THE MOBNING- OREGOtflAN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1900.
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TODAY'S "WEATHER. -Cloudy and threat
ening, with probably rain; southerly winds.
PORTLAND, TUESDAY, DEC. 11, 1900.
In his letter printed elsewhere this
morning, Dr. "Winchester is needlessly
tender with the author of the sermon
against evolution he criticises. He
might with entire propriety have said
that Dr. McLean was talking on a sub
ject he knew nothing about, "When a
man does that in the pulpit he ought
to be rebuked, for his act Is inimical
nof only to honest thought, but to all
religious faith and common morality.
When a preacher stands up in the
sacred desk and undertakes to instruct
his flock concerning scientific matters of
which he is Ignorant, and upon which
his ignorance is patent to numbers of
his hearers, the inevitable effect of his
words is to impair confidence in every
thing he says and bring the cause of
true religion into contempt. Preaching
like Dr. McLean's makes infidels, and
for that reason is far more contrary to
public policy than the works of Darwin
or Spencer. It is the fashion of some
ministers, happily fewer as time goes
on, to stop for a brief moment in a dis
course, and with one or two sentences
consign to contempt and oblivion the
colossal labors aird patient investiga
tion of some great mind that has for
gotten, more than, they ever knew. They
must Btop it or they will wreck their
church; they v-'lll alienate thinking
minds from the existing organizations
fir religious effort and compel science
itself to take up the work of evangel
izing the world a work for which its
votaries have neither taste nor capa
city. "We have a threat many arrogant
skeptics who expound their hostile
views of the Bible, when they have
never read it. They are entitled to no
hearing. "We have a great many arro
gant preachers who expound their hos
tile views of Darwin and Spencer with
out having the slightest acquaintance
with the works of either. They are en
titled to no hearing. They ought to be
forbidden to teach, because their teach
ing weakens the faith of those who
know better the things of science but
are amenable to the influences of re
ligion. You can't find out what sci
ence teaches by consulting a theologi
cal treatise fifteen years old. No man
has a right to pronounce judgment on
Darwin "unless he has read Darwin. No
man has a right to pronounce Judgment
oa Spencer unleiss be has read Spen
cer. This caution should apply with
peculiar force to a. man in the vocation
of religious teacher, because every mis
take he makes and he is certain to
make mistakes whenever he touches a
problem on which his feeling is strong
and his Information weak recoils with
disastrous efipct on the whole body of
his teaching." It Ss preposterous to call
evolution "a fad." "Worse than that.
It is iniquitous; because no man who
knows what evolution is and knows the
difference between its established, truth
and the doubtful details over which sci
entists dispute, can have the slightest
confidence in any statement Dr. Mc
Lean may make from the pulpit.
This is a serious assertion to make,
but the case calls for severe treatment.
How do men expect to redeem mankind
from its sin and wretchedness if they
persist in standing on the platform that
the truth is a secondary consideration
in the religious world; that in interpret
ing the physical universe theology is a
law unto itself, without regard to the
composition and history of. that uni
verse? The attitude of these foes of
scientific thought toward the world to
which they have been sent by their
Master is this: If you believe the evi
dences Nature has spread before you
In the vestiges of creation, you can
have no part with us. You can believe
these things, evolution of the earth,
evolution of the Bible, if you please:
but if you do. we have no message for
you, no duty to you. If you come to
hear us, depend upon your views being
denounced, xour labors ridiculed, your
discoveries pronounced false and irre
ligious. These uninformed rallers
against truths they do not comprehend
should understand -that the only effect
of their efforts is to close to their ap
peals iorever the eare of the enllghN
ened. Their puny efforts; cannot hurt
the truth. No dogma, no tradition, can
do that. They only hurt the cause they
fondly but unwisely eek to serve.
They only make their own best labors
unavailing.
The celebration of the centenary of
the capital city of the United States
takes place a week from today.
George "Washington determined Its
place, personally, superintended the
first survey of the site, appointed
th commission which took posses
sion of the tract ceded by Mary
land and Ylrsinla, and laid it outXidealist,
according to Major L'Enfant's plans,
and so "Washington's name was rightly
given to the Federal city. At that tlma
th? Federal district was really central
to the new Nation. The City of Wash
ington became the permanent capital
of the Government of the United States
by authority of an act of Congress ap
proved July 16, 1790. In May. 1S00, the
archives and general offices of the Fed
eral Government "were removed from
Philadelphia to Washington, and on
the 17th of November, 1S00, the Na
tional Congress met for the first time
and assumed exclusive control of the
Federal district and city. The Fifty
fifth Congress on February 28. 1899,
passed an act to provide for an appro
priate National celebration of the es
tablishment of the seat of Government
in the District of Columbia.
IMMORTAL THEME OF SATIRE.
The dolorous complaint of Bishop
Potter that our public spirit is univer
sally poisoned with the greed of wealth
has always been the Indictment drawn
against their times by the conspicuous
critics of every century since the dawn
of civilization. The great Roman satir
ist, Juvenal, who flourished in the reign
of Emperor Domltian, is never weary of
denouncing the corrupt domination of
the rich. In the first "Satire" he says:
"Let riches carry the day, since with
us the most revered majesty is that of
riches, even though as yet, pernicious
money, thou dwellest is no temple, nor
have we as yet reared altars to coin."
