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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1912)
THE MORNING OKEGOIflAN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7. 1912. 8 PORT LA VD. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Ore Bon. Postofflca as second-class Matter. Subscription Rate Invariably la Advance Dal.y. Snr.day Included, one year 5"S5 Pally. Sunday Included, six months.... - Dally. Sunday Included, three months. . Aiiy, sundsy incluoeo, one munia....- Daily, vlihout Sunday, six month! - Dally, without Sunday, three months... i Daily, without Sunday, one month...--- Weekly, one year Bunday, one year , fin Sundav and WmIiI om tmT (BI CARRIER.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year J Dally. Sunday Included, one month How to Brrait Send PoetoCflce money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. stampa. coin or cur, at the eender-e risk. Give poatofflca address id mil. inducing couiiij" u - ... Postal Rate 10 to 14 pages. I cent: 10 to 28 pares, i centa; 0 to 40 pagee. a cent.. 40 to 0 pages. 4 centa foreign postage. double rata. Eastern Business Offices Verrre Conk lin New Tork. Brunswick building. Chi cago. Stener building. San Francisco Office R. J. Bldwall Co 7-12 Market street. . - Eoropean Office No. S, Regent street, a PORTLAND, 8ATCKDAY, DEC. 7. MM. EXTRAOKXIAKY GOVERNOR. Governor Blease of South Carolina fa a singular personage and he stands before the country as the representa tive of a singular community. The state of which he is Governor for the second time does not approve of dl vorce for any cause whatever. None are granted in South Carolina, as Mr. Blease proudly remarked at the con- ference of Governors in Richmond: even for the "scriptural reason." On the other hand, Mr. Blease boasts with even greater pride that he approves of lynch law and we are forced to Be lieve that the state of South Carolina approves of it, too. If it did not, he would not have been re-elected Gov ernor, since his opinions are by no means novel. He has been proclaim ing them with a blare of trumpets for years. Xo doubt Governor Blease finds pleasure in defying the eniigntenea sentiment of the country. It is the disposition of some men to obtain sat . isfactlon by scouting the ideas and be. liefs which lie at the foundation of civilized society. The notoriety which they gather in that way Is meat and drink to them Just as Guiteau reveled in the evil fame he got by shooting President Garfield. "The hand that fired the Ephesian dome" was guided by a brain that expected immortal memory for the deed. Governor Blease oerhaDS looks for some similar reward for his extraordinary sentiments about lvnch law. But he would not dare to use such language as he did at the conference of Governors unless he felt pretty sure that the public opinion of his state was behind him. He is a politician as well as a boor, and he would do nothing which seemed likely to forfeit the approval of the voters of South Carolina. In some ways we may look upon Governor Blease as typical of that Isolated and belated common wealth. The people of South Caro Una never have willingly conceded that they are part of the United States. They have always felt in their secret hearts that they are an independent nation and they have maintained their connection with the rest of the states only because they were compelled to do so by superior force. It is not unreasonable to believe that if the war between the states had turned in favor of the Confederates, South Carolina would have carried out its native tendencies by seceding from the rest of the slave states before a great while. As a civic entity It seems to resemble with startling accuracy some lone farmer who resides all by himself in a remote mountain valley, and there, as he vegetates in unbroken solitude, broods over his real and fancied wrongs, cherishes secret rebel lions against accepted standards and plots revenge upon all mankind. The psychology of that part of the boutn Carolina community which upholds Governor Blease in his antiquated sav. agery is the psychology of stagnation. The state is afflicted with the mania of solitude. The community has be come misanthropic and shows its men tal perversion by adopting unchristian standards and grinning with fierce de fiance at the disapproving world. Governor Blease, the "favorite son' of South Carolina, upholds his love of lynch law by saying that it Is "in de fense of the virtue of white women." He Is prepared, he tells us, to carry this method of defense to astonishing extremes. Here is a quotation from a speech of his: "When the Consti tution steps between me and the de fense of the virtue of the white women of my state. I will resign my commis sion and tear it up and throw it to the breeses. To hell with the Con stitution." The latter phrase has be come so common In the mouths of blatherskites that it- does not mean very much, but it is easy to discern Governor Blease's position. On the surface there appears to be something almost heroic in the shameless bar barity of his stand. What deep rever ence for women! What sublime readi. ness to sacrifice self for principle! But when we look a little closer we see neither reverence for women nor sac rifice for principle. All that we see In him Is a gross appetite for votes. The strangest consideration of all in connection with this astonishing sub ject is that there should be within the . boundaries of the United States a com munity which, by majority vote, ap proveg of Governor Blease and his mid-African ideas. Lynch law Is as futile as it is wicked. It