depth in theriver channel after every freshet,,also when Portland lacked moderndocks for large vessels, but thoseconditions have passed away, Thereis now 43 feet of water on the barfor a width of half a mile, mainte-nance of a thirty-too- t channel in theriver is assured, increased width isbeing provided at the bends, and thadocks will compare in extent andspeed of handling cargo with thoseof any port of Portland's size. Portland is equipped to handle the traffic of the railroads of which it.is'thereal terminus, and will welcome allthat the Union Pacific turns over toships here. '

As the Panama canal has broughtnearer to parity the oqan ratesacross the Pacific from Atlantic andPacific ports than they were beforethat route was opened, .the dividingline in nt between theterritory whence traffic flows to theAtlantic coast and that whence itflows to the Pacific coast has beenmoved to' the westward. Thus shipsbound from Atlantic ports to theorient now capture much trafficwhich formerly flowed to Pacific

Lports. That is the more reason forclose between the? portand the railroads of which it Is theterminus. They have a common in-

terest in drawing business this way,and the port will do its part.

CLIMBING PROSPERITY HILL.Evidences that the United States

has made a good start on the up-wa-

climb to prosperity are multi-plying. The statement of ControllerCrlssinger shows that between Sep-tember 6 and December 31 bank re-sources, especially Individual de-posits, increased appreciably, whileloans increased so slightly that theymay be said to have been stationary.He sees that we are "well on theroad to getting the frozen creditsthawed out." Money received byfarmers for their crops does thethawing and sets credit free for theordinary purposes of trade.

This is a result of the increaseddemand and sharpadvance in pricesfor farm products. Europe can nolonger hold off from buying wheat,flour, corn, meat. Farmers havebeen enabled by the i credit extendedby the war finance corporation under the law passed at the last session of congress and by their co-o- p

erative associations to hold theirproduce till this demand becamestrong enough to give them a profitable price. Wheat is again worthover a dollar on the farm, corn hbecome more valuable for food thanfor fuel, hogs have risen appreciablyand wool has doubled in price withina. year. Money is again flowing totha farm and thence to the bank,The .farmer rriay not buy much before fall, but he is getting into position to buy then.

Other favorable signs are the re-

sumption of work in the Montanacopper mines, extension of railroadsinto untouched belts of Oregon tunber, marketing of securities for great

another- - member Who is spendingmuch time and effort in arousingsectional antagonisms in the state,and a third who is reputed to domost of the work, such as it is, inquality.

The Oregonian suggests that it istime for a new deal. It now offersno definite suggestion other thanthat the cornmission as now consti-tuted be abolished. Whether it Isbest that a new commission, p.

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