In the fourteenth "Satire" the great
poet says: "The smell of gain Is good
from anything whatever. No one asks
you how you got it, but have it you
must. This maxim old crones Impress
on boys before they can run alone.
This all girls learn before their A. B.
C." Another famous Roman satirist
speaks of "the sacra fames auri," the
cursed hunger for gold.
Here we have the greatest satirist of
Roman literature denouncing the hoclal
state in Rome In the last decade of the
first century after Christ In language
quite as bitter as that employed by
Bishop Potter to describe his day and
generation. Bishop Potter deplores the
steady and increasing worship of
wealth in New York City, and de
nounces it as responsible for a deal of
moral, political and social mischief,
which Is exactly the bill of particulars
drawn by Juvenal against the society
of ancient Rome over 1800 years ago.
You may begin with Aristophanes, who
lived in the age of Pericles and Soc
rates, 400 years back of Juvenal, and
follow the literature of satire and the
gospel of social reform down to the
present day, and you will find the same
charge made concerning the corrupt
domination of riches In every age. De
nunciation of riches was as much part
of the satirist's stock in trade as flow
ers and stars and sunsets are part of
the artistic properties of a descriptive
poet
Denunciation of the moral corrosion
consequent upon the pursuit and pos
session of riches has been the theme of
every pulpit reformer in every century.
Pope and Swift loved money fairly
well, but their satire does not spare the
greed for wealth. Byron made excel
lent bargains with his publisher, but
the lash of his satire Is laid upon the
flanks of the English people as poisoned
in spirit through their greed for
wealth. The greed for wealth lsspart"
of the dramatic properties of the satir
ists and reform pulpiteers in every
century since the dawn of authentic
literature. Bishop Potter laments that
notorious pirates in trade and finance
are pointed at with eager pride to for
eigners, while men who have mixed hu
manity and philanthropy with business
are treated only with the compassion
ate courtesy that is extended to a very
pious but very homely woman or a
charitable crank.
A great man is popularly represented
by our satirical artists or reform
preachers as a man with a long bank
account, like Senator-elect Clark, of
Montana, who treats political honors as
nothing but a line of mining properties
to be captured by the highest bidder.
Bishop Potter ought to remember that
while you can buy a United States Sen-
atorshlp, directly or Indirectly, In Mon
tana, you could not buy a Senatorship
In any of the New England States, In
the Middle States, or In any of the
great states of the Middle West. Sen
ator Clark could buy up the little min
ing camp, known as the State of Ne
vada, but outside of crude civilizations,
like Montana and Nevada, which stand
for the social and political vices of a
community, whose business code Is
squared by the moral sense of a skin
gambler, or an occasional sporadic seat
of corruption, like Delaware, Senator
Clark could not buy his seat in the
United States Senate. The oldest and
richest states of our Union are com
pletely above the suspicion of represen
tation by men who have purchased
their places of honor and trust. In
new, crude, small mining states, cor
ruption sometimes plays a successful
part for a time, but with the advent of
a permanent. Intelligent population
Instead of the "floaters" that pop
ulate largely mining camps, corrup
tion in politics disappears. The general
Indignation visited upon the case of
Clark should forbid any intelligent
person quoting it as an accurate Index
of our National morals.
"CARRYING THE POSTOFFICE TO
THE HOME.'
The annual report of the Postmaster
General is always an Interesting doc
ument. The report submitted a few
days ago is no exception to the gen
eral rule. Indeed, it will be studied
with additional interest, since it indi
cates a still closer relation between the
people and this most democratic of all
th departments of governmental serv
ice. It Is safe to assume that a very large
number of "the 21,000,000 people scat
tered over 100,000.000 square miles of
territory to whoBe doors it is the task
of the Government to arrange for free
rural mall delivery," will make this
-cause their own to the extent of wish
ing ardently- for its early realization.
We are assured that one-sixth of this'
vast number of people will be served
by the Government's carriers by the
close of the present fiscal year, six
months hence. The task is a stupen
dous one, but the forces that have ad
dressed themselves to its completion
are stupendous also. A little study of
the matter In detail, as presented in
this report, will enable the people to
indorse the statement that rural free
mall delivery is the most salient, sig
nificant and,- far-reaching feature of
the postal development.
The Postmaster-General proposes to
work out a scheme that a few years
ago was regarded as the dream, of the
and he has figured the expense
down to a point that makes It prac
ticable. Upon the simple basis that it
will put the farmer In closer communi
cation with the outside world, enabling
him to keep abreast the times, free
rural mail delivery may well rest for
Indorsement, being assured of popular
ity. The net annual cost of "carrying
the postofflee to the home" is estimated
at 513,782,224. This relatively small
cost. In the view of the man best cal
culated from cjose study of the facts
and conditions that govern the proposi
tion, justifies the attempt as well
worth, undertaking and as ultimately
certain to be realized.