does not and cannot protect the virtue of women. If South Carolina has not the moral stamina and the civic intelligence to protect its women by orderly process of law. then their virtue will stand in greater peril with every day that passes. With such a Governor and such a public sentiment back of him, South Carolina la headed straight for race war and the infinite miseries that must flow from It. He is too ignorant to know that anarchy necessarily be gets anarchy. But It does, and unless South Carolina forsakes her savage contempt of law and civilization she iz likely to see something far worse than an occasional isolated assault befalling her women. NEGUXTTNG AMERICAN HISTORY. Diverse comment will be provoked by the decision of the Spokane School Directors to omit American history from the high school course. Students will not be forbidden to take the sub ject if they wish, but they are no longer obliged to do so. The change is made, it Is reported, in order to per mit students to give more time to for. elgn history in case they are fond of it. Some critics will see in this action the Influence of the foreign vote. Manv nf nui- Immigrants, rood citizena as they may be, know nothing in particu- I lar about Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, the Civil War, or even Abraham Lincoln. They cannot see precisely why their children should be compelled to study the history of these events and characters to the neglect of Cavour, Bismarck and Napoleon. We can all understand the reason for their preference, though we need not ap prove of it. People living in the United States and expecting to take part in our political life may fairly be expected to know something of the in stitutions and history of the country. It is difficult to see how they can play their part Intelligently as citizens without such knowledge. The Spokane directors, as we un derstand their action, have not re laxed the requirement of United States history in the lower grades. They merely make it optional in the high school. In this way th"ey probably be lieve that sufficient knowledge will be acquired before the young people leave school, whatever choice they may make in the later years of their course. Whether this Is so or not experience will tell. In the meantime, it may not be unprofitable to remark that oc casionally a subject Is studied best by studying something else. Arithmetic, for Instance, is seldom mastered with much proficiency until the pupil has studied algebra a little. Perhaps the very best way to learn American his tory is to give a few months to the history of England, Holland, Germany and the other countries from which we draw our institutions and National life so largely. Were this plan followed, pupils would come to know men and events in their broad relations and would no doubt understand them far better than they ever could by fixing their minds on this country as if it were the only one in the world. ON A BREAD-AND-BCTTER BASIS. . Oregon should be well represented at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, and It will be. But an adequate showing can be made for a less sum than $500,- 000. Let us say to the enthusiastic promoters who are demanding $500,- 000 that they will not get it from the hrthMmlnir T.ep-lslatllT-f. But if by any chance an appropriation of so great a sura were to be logrolled rhrrms-h the Legislature, the referen-1 dum would almost certainly be In voked. Where, then, would Oregon fnf 19 IK at San Francisco? We shall hear, no doubt, that Wash ington will exriend $500,000 to $1,000,- 000 and Oregon must not be behind its sister state. But Washington win not expend a million, or nan a minion onH nneolhlv not half Of a half million There is a general outcry there against an extravagant appropriation ana will nut h madA. The appropriation project must be handled with prudence ano tact, mil nAnlo arA ml a-htllv interested in the p0r,am9-PoHfl! Fair, for they desire California to do well and they look for benefit to themselves. But tney nave shown recently that they are desirous nt looaoninsr tha tax burden, and they feel that they have nothing to spend on fancy commissions or expensive junkets. Oregon Is going to no tne ngni mms hv tha Panama-Pacific Fair, but there will be no lazy men s Jobs or rat sine K,ir for tuft-hunting women In the appointments to be made by the Gov ernor or the commission. SOCIALISM'S UTOPIA. TKa rtvAfrnninn refers the Investlga.' tor of psychological phenomena today to a curiosity in soapbox sociology, in the shape of a letter rrom vaior smith Mr. Smith preaches tne as toundlng doctrine of unthrift, scoffs at th ralnv dav. and blames society for the hole In the lazy man's root. There you have the entire bociansuc creed. Society owes the Individual rvt)iinir the Individual owes soci ety nothing except a dreamy and im possible conception or co-operation. i there Is no meat In one's larder, soci ety Is to blame; If there are no shoes on the children's feet, society has not it- Hutv- if there la no shelter for the family, society failed to put it there; if there Is no noney in me nive for a long Winter, society would let you starve; and so forth, and so forth. Temperance, industry, frugality, providence, honesty all will be of lit tle account when the grand co-operative social scheme shall require the individual to divw ud with the other fellow who has none of these virtues and has only one positive conviction that the world owes him a living, and on. who have something, must pay him who has nothing. AN AB8TJBDITT rx OCR CONSTITUTION. with nvirv change of administra