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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 24, 1901)
THE aIOKSINU OKISUOJSIAS, OXnv JUXE 2t, 1001. EntercjUat the Poslofflce at Portland. Oregon. ' &i.ccoad-olass matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Rooms 100 Business Office. ..607 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid), in Advance Xally, with Sunday, per month.., $ S3 Dally, Sunday, excepted, pw year........ 7 00 Dally, with Sunday, per year 0 00 Sunday, per year 2 00 The Weekly, per year 1 60 The Weekly. 3 months ....... 60 To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted.lSc Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.20o POSTAGE' RATES. United States, Canada and Mexico: 20 to 16-page paper lc 16 to 32-page paper...... ... 2c Foreign rates double. News or discussion intended for publication In The Oregonta should bejaddressed. invaria bly "Editor The' Qregpnlan,' nor to the name of any individual "Letters relating to advertis ing, subscrfpti6n'6rto any 'business matter should be'addresied simply ''The Oregonlan." The Oregonlan -docs- not buy poems or .stories Jrom Individuals, And' cannot undertake to re turn any xnariuserlpts sent to it without solici tation.' No .stamps should be Inclosed for this purpose. Puget Bound Dureau Captain A. Thompson, office at lUl Pacific .avenue, Tacoma, Box 053, Tacoma Postofflce. Eaktcrn Business Office 7, 48. 40 and 00 Tribune building. New York City; 400 "The Rookery." Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth special agency. Eastern representative. For Dale In San Francisco by J. K. Cooper, 746 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Gold emith Bros.. 230 Sutter utreet: F. W. Pitta. 300S Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry jews stand. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 239 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, 100 Bo. Spring street. For sale la Chicago by the P. O. News Co., 217 Dearborn street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalcw Bros.. 1C12 Farnam street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News' Co.. 77- W. Second South street. For sale In OgJen by W. C. kind, 20 Twenty-fifth street. On file at Buffalo. N. T., in the Oregon ex hibit at the exposition. For sale in Washington, D. C, by the Ebbett House newstand. Fcr sale in Denver, Colo., by Hamilton & Kcndrlck. O0C-012 Seventh street TODAY'S WEATHER Partly cloudy, with occasional light showers; warmer by afternoon or night; westerly winds. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem-jK-ature, 61; minimum temperature, 40; total rrcclpltation. .07 of an Inch. y PORTLAND, MONDAY, JUNE 24. THE PRIMARY ELECTION LAWS. The two acts relating: to primary elec tions, passed at the recent sesson of the Legislature, though Irreconcilable with each other, are easily separable. "While the act known as Senate bill 2Jo. 191 has Imperfections or deficiencies which almost any one would point out. nevertheless It is workable. At the same time It Is perfectly manifest that the other act is net workable at all. The assertion that there ought to be no law for regulation and control of primary elections, because of the ex pense to the public treasury, may be dismissed with little consideration. For the primary, in many cases. If not in most, Is the election In fact; and the objection to it, on the score of public expense, is not the real objection. The question is whether there Is to be any method of ascertaining the actual will of the hiajority of the voters of a party. A primary not controlled strictly by law will always be managed by "bosses" and "gangs," whose habitual practice It Is to obstruct the polls, stuff the ballots and falsify the count. Through the machinery of party, which Is fully in their own hands, this is al ways in their power. How that power has been used in Portland, almost un interruptedly, these thirty years, needs no recital. But with a primary election law, even such a one as that provided through Senate bill 191, some approach to a eontest and a fair contest in a primary election will be possible. "Without it there will be repetitions of such scenes as have been witnessed so often In Portland, or citizens will hold aloof, knowing It useless to contend against "the machine" that will cast the vote and make the count. Any primary law, therefore, that is work able Is -better than none. The argument of "heavy expense to the county," urged by the political and factional influence from which it ema ciates, is not very impressive. The po litical class is not likely to be wor ried much about the expense to the county. All government, however. Is expensive, and it may be conceded that popular government is not the least so of any. But it is worth something to get representative government, as against -oligarchies of professional poli ticians. One faction may, of course, "be expected to do the same as an other, If It have power In Its hands. "What Is demanded, In the name of po litical morality and representative gov ernment, is a fair primary election, at which, ballots may be properly cast and fairly counted. This will never "be had without a primary election law, similar in its methods to the law that regulates general elections. But a false, primary often makes a general election a farce, because If the result that is intended, the object for which the primary