AX ECONOMIC PROBLEM.
The prevalence of the social evil is
under discussion today in the press and
pulpits of New York City. The social
evil is the peculiar curse of great cities
where there are districts congested
with unskilled labor, which earns from
$3 to $5 a week, when it can get
work. This congestion of cheap, un
skilled sweatshop labor is not greatly
In evidence in our smaller cities, but In
the great cities the competition Is so
fierce, save In the highest fields of
skilled labor, that poor working women
lead a life of living death before they
let go the last -spar that Is woman and
consent to be swept out to the open sea
of sin and self-destruction.
If Christianity really stood for the
Imitation of Christ, no man dare get
rich by starving his woman labor; he
would be boycotted so completely that
he- would be driven out of business; he.
would be compelled to be human In
order to succeed. It is easy to reply
that Is but a Utopian expectation. Very
well; only In that Utopia lies any hope
of the regeneration of modern society
this side of anarchy. We must become
universally less inhuman, greedy and
unjust, or "we shall go down Into the
deep sea of social and political disorder
like a herd of swine possessed with the
devil of unrighteousness. No short cut
through state socialism or communism
will cure this cancer.
No artificial machinery, no new sys
tem, will reform the selfish, greedy
heart of man. Nothing but the increas
ing universality of the imitation of
Christ will pull humanity out of Its
hole. Magdalens will be multiplied so
long as men In congested districts of
unskilled labor are able to secure all
the help they want by less than living
wages to suffering women. Want
and sorrow and gloom In great cities
create conditions that crowd "the
Bridge of Sighs" with desperate women
made wretched and weak through pri
vation and slowly slipping through
starvation Into sin. We do not want
socialism, for that is the irreconcilable
foe of marriage and the family unit,
but we do want that Individualism that
is Instinct with the spirit which makes
every right-minded man curse, not the
Magdalens, but the Infernal inhuman
ity of man that makes thousands of
forlorn women mourn, makes him curse
that brutal spirit of greed and selfish
ness which makes it most difficult for
forlorn women to do right.
Of course, there are small contribu
tions to the great stream of the social
evil that are not of economic origin;
that are" due to gross indolence; to the
same degenerate quality that makes a
man fit for better things choose to lead
the life of a parasite," a sponge or a
thief, but, looking at it in a large way,
the social evil as It is found in our
great cities is of economic origin. Wen
dell Phillips nearly forty years ago
said: "Give men fair wages and few
will steal; give women fair wages for
capacity and toll and they will disdain
to win it by vice."
The ballot reform committee of the
Pittsburg (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce
has prepared the draft of a primary
election law to be presented for con
sideration at the next Legislature. This
bill provides for the nomination of can
didates by a direct vote, doing away
with the present convention system.
The primaries of all parties are to be
held on the same day throughout the
state, and are to be conducted by the
regular election officers. Each party In
Its rules may prescribe the qualifica
tion of a voter for Its candidates, but
In the absence of rules a citizen who Is
qualified to vote at the next election
and who, at the preceding National or
state election, voted for the candidate
of the party, Is entitled to vote. The
ballots are to be supplied by the
County Commissioners, and the voting
Is to be secret. Each voter Is required
to declare for which party he desires
to vote, and will be furnished with the
ballot of that party, containing the
names of the candidates. Among the
acts declared to be unlawful by this
bill are the use of money or coercion to
influence voters, the disclosure of how
any person voted, the Impersonation of
a voter or an election officer, or to
vote more than once. The penalty for
violation of the law Is a fine not exceed
ing $1000 or Imprisonment for two years
and a half.
Somebody once said that American
men are incessantly haunted by these
questions: "How can I make money?"
"Who will be the next President?" and
"Where shall I go when I die?" This
humorist was right as to his first ques
tlon; he was right as to the second
question, so far as It was Indirectly
connected with the opportunity to make
money, but he was wrong as to the
third question, for the men who stand
for the business and political ambition
and energies of America never stop to
consider the question, "Where shall I
go when I die?" That is the least of
the anxieties of the average man of
business or politics. The Americans
who worry over the next world are the
men who have little Interest in busi
ness or politics and small aptitude for
either pursuit. The successful average
man of business or politics is not sel
dom in his heart always a profound
skeptic or agnostic concerning the fu
ture, for if he was not he could not
resolutely practice the average methods
of business and politics, which do not
rest upon the golden rule as a basic
principle, and are hardly Instinct with
the aspiration of the "Sermon on the
Mount."
The citizens of Cowlitz County, Wash
ington, are certainly to be congratu
lated upon the fact that the cowardly
murderer, Stlckel, has been run down
and duly caged, preparatory to his final
disposal at a rope's end, after the man
ner provided by law for ridding soci
ety of criminals of his class. This man
Stlckel may be said, however, to be
in a class by himself. The old saying
that there is "honor among thieves"
may be extended to include murderers.