tion, particularly from one party to the ih uro am reminded that, wise as were 'the fathers of the republic in constructing the general rraraewore oi the Constitution, tney errea egregious- ly in some particulars. The appropri ations for the next fiscal year are to be made by a Congress of which the Sen oto la controlled bv a party rejected by the people at the November elec tion and of wnicn tne iiouse memoes many members who have been llke- ise rejected. Estimates tor expenai- . tn ho auhmltted and legisla tion is to be reconjmended by a Presi dent who has been defeated at the polls. As he knows beforehand, his recommendations will De xreatea wiia consideration. vannil legislation can be ex- nootari nf thia doneress. for. even If It were decorous, the time allowed is in--..miont Xfon retorted bv their con stituents and who have nothing to hope for politically are onerea every temptation to put through Jobs in the final hours, when bills are hastily rushed through. Some will surely . thia tomnrntlnn. ThA Presi dent is tempted to fill every vacant of-1 flee at the eleventh hour, ana. Know ing that his race is run, is likely to appoint men whom he would not con sider under other circumstances. general sense of irresponsibility pre vails. The retiring Congress and Ad ministration in in the position of a defeated army, which picks up every thing on which it can lay its nanus before evacuating a fortress. This anomaly Impresses itself par ticularly on the minds of such men as a Mdiiri,- Tnw. who. bom and edu- notorf in TCncIand. has lone been in touch with American public affairs as a Washington newspaper correspona- ent In an article in warpers weekly contrasts the spectacle now pre- he sented by the Government at Washing. ton with the way they do things in t'.i.. nnif France. Tn those coun tries an administration is no sooner defeated than it dies, and the victori- ous party immediately seizes the reins, in having given their verdict. The it Is carried out without allowing the i administration to hold over for old three or four months, time which it practically wasted. No dead line of time is drawn beyond which a Parlia ment may not survive and before which a new Parliament may hot be gin Its work. Were we to take a leaf from the book of our neighbors, we should so revise our Constitution that no Con gress should legislate after a new Congress has been elected; that so soon as it is possible to count the elec toral vote a defeated President shall give way to his successor, and we should make an unwritten law that from the day when his defeat becomes certain he shall perform only the rou tine functions of his office. The new Congress should meet when the new President is Installed and should im mediately begin executing the popular verdict. It should not be compelled to adjourn on any. set date, but should continue in session until the necessary work of the year is done in orderly fashion and with due deliberation. Then we should not be compelled to wait three or four years after public opinion on the issues of the day has been expressed before the popular ver dict is given legislative effect. EXPLOITING THE INITIATIVE. The people of Oregon may well re flect soberly on the motive and signifi cance of the following resolution Just adopted at the conference of the Jo seph Fels Commission (single tax) in Boston: That tha Commission continue to x- fiend. In Ita dlacretlon. portions of Its fund n promoting measures for the increase of the people's power In government, especially the Initiative and referendum, and for pro tecting such measures where they exist or may be secured, t The People's Power League of Ore' gon. of which Mr. ITRen is the guid ing spirit. Is dominated by the single- taxers. Organized nominally , to pro mote desirable legislation through the initiative and referendum and to protect that great instrument of popu lar government from misuse or attack, the People's Power League actually now Is a group of slngle-taxers, devot ed to exploitation of the Initiative for the benefit of single tax, and hostile to any suggestion or proposal or pol icy that does not accord directly with the single-tax propaganda. The problem before the people of Oregon now is to save the initiative and referendum from Fels, U Ren and the single tax. The fight will con tinue while Fels' money lasts. CANADA'S OFFER OF WARSHIPS. Canada's offer to build three dread noughts as an addition to the British navy, following the action of Australia in providing several cruisers available for the same purpose, may have an Important effect on British adherence to the triple entente. The rise of Ger many as a naval power and her grow lng rivalry with Britain caused the lat ter country to abandon its traditional policy of isolation and to Join France and Russia in a coalition to counter balance the alliance of Germany, Aus. tria and Italy, , This entente has so far been of more service to Britain's allies than to her self, and it has been a strain on the party loyalty of the British Liberals It has forced Britain to Join Russia in practically destroying the autonomy of Persia Just when that country was struggling to establish a constitutional form of government. It caused Brit ain to back France with a threat of war against Germany In the Moroccan dispute, though the direct British in terest consisted rather in preventing German than in aiding French aggran dizement. It led Britain to wink at Russia's seizure of Mongolia. It may yet involve the British Empire In war to aid Russia In sustaining Servias clams to a port on the Adriatic, though