is "set up," comes about and there are few exceptions to its suc cess the general election Is merely a ratification of the fraud of the pri maries. Party spirit Is relied on to carry it, and usually does carry It. In most cases the effort may just as well stop with the primary. It is the public money, spent on the general election that Is commonly wasted. To the discussion of the lawyers and to the decision of the Judges the con stitutional argument must be left. But it may be remarked here that inter position of constitutional objections is the favorite method, commonly em ployed, in support of hoary or custom ary abuses, and against necessary re forms. The professional operator In politics always endeavors to find in the constitution the solid Intrench ments and inexpugnable muniments of his occupation. But, though The' Oregonlan will not enter into any discussion of law or con stitution, it will make a quotation from what the Supreme Court of the state said In Harris vs. Burr, 32 Or., viz.: "The elective franchise conferred by section 2, article 2, . . . was Intended only to govern in all general and special elections not otherwise provided for by the constitution, and applies to the election of all officers known to the constitution as well as to such as may be provided for thereafter." Hence It was held that women might vote at school meetings, since such elections, not known to the constitution, were provided for after Its adoption. The Inference as to the power tff the Legis lature over primary elections bears Its own conclusion. The law of supply and demand as a factor in fixing prices is plainly shown in the condition of the strawberry mar ket, now .at its, height in this city. A few years ago when" the area given to strawberry culture was much smaller than now, it was almost impossible to dispose of the product at prices that left anything for the grower. Instances are recalled In which, after vainly try ing to dispose of their loads, growers cast them Into the river, went home and plowed their strawberry plants under, hoping to gain something by re turning them to the soil as a fertilizer. Dependence was then entirely upon the Summer market, and the supply out ran the demand. Now, with the de mand of an Increased population, and canneries ready to absorb the entire surplus, good prices are maintained. This law Is as simple as It is inex plicable, and disposes at once of the foolish contention that prices are con trolled or may be controlled by the Government. CONSTITUTION-WORSHIP. Mr. Henry Loomis Nelson belongs to that group of redoubtable publicists to whom the Constitution, bo far as it stands in the way of National growth and ascendency, Is something to be venerated. It is a sort of revelation from Mount Sinai, an apocalyptic vis Ion from the sky, to question which is not only the height of absurdity, but the depth of Infamy. To doubt its en tire efficacy and sufficiency for all emer gencies, past, present and conceivable, Is to run after false gods and to re move the ancient landmarks. It beto kens a decline of civic spirit and the approach of empire. Positively painful it is, therefore, to encounter in the current Harper's Weekly a well-displayed title-page like this: A MISTAKE OF THE FATHERS. BY HENRY LOOMIS NELSON. Further Investigation shows that the mistake in mind is the provision sub mitting treaties to the approval of the Senate. "The Senate's power of rati fication," says Mr. Nelson, "must be set down as one of the mistakes of the fathers." This dark insinuation against the infallibility of the immortal Fram ers comes with poor grace from anti Imperiallsm, where the Constitution has long been invoked as the one im maculate and lnerrant thing among human Institutions. Mr. Nelson Is in censed with the Senate because it has nullified the neutralization of the Nica ragua Canal, sagaciously arranged by Hay .and Pauncefote, and also because he fears it may defeat another treaty he believes to have been negotiated to the same end by the same personages. Therefore he has mo hesitation In jump ing on the aforesaid Fathers for hav ing Invested the Senate with the afore mentioned power. Many will contend that Mr. Nelson is wrong about the wisdom of the pro vision in question, whatever they think about his sacrilege. The Fathers be lieved, evidently, that It is too power ful a prerogative for the Executive to be safely Intrusted with the treaty making function. Without interference from the legislative department, what shall restrain an Incompetent or dishon est Administration from bartering away the Nation's welfare without ade quate return? Therefore we have here a striking Illustration of the fore thought of the Framers in adhering to their admirable system of checks and balances. Treaties may involve 'the most vital concerns of the Nation. Therefore tliey must secure the ap proval of both Executive and Senate. We shall not say that Mr. Nelson Is wrong, or that he Is right. As to the neutralization of the canal, no doubt can exist of Its entire propriety and wisdom, and his resentment does him credit. On the other hand, the preroga tive of ratification Is one that could be destroyed only with grave misgiving as to its possible effect in the direction of a too-powerful Executive. The point we wish to make Is that the adequacy, correctness or pertinence of the Con stitution is a matter for dispassionate inquiry, or, let us say, for