The robust villain who attacks his vic
tim boldly, even though the time and
place be craftily planned, would scorn
to associate with a sneak, who, to at
tain the same object, steals upon an
aged couple, taking their quiet evening
meal In their kitchen, and shoots them
through the window. The purpose may
be the same in both cases, and the law
provides for each the same penalty.
But there Is an element In the cow
ard's sneaking crime that so exasper
ates the spirit of manliness of even the
boys of the community, that the offi
cers of the law find it necessary, or at
least prudent, to use extra vigilance In
guarding such a prisoner In order to
Insure his delivers' to the court for trial
and punishment in the regular way.
The constabulary and court of Cowlitz
County have In this case an excellent
chance to distinguish themselves as
agents of Justice lawfully administered
the first In guarding this cowardly
murderer from the unlicensed venge
ance of the populace, the last In dis
daining all quibbles that ordinarily de
lay movements of Justice and bringing
him to .swift and final account. The
citizens of any commonwealth that
has refused to eliminate capital pun
ishment from its list of penalties for
crime have reason to congratulate
themselves upon this fact when called
upon to deal "with a case of this kind.
Careful mothers recoil with a shudder
from the announcement frequently
made that a girl of tender years has
been committed to the Reform School
of our neighboring state. Recovering
quickly, however, they are duly thank
ful that there is a place over there
Where a waywardvchlld, though a girl,
may be placed under proper restraint
and given a chance to justify, through
a useful womanhood, the purpose or ac
cident of her existence, though sadly
clouded In her childhood. It'ls held by
our criminologists to be greatly to the
credit of Oregon that it has a Reform
School for boys. Accepting this esti
mate as correct, does it not logically
follow that It Is a discredit to the state
that no provision whatever is made for
a Reform School for girls? "Magda
len homes" and "refuge homes" we
have, to be sure, maintained by private
endeavor, but no place into which way
ward, thoughtless but still not Impure
girls 'can be placed for restraint and
training. Surely, any estimate that
justifies the institution and mainte
nance of a Reform School for boys
equally, at least, justifies the establish
ment of a similar school for girls.
Humane people generally, and those
particularly who are fond of animals,
will read with pleasure the statement
that the wild creatures kept in confine
ment in the City Park for the amuse
ment and instruction of visitors are
well pastured or housed, as the case
may be, and generously and suitably
fed. The name of W. T. Shanahan, in
connection with such a statement, car
ries assurance of its truth, since it Is
well known that he has distinct and
broad Ideas upon what constitutes the
good treatment of animals, and Is at all
times willing to voice them In the inter
ests of the voiceless.
The Census Office says that Salem's
figures are correct as given 1258. Of
course, they are not, but the fault may
He at Salem. The town had no report
in the census of 1890, its vacancy being
explained by the words, "not separately
returned' Eugene, curiously enough,
was in the same fix.
A Cabinet officer Is mixed up with
municipal corruption in Tokio. If
Bryan had been elected, It Is just barely
possible that a Cabinet officer might
have been mixed up with municipal
corruption In New York, and his name
would be Richard Croker.
Some self-interest, perhaps, but more
public 'spirit, Is behind the Retail
Clerks' Association's approval and sup
port of the Oriental fair. Unless all
signs- fall, this project has secured a
popular approval that guarantees Its
success.
Salem is amused at the Census Bu
reau's report of her population. Here
is an example of cheerfulness in time
of trouble that may be recommended to
Omaha and Seattle.
Lawyers are all agreed that the Su
preme Court needs help. This unanim
ity of opinion among the legal frater
nity Is unparalleled outside of Gilbert &
Sullivan's "Mikado."
Marconi's wireless telegraphy Is of no
use to the management of the Santa
Fe. What is needed down there just
now Is a system of operatorless tele
graphy. If Portugal succeeds In securing Eng
land and Germany as allies, she ought
to be able to enter Into a war with
Holland with fair prospects of success.
Inconsistency In the Message.
New York Times.
The President concludes his message as
follows:
In our great prosperity we must guard
against the danger It invites of extravagance
In Government expenditures and appropria
tions, and the chosn representatives of tha
people will, I doubt not, furnish an example
In their legislation of that wise economy which
In a season of plenty husbands for the future.
In this em of great business activity and op
portunity, caution Is not untimely It will not
abate, but strengthen, confidence. It will not
retard, but promote, legltlmato industrial and
commercial expansion.
This admonition to economy Is, unfor
tunately, accompanied by an urgent rec
ommendation to pass the ship subsidy
bill, which is, In Itself, an extravagant
use of the public funds, and which is,
moreover, a diversion of those funds from
public ends to private advantage. It Is a
measure that, under the cloak of protec
tion to American Industry, Imposes on the
producers of the country a tax for which
they can receive no direct return, and of
which the effect will be rather to Increase
than to diminish the cost of transporta
tion of their products. It Is also a meas
ure for the bene-fit of an Industry that is
a'ready in a most prosperous condition,
and that needs only the stimulation of
open competition to develop indefinitely.
Surely, this la an illogical and Inequita
ble employment of the surplus contribu
tions of the taxpayers.
Superior to Fnct.