British Interest in that dispute is im perceptible. If Austria should attack Servia, Russia might interfere. Ger many, as her Chancellor and War Minister declare, would then fight side by side with Austria. France would be drawn In, and after her Great Brit. ain on the one side and Italy on the other. Many British Liberals are chafing at the obligations thus placed on their government by the triple entente. The Westminster Gazette says that if the result of the alliance and the entente were to be that "the two groups are to fly at each other's throats. It would be the obvious duty of the sensible people of all countries to assert them selves without delay and make a clean sweep of all existing combinations and entanglements." The Daily News holds that England is under no obliga tion to plunge into .the racial rivalries of the Near East or to pledge support to one party or the other. On the other hand, the Liberal London Chron. icle maintains that. If England stands stoutly by France and Russia, the triple alliance.wlll yield. J. L. Garvin, tn the Unionist Pall Mall Gazette, warns England not to repudiate her obligations to her allies by saying: We cannot have It both ways. We can not play fast and loose in Europe, asserting the nrlvlleae ot detachment when we like and claiming the benefits ot partnership when It suits us. we must cnoose Detween the fatal dangers of renewed isolation and the responsibilities imposed upon us, as upon France, by loyal combination. If England cannot make up her mind, she will drive Russia Into the arms of Germany, she will lose the Balkan's league and the Turks alike, and she will well deserve her fata. So long as adherence to the triple entente is necessary to Britain as a defense against the German menace, she dare not return to her former pol icy of isolation, in fact must hold the more firmly to her allies because her reputation for holding aloof until a crisis came and then throwing her sword into the balance causes a lurk ing doubt in the minds of her allies whether she will remain steadfast. even to the point of aiding them in war. If the colonies come to the aid of the mother country by building warships which will guard their own coasts and which will reinforce her navy in war, as Canada proposes. Great Britain will bejrelieved In a measure of the necessity of depending on her allies to ward off the German menace. Should South Africa follow the exam ple of Australia and Canada, she will have allies with a combined popula tion of 17,640,000, of whose fidelity she need harbor no doubt Rhodesia may ere long Join the South African dominion with her 1,750,000 people, and New Zealand, with 1,100,000, would doubtless Join In the general movement for Imperial defense. The colonies which rendered aid would then have a total population of 20, 490,000, or nearly half as great as that of the mother country, and well able, from the standpoint of wealth, to bear the burden. Thus strengthened, Great Britain might be able so far to outstrip Ger- any In naval power and might so conclusively prove her ability to main tain her superiority that Germany would abandon - the struggle. The British Empire could then resume Its old policy of holding Itself free to step Into a quarrel at the psychological mo . ment It could refuse to go to war because a petty Balkan state wanted a port which Austria also wanted, or to do any of the other tnmgs wnicn go against the grain with British Lib erals. But Great Britain cannot secure this aid without paying a price. She must give her colonies a voice in shaping the foreign policy In support of which their auxiliary navies are to be used. That may suit the Liberals, but the Tories will prefer to carry out Imperial policies without colonial interference, though some of them have expressed a desire for imperial federation, which would have the same general effect. The offer of colonial aid Is also ac companied by a demand for an Imper ial preferential customs union, which could only be established by abandon ment of the free trade policy to which the Liberals are most strongly com mitted. In short. Great Britain can not obtain military and naval aid, either from her European allies or from her colonies, without paying" for It. She would gladly accept help, but balks a paying the price. It may be that the best place for our ex-President Is in Congress. As Senators representing the country at large they would hold positions of dignity and their influence would cor respond with their ability, as it ought. They might then receive liberal sal aries from the Nation without feeling pauperized and it would not be nec essary for our Carnegies to invent schemes to patronize them. The slump on Wall street may be attributed to the demand for money on the part of legitimate business and to the fear which the, law Inspires in Illegitimate business. By squeezing the water out of stocks, the slump is saving some trouble to the incoming Administration. ' There is one argument, at least,' to sustain the Montavilla people who pro test against the proposed sewer. The few miles, more or less, of gravel that underlie that district will take care of all the sewage If cesspools are made deep. i Yesterday was a great hog day in the Union Stockyards, 1200 being un loaded. These being good hog times, prices are holding well upward. As this stock was grown In the Oregon territory. Its quality is unsurpassed - Besieged on the one hand by hun gry office-seekers and warned on the other hand by civil service reformers to follow the merit system strictly, Wilson will be between two fires which should keep