testimony and argument. The epoch of creed revision and higher criticism is not the time for superstitious worship of the Constitu tion as of something Inspired and Infal lible. In many respects Its wisdom Is a subject for ceaseless wonder and ad miration. In others Its mistakes are transparent, and its omissions mani fest. Its framers were not gifted with prophecy nor preternatural vision. They did not contemplate abolishment of slavery, or secession, or expansion to the Arctic circle and the tropics. Construction, therefore, must adapt it to changing conditions and supply what it could not foresee. This has been done by the Supreme Court in the In sular cases, to the horror of those who boldly denounce as a mistake the treaty-ratifying function of the Senate. A CURIOUS CASE. The history of the case of Thomas G. Barker, just convicted at Jersey City of the attempted murder of Rev. Joh'n Keller, Is worth reciting. Rev. John Keller has for several years been pas tor of the Episcopal Church In Arling ton, N. J. Until Mrs. Barker's accusa tion against him was made public after his shooting by her husband, his pri vate character was beyond reproach. His church was deeply attached to him, and he had many warm friends outside of his denomination. He was the diocesan secretary, and cordially esteemed by his bishop. Mr. and Mrs. Barker were at one time members of Keller's church, and Barker and Keller were warm personal friends. Mrs. Bar ker was an active worker in the church, and a teacher in Sunday school. About a year before the shooting, Mrs. Bar ker gave up her Sunday school class and ceased to attend Keller's church, but Mr. Barker exhibited no outward signs of hostility toward Keller. On the morning of February 3, last. Bar ker, lying concealed In a hedge, fired at Keller, his first shot striking him on the right side of the head, passing through the nasal bones and lodging under the left eye. Barker then fired three more shots at the fallen man, one of them wounding him In the right hand. Keller was blinded by his severe wound, and on being told who had shot him, expressed amazement and sympa thy with Barker, saying that he was the victim of some terrible delusion. Barker asserted in his defense that about a year and a half ago Mr. Keller had assaulted his wife, but she had kept it secret because she feared that he would kill Keller. The people of Arlington are divided in opinion. Many persons of high char acter and intelligence believe that Kel ler is absolutey lnnocen.t, and is the victim of Mrs. Barker's hysterical delu sions, for which she has been notorious for several years. Keller describes the charge against him as a fabrication so grotesque that it could only have come from a disordered mind. All of the clergy, and particularly Mr. Keller's church associates and superiors, have .stood by him loyally from the first, and express unqualified faith In his Inno cence. The probability Is that Keller Is innocent that he Is the victim of a woman subject to hysterical delusion, if she Is not one of the sort represented by Potlphar's wife. Fair-minded men ask, Why did a woman so terribly wronged wait a year and a half before telling her husband of the outrage? And why, after her long silence of a year and a half, did she at the eleventh hour speak? Many persons who believe Keller an Innocent man believe also that Mrs. Barker thinks she Is telling the truth when she accuses him; that she Is the victim of hysterical hallu cination. There is authentic medical history of cases where the same awful charges have been brought by hysteri cal women against absolutely innocent persons. This kind of hysteria Is so common that prudent dentists and phy sicians always have an assistant pres ent, even when it is not necessary. INTERMEDDLING SYMPATHY. The intermeddling of worthy people in the name of humanity with some thing of which, practically, they know nothing, Is illustrated in the pressure brought to bear by Indian Rights So cieties in various sections of the East upon Governor Toole and the State Pardoning Board of Montana for the pardon of Little Whirlwind, an Indian under sentence of imprisonment for life In the penitentiary of that Btate for complicity in the murder of John Hoover, a sheepherder, in 1897. The testimony upon which this Indian with two others was convicted showed that he had killed a steer belonging to a white man on the range in Custer County, and was cutting the carcass up when the unfortunate sheepherder ap peared upon the scene. The latter was a hunchback and totally unable to de fend himself, even by flight, and, fear ing exposure, the three Indians set upon and killed him. A fourth member of the band fled in affright and told the story. All three of the murderers were tried and convicted. One was sen tenced to be hanged, but was given a new trial on the ground of insufficient evidence, and was afterwards released; another was sentenced to ten years In the penitentiary, and died soon after entering upon his term; the third, "Lit tle Whirlwind," was condemned to life imprisonment, and it is he in whom Indian sympathizers have so interested themselves, until finally a request for his pardon, backed by the Indian De partment and the Secretary of the In terior, has been allowed by Governor Toole, subject to ratification by the State Board of Pardons. The case will be acted upon July 1. In the mean time, stockmen of the locality