New York Commercial Advertiser.
The antl-lmperlallsts have" rallied nobly
under the sad news from the Philippines
that the insurrectionists were laying
down their arms and that the prospect
of peace In the islands was Improving
with every hour. Nothing In the way of
news could be more sickening, more
"nauseous" than that when you were
watching for a good bloody battle with a
score or so of American soldiers killed In
order that you might exclaim: "Ah. ha!
What did we tell you about the lying
quality of that Taft commission's report,
and about the humbug quality of the
President's comments upon It?" Of
course, the only thing to do was to im
pugn the quality of the news. No mat
ter If all news is uncensored now; ignore
that 'fact and go ahead Just as if there
bad been no change. First hunt up a
friend of Agulnaldo and see what he says
about it Here is one right at hand. Slx
to Lopez. What does he say? Why. that
the 2200 insurrectionists who took the
oath of allegiance on Sunday were not
bolomen at all, but were mainly Filipino
women, young lads and elderly "men, too
weak for long uiarcnes through the bad
lands. Is not that comforting, now?
Things really look cheerful once more,
with peace as far off as ever. Then, too,
there Is a strong suspicion that all the
people who took the oath were not really
insurrectionists at all, but sly creatures
"In search of Government rations." That
gives the thing a really Jocose aspect,
you see, and one becomes almost hila
rious over the possibility that peace Is
further off than ever. It is the old view,
you know, that the Taft commission and
General Young and everybody else on the
American side in the Philippines are such
easy dupes that the sly Filipinos fool
them all the time.
OUR VERBOSE PRESIDENT.
Curiously Enough, Force Sometimes
Goes With Discursiveness.
New York Evening Post.
In one respect at least President Mc
Kinley's recent message will occupy a po
sition of honor in the musty limbo ol
Presidential literature; and that Is in Its
length. His latest communication to
Congress contains some 22,000 words,
which surely marks the ne plus ultra
of Presidential prolixity. Mr. Cleveland
was much ridiculed for the length of his
official papers, but his longest message,
that of 1S85. fall3 short by over 2000
words of President McKInley's recent de
liverance. Since the beginning of the
Government these annual undertakings
have slowly and steadily Increased in
bulk, if not In substance. Washington's
first address to Congress delivered in
person, as were all the messages of the
first three Presidential terms was only
1200 words long; and he afterwards had
little difficulty in compressing his
thoughts' into 2500 words. John Adams,
on the average, was even more restrain
ed, aa he never once overstepped the
2000-word mark. Jefferson, who origi
nated the custom of sending his commu
nication to Congress, raised this limit to
SOOO; and from this point It steadily
grew by a thousand or two a year until
Andrew Jackson, In 1S37, swooped down
upon the country with a message of
15,000 words. Polk and Buchanan were
oven more serloua offenders the former,
just before retiring from office, giving
the Nation a parting shot of 20,000 words.
Some of the Presidents who have had
the most to, say, however, have required
the fewest words to say it. Lincoln, for
example, after Buchanan's ambitious ef
fort of 16,000 words, quietly rebuked
him by characteristically discussing the
secession of the Southern States and the
issues of the Civil War in a message of
only one-third Its length at the special
session In 1561, while his annual mes
sage In 1S63, covering our Interests
abroad as well as at home, was no
longer. President Monroe, even in
the message enunciating the famous
doctrine, has been equally succinct.
President Polk's long-drawn-out mee
sage of 1348 was followed by SOOO
words of wisdom from straightforward
old Zachary Taylor the only message
that ho was permitted to write. His suc
cessors, Fillmore and Pierce, defended
the Southern slavery-exten don policies
in messages as long as they were sophis
tical; while Van Buren must be put down
as one of the wordy Presidents. It Is
not altogether safe, however, to assume
that a President Is. known by the length
of his messages. Tyler, who made a
pretty good mess of It, was a model, for
his time, of Presidential conciseness, his
papers ranging from 7000 to SOOO words;
while Andrew Johnson, who did not
come out of the fray unscatched, kept
himself within bounds at least so far
as the length of his messages was con
cerned. On the other hand, two of our
strongest Presidents, Jackson and Cleve
land, have been verbose.
THE APPORTIONMENT BILL.
Must the Fourteenth. Amendment Go
the Way of the Fifteenth?
Chicago Tribune.
Representative Crumpacker, of Indiana,
has had the courage to introduce an ap
portionment hill which recognizes the ex
istence of the 14th amendment. This
amendment provides:
When the right to vote at any election for
the choice of Electors for President and Vice
President of the United States, Representa
tives in Congress, the executive and Judicial
officers of a state, or the members of the Leg
islature thereof, is denied to any of the male
Inhabitants of such state, being 21 years of
age, and citizens of the United States, or In
any way abridged, except for participation In
rebellion or other crime, the basis of represen
tation therein, shall be reduced In the propor
tion -which the number of such male citizens
shall bear to the whole number of male citi
zens 21 years of age In such state.