him warm. Should the dissolution of the to bacco trust be followed by a series of damage suits such as that begun in Brooklyn, the trust may wish it had been so completely dissolved that no court could find the pieces. London Journals hail as a great peace move the action of Canada in contributing three dreadnoughts to the British Navy. Much like hailing as a peacemaker the man who runs for his shotgun. Kunrrtnrv Mever aava we need a big ger Navy. His views will not be shared by those millions or provincial Amen cane whc. Kppm tn think thia Nation 1 secure under some special charm of heaven. Massacre of unarmed Christians would be In harmony with the charac ter of the Turks, who have been beaten by Christian armies. The natural se quel of a . defeat In battle Is a massa cre. . - f- ' ' - ' - ; . If the Municipal Judge will send" to the rockpile, . without allowing the nases lo be "sauared." all men guilty of passing worthless checks, this class of crime will be checked. Henry Dlsher, aged 73, Is a husky Hawkeye father of twenty-three chil dren, but the saving grace Is that he has had four wives. Henry may be said to have the habit. Wilson acts on the theory that in multitude of counsellors there is safety. Bryan will not object to his consulting others provided he follows Bryan's advice. ThA father who anneals to the court to save his son from committing crime Is made of the stuff of the Spartans of old. The remedy is heroic and worth the effort. The Sickles having become recon ciled again, no doubt we shall be re galed shortly with fresh accounts of their violent enfferences. A Canadian navy will be real nice. but make the vessels small enough to run up the St. Lawrence to the lakes when chased too hard. An Iowa man has Just become par ent of a twenty-third offspring. He should bear In mind that hoodoo num bers are to be avoided. As the Socialist daily paper has failed, it is evident the Socialist as an individual does not "pungle." That is for the other fellow. Wilson says he will rely on no sln- rn orfvlaer Still. William Jennings can console himself with the thought that he Is married. Governor Blease, of South Carolina, declared he would pardon any convict whom the people wanted liberated. Pilate said so, too. ' , rn nf tha Camorrist leaders has gone violently mad. Nobody will sus pect him of having covered very much distance, either. Slnirl-tx advocacy will receive its final death blow hereabouts if Angel Fels actually turns off the golden spigot. ' It is ' sad that Mayor Rolph is no sooner absent from San Francisco than vice raises its head. Ashland suffers a dearth of candi dates. Portland could most conven iently part with a few. This Is the gladsome season when father limits his smoking extrava gances to stogies. . . Tillamook timber will become as famous as, the Hood River apple when the Canal is open. Now that Greece is on the right track, peace plans should slide right through. Blease in the executive office Is much like a bull In a china shop. The Fels fund does not appeal to the unwashed as its founder hoped.. PLATFORM THE ON1.Y GUIDANCE Mr. Harare Instate That Socialism Cna Be Judajcd by No Other Mcaaa. PORTLAND, Dec S. (To the Editor.) Father O'Hara, In his reply, sees but the individual in government. The col lective is Invincible to blm. In George Washington and not In the Constitu tion he sees the reflection of the Ideals of the United States. - In his sermon, as reported, he saw nothing but the supremacy of v the "great Catholic Church" (one man power). All parties, capitalistic or so cialistic, looked alike to him. More and more, with each stroke of the pen, does he become . un-American. It is probable that he has not seen the So cialist platform and constitution, or seeing them, he can only see the In dividual soap-boxer. We have a book written by an ex Catholic priest, purporting to give cer tain facts derogatory to the church. Now we are not so unfair as to take the statements of this priest, as facts, without considering the church cate chism. Will Father O'Hara be as char itable? The Socialist party gets Its standard of ethics from its collectivity the consent of the governed. It thus af firms Itself to be absolutely Amen can. Marx may be authority for any established scientific fact; but It Is not because Marx wrote It- He may point out the trend of economic determinism; but he absolutely knew nothing about the flying machine, little about elec tricity and could only predict the out come of that determinism and could not determine an issue of today. The Socialist party Is the living en tity and expression of present day eco nomica. Society Is governed by tradl tinna nf tha tast economio age. The church is always the expression of that which aroverns. Mark Hanna has well said that the Catholic Church Is the ally of capitalism and not capitalism the ally of the catn olio Church. The difference Is special ized and made tjlaln by Father O'Hara Capitalism and Socialism differ in ac centing the nrofit system. The church comes in as an ally. Father O'Hara makea this olain when he says capi talism and Socialism are alike in their lack of spirituality, or words to that effect. His support of capitalism lies in the system it endorses ana not in their agreement in religion, the state ment of Father Gregory to the con trary notwithstanding. In support of my statement that no individuality, misrepresented or oiner wlse, is authority for the Socialist party, let me say that no more should it 'be so than that the McNamaras are authority for the unions. I append part Of section 6, article II. National Socialist- party constitution, which was enacted by convention ana inaorsea o nnrtv ref r An ri um in 1912: Sec 6. Any member of the party who opposes political action or advocates crime, sabotage, or other methods of violence as a weapon of the working class to aid In Its emancipation shall be expelled from the This measure was passed by the Na tional party referendum by a majority of . 