THE NORTHMAN
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Progressive Influence of Song
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CHORAL SOCIETIES SWING INTO
LINE WITH AMERICAN
MOVEMENT.
SUGGESTION TO FORM UNION MALE
CHORUS FOR STATE AND
PATRIOTIC OCCASIONS.
with the apples of immortality; legends of
minstrel lays of mighty deeds on land and
sea and songs of the Crusades to the
rescue of the Holy Grail. All this has
been blended with the music of this
country with most gratifying results, by
the choral societies. The good has been
recognized and is evidenced by the grow­
ing popularity of community singing. A
stimulas has been given to the production
of choral compositions which is daily add­
ing to the richness of American music,
particularly since the war.
Another evidence of the progressive­
ness of the choral organizations is exem­
plified here in Portland. Last season the
Multnomah Male Chorus and the Columbia
Male Chorus each brought two of Amer­
ica’s greatest artists to Portland for con­
certs and recitals. In this they not only
took the initiative but assumed the respon­
sibility. Effort of this kind is not always
appreciated, and seldom profitable from a
material point of view, but they are of
great value from a cultural viewpoint,
and such efforts should receive greater
encouragement, and will no doubt receive
greater encouragement through the closer
and better understanding that will come
to this, and other communities through
the Americanization movement, and the
coming season be more successful than
any of the past.
The Multnomah Male Chorus has been
in existence as a musical organization for
something like thirty-five years. The
origin of the Columbia Chorus runs back
to about the same time, so that they may
rightfully be called permanent institutions
and we believe they will make themselves
felt more strongly in the future than in
the past. Prof. Chas. Swenson is director
of both organizations and to his construc­
tive force and fine interpretation is due
much of the success in developing and im­
pressing upon them the fine things to be
found in song.
There are other male chorus organiza­
tions in the city—the Orpheus and the
Apollo Club, which have no nationality
distinction, other than American, and
others including the Swiss. Would it not
be a fine thing if all could come together
in a grand union male chorus for patriotic
and state occasions?
Why not the Portland Union Male
Chorus ?
A/TUSIC speaks all tongues as one, and
1 1 that it hath power to sooth the savage
breast, to soften rocks and bend the knot­
ted oak, is one of the oldest of sayings.
It sweeps the dust of the daily grind from
the soul and makes men better. That it
also broadens the view and cultivates a
spirit of progressiveness is evidenced by
the action of Scandinavian choral organi­
zations throughout the country dropping
right into line with the Americanization
movement, discarding the nationality
names and adopting titles distinctively
American. Both the Swedish and Norwe­
gian singing societies of Portland have
taken this step, the Swedish society
changing its name to the Columbia Male
Chorus, and the Norwegian society to the
Multnomah Male Chorus.
The prompt action of these and other
societies shows that music develops not
only progressive ideas and a readiness to
move forward, but also a spirit of devotion
to country, a consideration for their fel­
low citizens, and a clearer understanding
of the right thing to do as members of the
community in which they live and form a
part.
The men forming the membership in
these choral organizations, not only in
Portland, but throughout the country, are
representative of a type, and the best
type, of foreigners coming to America.
There is heart and sympathy and under­
standing in the music loving which is the
foundation of our best citizenship. The
vicious have no music in their souls. The
Swiss, the Cornish and others which
might be named as well as the Scandina­
vians, are all music lovers and have their
choral organizations, and they are to be
encouraged, for they have a splendid in­
fluence for good citizenship.