The right to vote has been denied to a
large proportion of the citizens of Louisi
ana, North and South Carolina and Mis
sissippi, by the states In question, which
have adopted constitutions under which
in some Instances a majority of the adult
males are disfranchised. There can be no
question that, the language of the 14th
amendment applies directly to these
states. Therefore Representative Crum
packer's bill, which proposes to take
away two of the six Representatives of
"Louisiana, four of the North Carolina
nine, three of the South Carolina seven,
and three of tho Mississippi seven, is an
attempt to obey the injunctions of the
Constitution. It may be Impossible to
pasj such a measure at the present ses
sion. It will be difficult to Induce the
next Congress to act favorably on It.
Nevertheless, the proposition Is a right
eous one.
The 15th amendment says the right to
vote shall not be abridged on account of
race or color. No pretense of enforcing it Is
made now. It does not follow that the
14th amendment should be treated with
equal indifference. It is not feasible to
enforce the former. The latter can be en
forced. The demand for Its enforcement
has the support of many Independent
Democratic newspapers.
The reduction of representation In Con
gress of the disfranchising states Is not
of so much importance as the reduction
of their representation In the Electoral
College. It Is not just and fair that the
Southern States, which will lose political
strength under the Crumpacker bill,
should have either In Congress or In the
Electoral Colleges a degree of Influence
they are not entitled to. These states
should not claim votes on account of men
whom they do not permit to vote. If
they choose to deprive of the suffrage a
large percentage of their citizens, so be
It, but the citizens who are permitted
to vote should not be allowed to gain a
double measure of political power there
by. English. View of Mr. Croker.
London Chronicle.
There Is no deep mystery In American
politics. They can be understood by any
body who will give the subject serious
study; but one thing will always remain
unintelligible to him who has not studied
the conditions on the spot and that is,
the stupendous local ascendency of Rich
ard Croker.
This remarkable dictator, holding no of
ficial position, without education, with a
youthful record as a prize-fighter and
"Bowery tough. spending the income of
a prince, derived nominally from a "real
estate business." carries In the palm of
his Iron hand the administration of a
great city of 3,500,000 people, the financial
and commercial heart of the richest na
tion In the world.
An Irishman, his power derived from
the political activity or the Irish-Americans,
he lives in England, a country
which his followers hate, and engages In
an aristocratic amusement racing which
they despise. His career Is the most
striking example of power without re
sponsibility which democracy can show.
Professor Bryce might go to Wantage
Road, study this unique and sinister per
sonality and add a chapter to "The
American Commonwealth."
CHRISTIANITY AND EVOLUTION.
The discussion started by Dr. McLean's
sermon on evolution I have read with
much Interest. Perhaps It would better
stop where it Is. especially as the author
has expressed the desire that It might,
and yet. while we are at it, it would be
a real advantage if an agreement might
be reached la regard to some of the
fundamental postulates of evolution, with
out which all discussion is futile. Pos
sibly through an experience as professor
of biology my thought has been turned
more in this direction than otherwise
might have been the case, so that I may
have acquired a warmer sympathy with
scientific investigators and their theories
than ministers sometimes feel. Be that
as It may, and without wishing to dis
sent from the theological views expressed
by my friend. Dr. McLean, It occurred to
mo that some statements In the article
concerning evolution might be so under
stood by some as to make the writer ap
pear to give too little credit to that al
ready large and growing class of scien
tific investigators who would be the last
ones to attack any of our religious be
liefs, and who yet hold to a thelstlc form
of evolutionary theory. It Is In the hope
that such men may not seem to be left
unrepresented that I venture to add a few
words to the already somewhat extended
discussion.
We all agree that evolution Is a "the
ory," which means simply an attempted
explanation of facts, a "working hypothe
sis." And while "true science does not
Jump at conclusions," It may be doubted
whether it can always wait until "the
chain of evidence is complete" before
accepting a theory as an Instrument to
work with. The evidence never will be
"complete" while finite minds .have any
thing further to discover In an Infinite
universe. A theory Is accepted when it
explains the facts better than any other
theory, and each Investigator must be
his own judge as to which theory seems
to perform this service best.
It would seem to be a mistake, when,
as Is so often done, the word "evolu
tion" is made synonymous with "a
scheme for dispensing with God and
Christianity." It is perhaps natural that
this has been done, for there have been
materialistic evolutionists whp have, used
this theory In such a way as to give
ground for this misunderstanding. But
evolution, as a theory, says nothing about
God, not because the evolutionist does
not believe in God which he may or
may not do, according as he Is a the
lstlc or materialistic or atheistic evolu
tionistbut because ovolutlon Is not di
rectly concerned with the question of
origins, but with the question of succes
sion. It undertakes to explain how the
world became what It Is, to account for
the existence If the various forms of
animal and plant life, the records of fos
sil remains which we have In the rocks,
the various planetary systems, and the
relations of these things to one another
and to the past history of the universe.
It does not attempt to make answer to
the question. Who started the universe?