9000 over a similar section cov ering the remaining part of this same section after the foregoing had been eliminated. The negative vote was not to favor crime, but it was deemed un necessary by some delegates to regard criticisms of this sort that grew out of the McNamara affair. C. W. BARZEE. WITH HIS EYE ON THE PI.UM TREE Salem Paper's Interest Im Cabinet Pos sibilities Thought Personal. SALEM, Or., Dec. 4. (To the Editor.) Your editorial today rightly classes the Oregon Messenger as a "most au dacious guesser" when it says that "the people of Oregon would prefer Will R. King over Joseph N. Teal by a vote of ten to one" for membership in the Cab-r Inet of President Wilson. Let me turn a side light on the mat ter. The Oregon Messenger Is a little paper started to help Its editor get office. Will R. King Is National Dem ocratic Committeeman. A National Committeeman Is supposed to be Influ ential In determining the selection of Postmasters end other Federal ap pointees. The editor of the Messenger Is James E. Godfrey. Mr. Godfrey was the tall ender among candidates for delegates to the National Democratic Convention. Just at the wrong moment he switched from Woodrow Wilson to Champ Clark. That was an unfortunate slip by the editor. Now, Editor Godfrey Is a candidate for Postmaster at Salem. It would help him, he thinks, If he could have the indorsement of National Committeeman King. So Editor Godfrey boldly de clares Committeeman King vastly bet ter entitled to membership in the Pres ident's Cabinet than Mr. Teal, who has done much faithful work for Oregon and the West. Later on, Committeeman King may be expected to advise the President that Editor Godfrey's long and faith ful service in the cause of the unter rified should be rewarded with the Postmastership. And then some mean fellow will probably object to King as the mouthpiece of the unterrified, be cause King was not long ago a Popu list candidate for Governor of Oregon. - NOT A POP. PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST. Material as Well as Sentimental Value In Tbelr Preservation. PORTLAND, Dec.-. (To the Editor.) Societies are multiplying in the older East (and why not in the West?) that have In view the preservation of places of historic Interest. For the hand of the spoiler Is on the land, and one hears with grief of the destruction of famous old houses where the value of real es tate thus cleared barely pays the con tractor for carting off the bricks. We should be able to read history more clearly if we kept about us re minders of history. An old house tells more to us, in a glance, of the state of the art and industries or tne time it marks, of the social condition of the Deonle who made it, of their relations to the soil, than most kinds of reading. Aoart from these more scholastic or material advantages there is reason enough for preserving the old buildings that have historic interest, and for keeping the squatter out of our famous battlefields, tor tney appeal to patri otism, and they have a part in main taining the traditions which encourage the best tendencies of the people. Who doe 'not realize the personality of George Washington more keenly after he has wandered through the quaint roams of Mount Vernon, and roame.i through its gardens. And who, thus realizing, does not reel a warmer aa miration for the founder of this Na tion? Who but a clod is not thrilled on his first visit to that room in Phila delphia, or to Faneuil, or to the taverns and monuments lining that road to Concord and Lexington? This country is noted tor riauonoi feeling that always rises in emergen cies, yet the presence of our monu ments and places oi maiu imciooi tends tn keen that feeling alive througn periods of peace The memorials of aitn who were strong and resolute in cour age and virtue, who sacrificed tr.em selves for the common cause, who held their country highest in tneir love, are reminders that there is always a place for their successors. We need every re minder, not alone for our own cun templatlon, but for our descendants and the thousands who are crossing the seas to find homes among us. m v nKjVi JUL X cxvia. Black for Night Scenes.. Kansas City Star. -n..h Fnor Sma.ro is naintlng nothing but night scenes now. O'Impresso Mow s tnai.- T)e Daub He has only a tube of black paint left. SOCIALIST REPLIES TO PRIEST. Grave Cfaarcea by Father O'Hara Are Dlaenaaed by W. K. Carton. PORTLAND, Dec t (To "the Edi tor.) In The Oregonlan of December 2 appears an Interview with Father O'Hara, In which he states his opposi tion to Socialism. I would be much pleased to make answer to the article, not so much In the defense of Social ism as to point out the looseness with which he handles his subject. He starts out with the assertion "that he has no opposition to Social ism in the avowed purpose of the lat ter to improve conditions and in its practice of criticising existing indus trial conditions." - Necessarily then we are led to the understanding that Father O'Hara has no criticism of Socialism from an eco nomic standpoint-. In other words he would lead his readers to believe that neither he nor the Catholic Church was opposed to Socialism in Its effort to give economio Justice to the workers of the world. He attributes "the growth of Social Ism to the fact that both Socialism and capitalism advocate the doctrine that material prosperity Is the only object In llfe."