From the scenes of shimmering aurora
the sons of the Northlands have brought
their minstrel lays and songs of the
skalds; from the fjorfls and fjelds they
have brought their folk songs to contri­
bute to the musical treasures of this
country. They have also brought a wealth
of legendary literature of music reaching
SILK STOCKINGS AND WOODEN
back far into the midst of the early cen­
SHOES
turies; legends of how Odin sang so ten­
derly and so melodiously that the rocks
expanded with delight while the spirits of rTHE DISTANCE between the wooden
1 shoe to the silk stocking has for cen­
the sorrowful land of Hela were attracted
by the sweetness of his strains and turies marked the gulf between the ple­
gathered about him to drink.in the sounds beian and the aristocrat. The sabot, or
which stirred the emotions in their wooden shoe, of France, as well as the
tortured breasts; how the inspired bard “trse sko” of the Northlands—in fact, the
fashioned himself a musical instrument wooden shoe everywhere, is a representa­
from the jaw-bone of a great fish, taking tive of the peasantry and the silk stocking
for strings hairs from the mane of a horse has symbolized the ruling class of wealth
of the dark spirit Hiisi, which gave it a and power for ages. As an example of in­
mysterious and bewitching sound, and dustrial progress, the toiler may now
whose accompaniment to his mighty actually convert his wooden clumps into
soul-stirring melodies awakened the sym­ silk socks and wear them with all the
pathy of all beings, charming even the pride of the patrician.
powers of nature so that the sun, moon
A statement of exports compiled by a
and stars drew near in the heavens to New York bank shows that 6,000,000 pairs
drink in the melody; legends of how Brage of stockings made from silk classed as ar­
sang at Asgaard on the return of Idun tificial, but which in fact is quite as genu­
7
ine so far as quality is concerned as the
fabric actually spun by the silk worm,
were exported during the fiscal year.
The process of turning trees into silk
stockings through the transformation of
wood pulp into cellulose to produce the
artificial silk threads is a simple one, mak­
ing a substitute almost identical with that
carried in the body of the silk worm from
which he spins his cocoon which man spins
into silk threads. The artificial cellulose is
pressed through minute openings in metal
plates, falling into a liquid which solidifies
the threads. Silk goods made from the ar­
tificial fiber are remarkable for their bril­
liancy, being more lustrous than natural
silk, but lacking the degree of softness of
the natural product. The early shortcom­
ings of the product are being overcome,
however, and it is quite possible that the
old silk worm may be outdone. Anyhow
he is too slow and finnicky for the pres­
ent age.
These silks are now used in fabrics for
both warp and filling threads for dress
trimmings, upholsteries and rugs, taking
the place of real silk to insulate electric
wires and for making mantles for incan­
descent lights and cloth for general cloth­
ing purposes. They will no doubt be manu­
factured in the near future at prices which
will make it possible for even the poorest
of our people to wear their silks. While
a silk purse may not be made from a
sow’s ear, a slab of wood may be converted
into a pair of silk socks through the
agency of the saw mill and the silk-making
process. In fact a pair of wooden shoes
may actually be turned into silk stockings.
Many of the peasants of Europe coming
to this country do not realize the fact that
they virtually turn their wooden shoes into
silk stockings when they come to this
country if they acquit themselves in a
manner befitting the advanced and im­
proved station. Here every man is his
own master in many things and the posi­
tion carries with it a master’s responsibil­
ities. These cannot be shirked or evaded
without loss to the country as well as the
individual. Diligence is the mother of
good fortune, and the diligent man is
rarely found in the ranks of discontent.
THE REAL FOLKS.
Folks that likes you—them’s the kind
Worth a journey long to find,
’Cause it’s something purty fine
To be standin’ up in line,
Where the chosen congregate
In the counsels of the great.
Yet fame, somehow, doesn’t seem
To bring mutual esteem.
I’ll admit it must be good
For to have it understood
That you’re one o’ the select-
Few considered quite correct.
Havin’ people near an’ fur
Bowin’ low an’ sayin’ “sir”
Must be mighty soothin,’ stilll
’Druther hear jes’ “Howdy Bill!”
Folks that whispers in your ear
Compliments that aint’ sincere;
Folks that use ye fur a day
Then jes’ laugh an’ turn away—
How we strive their praise to win,
Only to return agin
To the fellers that stan’ true—
Folks that likes you, ’cause they do.
Every act, every impulse of virtue and vice,
affects in. any creature, face, voice, nervous
power, and vigor and harmony of invention.
Ruskin.
The eyes of other people are the eyes that ruin
us. If all but myself were blind, I should want
neither fine clothes, fine houses nor fine furniture.
*
Franklin.