We all believe, no doubt, in the de
velopment of the chicken from the ess,
and would be Interested In watching the
successive forms through which the chick
passes In such development as they might
be demonstrated to the eye by any bi
ologist, nor would we think of assert
ing that this demonstration was a
"scheme for dispensing with God and
Christianity." It says nothing whatever
about God or Christianity. And there Is
nothing in the Illustration at all to shake
the faith of any of us in God's power;
Indeed most of us would regard It as a
most beautiful example of God's pres
ence in life, sustaining and directing vital
processes to their appropriate end. But
this illustration of the egs is one of the
very best illustrations of evolution. The
evolutionist simply says we may extend
our observation farther and find Illus
trations innumerable of equally orderly
movement ana development and delicate
adjustment of means to end, while the
thelst says It is in each case an evidence
of God's presence In his universe, sus
taining and directing.
It seems often to be regarded as fatal
to the theory of evolution that "we have
found no link of derivation connecting
man. with the lower animals which have
preceded him." On the contrary. It Is
Idle to look for these, not because evolu
tion Is a mistake, but because It does not
say that man Is "derived from the lower
animals." What It does say Is that man
ana the lower animals were derived from
a common form, which Is quite a different
thing. "Links" do not exist, simply be
cause the common form does not longer
exist it has developed into man. and. as
one has admirably expressed It, "the mon
key lost forever his opportunity to be
come a man when he branched off from
this central 'stem' and became a mon
key." A well-known figure represents the
process by comparison with a tree; the
central stem represents the upward
course of development, with man at tho
topmost branch. The side branches rep
resent the various forms of life which
have branched off from the central up
ward-growing stem at different points In
history. Each higher branch possesses
something distinctive, which differentiates
It from all the rest. Just how these dis
tinctive qualities were acquired and Just
how the branching was occasioned, the
evolutionist does not pretend to describe,
for he was not present at the time. The
presumption is, however, that he could
not have described It had he been there.
for It Is likely that It took place so grad
ually that he would not have been able to
observe It with sufficient exactness to re
cord It. And all this change, says the
thelst, was caused and directed by God's
power present at every moment.
We may regard history In different
ways. The school books divide It into
"epochs" and assign sharp limits dating
rrom some critical event. This Is for
convenience In study. But there are no
breaks of this kind In real history. We
speak of "crises" happening now, but we
have no assurance that the future his
torian, with a hetter perspective than
ours, will begin his "epoch" at our "cri
sis." And yet, one view of history Is no
more truly thelstlc or Christian than the
other. Probably the one who looks upon
history as continuous would protest
against the implication that God were In
history only at the beginning of "epochs"
when he appeared in a "special creation."
Finally, we cannot hope either to prove
or disprove the theory of evolution by
appeals to authorities. It is simply and
solely an attempt to explain existing
facts, and its success in doing this Is
not a matter of opinion; it is Itself a
question of fact. This theory cannot be
replaced by another unless that other
makes a better explanation of these same
facts, much less if the other theory makes
no attempt to explain some of these facts.
Nor can It be overthrown by the charge
that It falls to explain some facts which
He outside of Its domain. We may cheer
fully recognize that some Investigators
have made wrong assumptions in connec
tion with evolutionary theory, and may
be thankful that some of these mistakes
have been already corrected by later in
vestlgatlpn. It would be going rather too
far, however, to assert that the whole
thing is a mistake, and it wo'uld seem like
Injustice to some of our noble Christian
men who are studying Into the secrets of
nature and the being of man to class them
with others who may have employed the
theory of evolution as "a scheme for dis
pensing with Gcd and Christianity." We
would not wish our children to Infer that
the atomic theory of matter Is un-Chris-tlan
because the chemist who holds It Is
not a believer In Christianity; nor would
we wish to dictate to the chemist what
theories he may hold as to the phenom
ena for which It Is his business to seek
an explanation. We are glad for these
attempts to explain ourselves and our
surroundings, and It would seem to be a
most splendid gain If evolution could be
proved true beyond the question of a
doubt, for It would then be the most
far-reaching, stupendous and convincing
Illustration In existence of God s abiding
presence in his universe. '
B. S. WINCHESTER.
Portland, December 3.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
?
The proposed corner on eggs will not
tend to elevate the stage.
The Democratic party remains unreor-
ganlzed and unregenerate.
Oom Paul arrived In France too late to
avail himself of General Mercler's plan
for Invading England
The police have not vet found any hot
stoves In the apartments of burglar Scott,
but they have hopes.
It would appear that Rudyard "Kip
ling has recovered from his late Indispo
sition and Is again able to "write.
Chicago Is taking a religious census, and
the man who Is engaged In It is said to
be actually In need of an assistant.
When a man goes out of politics ho usu
ally takes the precaution to secure a re
turn check from the doorkeeper.
There has been a strike on Fourth of
July Creek, near Spokane. The result
ought to make the striker Independent.
Governor Thomas has refused to give up
an Indiana man because Governor Mount
refused to give up Governor Taylor. Ho
forgets that Governor Mount still has a
leeway of eight Taylors
The most distressing account of an acci
dent comes from the Cove, says the
Chronicle. A farmer over near that ham
let had a cow that he had cherished In his
bosom, as it were, since it was a calf.