- Father O'Hara is quite right that Socialism and capitalism have for their main, object the carrying on of the ma terial pursuits of life. Of course, they have to do with the bread and butter question right here on this physical plane. This charge falls flat, as not even Father O'Hara could expect that we would be legislating about future life, at least here in America. In the next paragraph he "advocates social justice and Christian charity between employer and employe, as the only remedy for Socialism and capitalism." Capitalism Is the present form of government; and the Catholic Churah and every one else has been saying for many decades that social justice and Christian charity were a sure remedy for existing evils. The goods have not been delivered by this sort of propa ganda. And we see -that Father O'Hara realizes the failure himself, for he says: "If the captains of Industry will show no compassion for their laborers, but coin the life blood of men and the jaame of toiling women and the hope in children's eyes into dollars for their vaults, let them not be astonished if the genius of their own pnnosopny arise from their coffers and strangle them all." A Socialist could not have said it better. Now If centuries of capitalistic government, with the church and lay men Draylng and calling for social jus tice and Christian charity, have brought social degradation and eco nomlc failure, why will it not be well to establish a government in wnicn so cial justice will be its cornerstone? It will then not be necessary to sigh for It or to pray for It, for it will exist in the foundation of the government it self and will therefore reach to every fireside in the Nation. So far Father O'Hara has been very much inclined to the economic side of Socialism as against capitalism. ' But now he takes another angle and says he is opposed because Socialism is "unchristian," rampantly irreligious" and "Socialism proclaims that man's life ends with the grave. Consequently his temporal life is his chief and only concern. Father O'Hara --has made a grave charge, and if he could substantiate it Socialism would never have general support, neither would It ever become a permanent government. My answer to the charge that socialism pro claims that man's life ends with th grave" is that Socialism makes no such proclamation. No National, state or local organization has ever yet in serted into its organization any such proclamation. And further it would be just as foolish for them to attempt any such plank in their platform, as it would be for the Republican or Demo cratic capitalist parties to put such a plank In their platforms. The Socialist party Is not in the field to discuss the age-long question of the "immortality of the soul" or to debate the "nebular hypothesis" or any of the thousand and one beliefs thai go to make up the life of us moderns. Some Socialists have written and spoken . for or against some of the questions Just as some people of other political parties do. But Socialism Itself has to do pure ly and simply with a more equitable and Just form of economic life, and leaves each individual to his or her own belief on all other -questions. And again Father O'Hara says: "Socialism denies moral responsibility and thus undermines the basis and possibility of morality." Socialism denies this charge and re plies that it would found a common wealth on morality as its cornerstone. namely, economic Justice, and would give to every one who toils the full social product of his toll. This would be social justice or Christianity ap plied, or morality dressed up in clothes going about the world in the life of every man and woman. W. F. CATTON. . Thift One of Society's Crimea. PORTLAND, Dec 6. (To the Editor.) It la not possible to take up in one letter an answer to your article, "The Case Against Socialism," but did it ever occur to you that thrift as now prac ticed is a crime against society? "Just because the present society compels a man to follow the example of the dog and bury bones when he has them, to keep from starving when the supply runs short, is no proof that such a prac tice Is a good one. About tne poorest use to which a person can put his life is to employ it In accumulating enough to insure a peacefully rotting old age. The only reason we have to save for a rainy day is that as a society we haven t had sense enough to Duild a shelter or buy an umbrella, to say noth ing of using the Intelligence wnicn would enable us to control the financial and industrial weather. So long as panics and pestilence and poverty are looked upon as visitations of providence we will still be making hocus pocus signs and mumbling incan tations over our buried heaps of bones. If we would ever look- up from the rock heap in which we are trying to bury -the food for next week's dinner we would see that the calamity against whleh we aro trying to insure ourselves almost always comes from some social cause against which the individual is helpless but which would disappear at the first sign of social co-operation. VALOR SMITH. Adeqnate Funds Moat Be ., Given. CORVALLIS, Or.', Dec. 4. (To the Editor.) Some comment has been passed recently and much more will no doubt be passed in the near future re garding the extent of Oregon's partici pation in the exposition to be- held in San Francisco In 1915. Oregon as a border state of Cali fornia and one of the three great