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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1891)
WEST SHORE. 71 til the government work is completed, and it would seem that the tempora ry nature of these enterprises and the urgent demand for them could be ao represented to congres. that they would not jeopardiie the bill now pend ing for tte lock, and boat railway. Effort, however, to discredit the con duct of the work and the management of the funds would, on the contrary, do much harm, and should not be made. It is to be hoped that the joint committee of the legislatures of Washington and Oregon wiU be able to de vise some practicable schema whereby temporary relief may be gained and the permanent work be not in the least retarded. It is extremely unfortunate that so few of our legislators have an ade quate conception of the nature and magnitude of the Columbian exposition and the cost of properly representing Oregon thereat. The expense of gath ering the display, which seems to be considered the chief one, is by no mean the greatest. If the exhibit is to be of any value, some one of abil ity, experience and energy must superintend the gathering, arranging and continued display of it j and men of this character can not be had for noth ing. Cheap men for such a purpose are worse than no men at all. Men competent for this work can not be Induced to devote their entire attention to it nnless their time is paid for at as high a valuation a it command in other pursuit. Another great Item of expense is the proper facilities for display, and the more that is judiciously expended upon these the greater will be the resultant benefit. A third, and a necessarily large, item is the printing and distribution of attractive advertising and descriptive matter, both written and pictorial, and the skillful nse of newspaper and other medium of advertising, both before, during and after the fair. The latter is such a specialty that few men are entirely competent to attend to it j yet, on the whole, it is the most important of all, and many thousand dollar should be expended for it, not among Oregon paper, where we will see it, but elsewhere, where other will see it. So important is it that any one at all conversant with such matters will unhesitatingly say that a commonplace exhibit backed np by liberal and brilliant advertising will produce better result than a most superb display with the advertising feature neglected or poorly handled. The proposition to dole ont to each county a small sum to help it make an independent exhibit is the most childish yet offered. It would teem that any man of experience, even in a county fair, would know what would be the result of such a method. The whole is not greater than the sum of all its parts, and the sum of"ttira a miscellaneous lot of exhibit would be a crazy quilt It would be an undigested mass of stuff, with no comprehen sive method of display and producing no effect, save to Impress beholders with the idea that Oregonlans lack mental force and common horse senee. It is Oregon, and not the counties of Oregon, that should be on display at Chicago. Each of the resources of the state should be exhibited in the best possible form, and as a whole. There should be one grand display of wheat, not thirty-one small ones; and this applies to wool, grass, hop, fruit, timber, minerals, manufactures, everything, in fact, the state can show. The very best that any county could do would be miserably insig nificant when brought In contrast with the great multitude of thing that will claim attention there. By this it is not meant that counties or individ uals should be ignored. Far from it. Every specimen used should be care fully marked, both as to the locality and the producer, and, as far as possi ble, the products of each county In each department of the exhibit should be kept together. This can be done without marring the effectiveness of the display a a whole. If our legislators would take the time to inform themselves on this subject and do a little careful thinking, they would be prepared for more intelligent action. OREGON AND WASHINGTON'S SENATORS. Tuesday morning of last week Hod. John II. Mitchell was elected sen ator for the state of Oregon for the third time. There was no contest what ever, Mr. Mitchell receiving the unanimous republican vote, twenty-two in the senate and forty-one in the house. The six democratic senators and nineteen representatives voted for Bernard Goldsmith, of Portland. Wednes day the formal announcement was made in joint convention. The honor able and conspicuous services of Mr. Mitchell in the senate fully earned him this expression of continued confidence. His ability has reflected honor upon the state he represents, and has brought It more prominently to the notice of the country than many of the older and more populous common wealths. He is always energetic in guarding the interests of Oregon and the entire northwest, and has secured for It much that a weaker man could not have obtained. Mr. Mitchell is (till In the prime of life and baa a long career of public duty still before him. After a ipirited contest the Washington legislature selected Hon. Wat son C. Squire, of Seattle, to be his own successor, that gentleman having drawn the short term upon hi admission to the senate last year. Mr. Squire' opponent wa Hon. W. H. Calkin, of Tacoma. The separate bal lots on Tuesday resulted in the election of Mr. Squire in the house, the vote standing : Squire forty-three, Calkins fifteen, Carroll (democrat) seventeen, Eldridge one. In the senate there was no choice, Squire receiving fifteen, Calkins fourteen, Carroll four and Laughton one. Thi rendered a joint ballot necessary on Wednesday, which resulted in the choice of Mr. Squire. During his brief term in the senate he made a good record as an able and energetic representative of bis state, and richly deserves the honor of con tinuing in its service. CALIFORNIA STATE FLOWER. For some time the question of the adoption of a state flower ha been under discussion in California. The flora of the state, rich and varied be yond the comprehension of people living in other sections, has been passed in review through the press in ardent letters by the advocates of various flower j but a concensus of opinion has decided the question in favor of the most typical of the multitude of flowers that glorify the fields and meadows of California, and this choice waa formally ratified by the state floral soci ety a short time ago. The flower thus selected Is the California poppy (Eiehtcholuia Caltfornica), whose bright yellow is the predominating color among the native blooms in every field. It is peculiarly Callfornian in it habitat, being found from one end of the state to the other and but a short distance beyond, and bloom the entire year. In an essay read before the floral society, the following reference was made to it: " In choosing a floral emblem for a state, it is desirable that the flower should be a native, and not only widely distributed but striking, so that ev erybody may thoroughly know it, and that it will be among the first to at tract the attention of the children and so connected with their earliest mem ories, but that it should be beautiful, easily represented in paintings, carv ings or architectural designs; and for this state it aeems specially desirable that the flower should be golden in color. All these requirement this little blossom fully satisfies. The typlca flower is found only within our borders, though varieties occur as tar north as Washington and southeast to Texas- about ten in all-varying in manner of growth, color, or both; but the Eichtchuluia as we know it is never found outside of our state. One ha only to watch the children coming home from a trip to the country to see which flower they love best. It is one of their greatest delights to pick a whole armful, and the quantities the florist gather and bring to the city show that the older people fully appreciate their choice. No other Califor nia wild flower is so widely known or so highly prited as this, and surely no other has been painted ao many times. Both flower and foliage are well adapted for carving or decorating our buildings or banners, and who can describe its color T All the golden emblems of the state combined seem to be needed to give thi wonderfully glistening, brilliant, intense coloring which, after all, can never be represented, and, like so many other won ders, people must come here to see to fully appreciate." The engraving on the first page shows the California poppy in it native home and natural color. AT BAY. They have taken a stand in their desolate land, That I barren with hunger and gaunt with cold, Where winter grips hard with a merciless hand, Yet they will not come Into the sheltering fold. Crouch ont In the deserts, ye haggard and wild; The beasts of the field are more worthy than ye, Drunken and filthy, with soul sin-defiled, A burden to earth, without license to be. Call out the soldiers and turn the guns on ; Mow down the vermin, 'twill cost a few live, But mostly of privates, and when they are gone ' We can stingily pension their children and wive. Yea, kill off the Indiana ; it' cheaper by far Than to patiently set stubborn feet In the right ; And we have grown wiser than when the great star Shone with peace and good will over Christ one calm night. You nation, but hear, 0, ye careless of heart I Ye will listen, one day, to the Indian's tale; And the silence of God will fall chill on thy souls, And the vain hopes of earth that ye knew will all fall. Then the angel of justice will balance Die scale That now bear down under thy hard, guilty hand. In that last day of wrath will rocks (all at thy cry T Or the high mountain break where thou takoat thy stand T Ll'ILUNQ.