He thought a lot of that cow. Xast week
the cow got out of tho corral and In her
perlgrinattons about the homestead, dis
covered an umbrella and a cake of yeast.
She ate them both. The yeast fermentrA
and raised the umbrella. The cow died.
The coffee-growing industry in tropical
Africa is Increasing. The seed was intro
duced into that country about five years
ago by some English missionaries with the
object of ascertaining whether the re
sources of Africa were favorable to the
culture of tho bean. The ground appears
to be peculiarly adapted to the Industry,
as 100 tons of coffee were exported from
Uganda alone last year. The result of
this year's production will be even
greater.
Strangely enough, the experiment of
sending Lapland reindeer to Alaska in
the care of experienced Lapland herders
seems to have been a failure, and to have
cost the Federal Treasury a considerable
sum without adequate return. Both the
deer and the Laps developed a deplorable
tendency to die off prematurely. One
of the returning herd masters says that
the climate of that part of Alaska to
which the deer and their shepherds were
sent was no more rigorous than that of
Lapland, in which the animals and their
keepers alike thrive, but for some mys
terious reason Alaska food and Alaska
conditions of the weather were deadly to
most of tho two-footed and four-footed
exiles. It Is a puzzle. Who can explain
the causes of sickness and death among
the herds and their keepers?
James Eads How, the wealthy young
man of St. Louis, who has chosen to live
a life of toll because he did not earn his
fortune, said the other day In Chicago:
"My mother has written me several let
ters requesting me to return, and I am
going to walk all the way unless I earn
enough to pay fore. I would rather walk
than ride, because It is more conducive--to
thinking. I like to see the falling
leaves, the squirrels, the birds and the
sparrows. They all have lessons to teach."
He went to Chicago on foot, carrying all
his worldly possessions In a small bundle
slung on his back. "I have no overcoat,"
he says, "but you know that every once
in a while the Salvation Army have what
they call a 'rag-time party,' at which they
auction off overcoats and other articles of
clothing. I'll drop In on one of these
parties some day and buy me an over
coat. I can work out the price, you
toow, in an Army woodyard or in soma
other way."
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS
Her Excuse. Clara What la jour Idea la
being engaged to a man old enough to be your
father? Maud I didn't know but I would
marry him. Detroit Free Press.
Master Did you give the mare her brandy
this mornlns. Pat? Pat Sure, yer honor, it
was a very cowld morning, so we tossed for
It, and, faith, the mare lost! Tit-Bits.
An Optimist. The Angel Don't you think
it's a shame for me to go to church alone every
Sundny. The Brute Oh, I don't know. Tou
might be doing something worse. Life.
Helpful Child. Caller My! What a big girl
you're getting to be. You'll soon be able to
help your mother about the house. Ethel Oh,
I do that already. Whenever she says "For
goodness sake get out of my way," I do It.
Philadelphia Pres3.
Mildred The Count proposed to me last night.
Mllllcent Really? I thought he was cured of
that habit. Last week he told ma he was
ablaze with a consuming love tfor me. and
papa had him put out with a household ex
tinguisher. Brooklyn Life.
An Extreme Case. His Wife Well. I never
thought Bill Green was fool enough to get
buncoed like that! The Farmer But that
ain't tho wust of it. He's fool enough to
think that may be the poilce Ml git his money
back an that they'll give It to him If they
do I Puck.
He Was Sadlr Overrated. "That city man
that was visiting me la aa overrated cuss,"
remarked the fanner. "How so?" "Oh, tha
papers all said he was a great hand at water
ing stock, but I found he couldn't work the
pump five minutes without laming "his arm."
Chicago Evening Post.
i
Glory From Ashes.
Father Ryan.
Tes, give me a land that hath story and song.
To tell of the strife of the right with tha
wrong:
Tes, glva me the land with a. grave In each
spot.
And names in the graves that shall not toe
forgot;
Tes, give ma the land of the wreck and tha
tomb,
There's a grandeur In graves there's glory In
gloom;
For out of the gloom future brightness is born.
As after the night looms the sunshine of morn;
And the grave of the dead, with tho grass
overgrown.
May yet form tha footstool of liberty's throne.
And eacn single wreck in .the warpath of
might
Shall yet be a rock In the temple of right.
i m
The "Wind.
Pall Mall Gazette.
The wind's awake, awake and abroad.
His mantel Is lined with gray.
He shears the woods with his steel-gray sword.
He rides white-horsed In the bay.
He spurs white horses across the bay.
He spreads gray wings In the sky;
And his Is the word that my soul would say
In the hour when the tides are high.
He bends the branches in spinney and holt.
And the trees say never a word;
Ha brooks no treason and no revolt.
For he Is master and lord
The great sea's master, the great sky's lord;
With his servants In strong control.
Oh I good wind, teach me the master word
To make me lord of my soul.
Tie Fevr.
T. B. Aldrlch.
The world is wide, and many names are dear,
And friendships true;
Tet do theo words read plainer, year by year
We love but fw.