states of the Pacific Coast Is in position to reap richly from the flood of capitalists who will be seeking legitimate enter prises for the investment of their money and secure homeseekers drawn to the West by the accounts of the golden opportunities here. A great number of the former and not a few of the latter will visit the exposition. If Oregon is to be properly represented there she must have an extensive ex hibit which will show to the world her abundant resources and the quantity and quality of her "made In Oregon" goods, all housed In a building that will be an attribute to Oregon's pros perity. If the coming Legislature will bear In mind that "the first impression is a lasting one," and provide for funds which will enable Oregon to be repre sented as she should be among the states of the Union and the nations of the world, it will be doing a service such as few Legislatures can boast Of. JO SORENSON. Nitts on Bibulous Hens By Dean Colllna. Nesclus Nitts, sage of Punkindorf Su tton. Heard a hen singing songs of supreme jubilation. With a quid deftly aimed then, he checked her elation. And sent her in flight, squawking wild 'consternation: On wine and on hens then he made an oration: "I seen In the paper, a farmer of Franca Had found that a diet of wine would enhance The zeal of his hens, who by way of repayin' Their boss for the treat, jest kept layin' and layin'. Until In the ranks of prize layers they shines And all on account of that diet of wines. "I tells It to Wiggins, who always Jest flew To try an experiment anywise new. 'If he can succeed,' on the Instant says Wiggins, 'That plan ought to work on the hens round these dlgglns.' But wine around Punkindorf s "some thin" we lack. So Wiggins he gives his hens plain applejack. "In less than an hour, all them hens, mild and quiet. Was loose in the streets a-creatln' a riot: And every man runnin' to call all his frien's To look at them riotous applejack hens; ' Which same, from their antics and squallin' and klcklns . Was actin' a lot more like humans than chickens. . "One matronly hen, when a callin' her chick, Fergot how to cackle and gurgled Hie! Hlo!' And others caroused till the Ladles Uplift A rumor of them wild carousals had sniffed. And called Marshal Conner, with plead In' and sobs. To drive them pore hens from the gaze of the mobs. "And Wiggins he says,' as he views with delight. The Marshal a cussln" them hens left and right; The champagne of France, about which we heard tell, May help in encouragtn' hens very well; But, leastwise in Punklndorf's peaceful environ, That applejack seems "most too dog gone insplrin'." ' " Portland, December . Half a Century Ago From The Oresonlan of December B, 18S2. The English papers are much worked upon by the conduct of Admiral Wilkes, who commands the American squadron off the Bermudas. His appointment to that place after the capture of Mason and Slidell is doubtless intended as a tacit defiance of the British maritime power. The activity of the obnoxious officer la capturing the Anglo-Confed. erate steamers engaged in the contra band trade to the Southern Coast is his principal offense. New York, Nov. 29. Refugees rep resent the rebel army as very large and say General Bragg has without doubt united his army with that of General Lee. They also state General Jackson will remain In the rear and continue to menace Washington during ths Winter. Cairo, Nov. 29. The Grant Army of the West Is In motion. General Sher man with -his forces left Memphis Wednesday. General Grant's Army struck their tents yesterday and started oft on the Holly Springs road. We have been made the recipient of an apple of the Gloria Mundl species, of the Immense size of 16 inches in circumference, by measurement either way. It is the product of Benjamin Alden's orchard, formerly Devi Ander son's, on the Tualatin River one mile above the crossing on the Boone's Ferry road to Salem. The thanks of The Oregonlan office are due to Mr. and Mrs. J. Bergman, who were yesterday married at the Jewish Synagogue tn this city, for a liberal supply of bride's cake and champagne. Relf Bledsoe, Esq., Councilman for the counties of Idaho and Nez Perce tn Washington Territory, leaves for the capital today. s I ' Why Distinguish r PORTLAND, Dec . (To the Editor.) If It Is a good thing not to hang per sons convicted of murder. Is it a good thing to Invest officers of the law with authority to sacrifice human life while apprehending, or attempting to appre hend, persons committing crimes In volving murder? E. A. P. SP E C I A L S U N D A Y FEATURES Bulgaria An illustrated page on the virile little military power is provided by a traveler who was there when the war broke out. Meanest Men Janet Vale dis cusses lusbands who should be decorated for innate meanness. Big Human Strides in 1912 Man has scored half a hunin-d marked achievements during the year. An account of perserver anee and advancement. Bogus Butter How a corps cf expert sleuths ferret out the mak ers of oleomargarine. Mr. Wilson's Pie CounterA whole page on the menu that will be served at the Democratic jne counter beginning in March. Mr. Wilson has more than 10,000 sweet morsels to distribute. The War Correspondent He tells, with pen and camera, of real live adventures on the firing line in reporting recent disturb ances in Mexico. ' Extremes of Fashion An ex ceptional page in full colors of the meeting between East and West in women's fashions. - . Two Short Stories "A Gift by Biograft" and "The Poser and the Pear." Four pa"-es of color comics and MANY OTHER FEATURES. Order today from your newsdealer.