where the murder was committed are strongly opposed to giving this Indian his lib erty. One of their number, voicing this sentiment, declared that the three In dians convicted of this murder were members of a band against which the murders of several helpless stockmen were charged, and this was the first at tempt to fix any one of the crimes or to punish the criminals. The settlers generally, from a knowledge of the character of these Indians, believed them to be a bad lot, and that the three were guilty of the murder of the sheep herder. It Is much easier to manufacture sen timent In favor of "po'or Lo" In the East, where the Indian lives only in story, than in' the West, where actual contact with him reveals his true char acter. There he lives as a human being of noble attributes", sorely pressed by civilization, simple, child-like, patient, and of generous mold. Here he is known for the shiftless vagabond that he Is, readily imbibing the vices but Impervious to the virtues of civiliza tion, played upon from time to time, it Is true, by unscrupulous white men, but retaliating upon the inoffensive settlers without the slightest discrim ination of Justice or the smallest regard for humanity. It is certain that this In offensive sheepherder was murdered his body having been found some days after his disappearance, pierced by three bullets. It was deemed equally certain at the time that the three In dians apprehended committed the deed to screen the offense of cattle-stealing. The evidence was so conclusive that all were convicted. Yet by hook and crook, judicial and sympathetic penalty has been turned aside; the chief male factor was allowed to go free, and now pardon is sought and is more than likely to be secured for his chief ac complice. There is pathos in the story of the passing of the Indian. As an Illustra tion of the doctrine of the survlal of the fittest it has many somber shad ings, many etchings done In blood. But the pity and the pathos are not all on the side of the retreating force. Many chap ters of the recital deal with sufferings, cruelty and death Inflicted upon help less and Inoffensive settlers and wan dering white men. This Is a phase of the story that Is a terrible reality In the West In the East a mythical or at most a prejudiced recital. To the settlers in the Immediate vicinity of such a murder as that to which refer ence Is above made the occurrence is terribly, shudderlngly, real; to Indian sympathizers who never saw an Indian, the fact Is discredited and the accused is elevated to the position of a hero un deVgoing persecution because he be longs to a despised race. Between the extremes of the two estimates justice Should step unfalteringly and adminis ter the law as between man and man, rejecting all Intermeddling of senti mentalists. John E. Parsons, the famous lawyer of New York City, who Is one of the committee of revision of the Westmin ster Confession, was recently re proached with being a Presbyterian in "New York during the Winter, and a vestryman of the Episcopal Church In Lenox, Mass., in the Summer." Mr. Parsons acknowledges that he has held for many years the places of trustee and member of the session of the Brick Presbyterian Church In Fifth avenue, but explains that, there being no Presbyterian church at Lenox, he goes to the long-established Episcopal church in that town, and "it has seen fit" to make him a member of Its ves try; but, the Episcopalian rubrics not requiring that a vestryman shall be a member of the church, he sees no in consistency In his dual ecclesiastical association. This reply does not sat isfy his accuser, who says that, while there Is no Presbyterian church In Lenox, there is a Congregational church, identical in faith, in adhesion to the Westminster Confession; that there is a very famous Congregational church a few miles from Lenox at Stockbrldge; that the Episcopal church denies the validity of the ordination of Mr. Parsons' New York pastor, and, finally, that the Lenox Episcopal Church Is so "high" that it refuses to J acknowledge that the New York Pres- byterlan Church, of which he is a mem ber. Is entitled to be called a church at all. Mr. Parsons' critic thinks that "an Episcopo-Prcsbyterian, .an Arminlan Calvlnlst, as a reviser of the Westmin ster Confession, is out of place." How to plant, cultivate and cure prunes was a lesson that had to be learned In Its several sections by ex perience by those who embarked In the prune industry in Oregon a few years ago. Many mistakes were made In soils, varieties, cultivation, packing and drying, some of them proving quite costly to amateur prunegrowers. The lesson has, however, for the most part been well learned, and the future of the industry is full of promise to those who persevered In It through manifold discouragements. Estimates as to the prune yield this year differ In different localities, being from small to fair, and In some places enormous. Of the lat ter class, a prune orchard of 155 acres In Benton County, near Corvallls, is conspicuous, the trees bending already under the weight of the half-grown fruit. To complete the process of tak ing care of this enormous yield of prunes, a drier capable of curing from 1200 to 150d" bushels of fruit dally will be erected. If there comes a demand from the North, from the nearer East and from the Orient equal to the sup ply, prunegrowlng In Oregon will pay this year, since It has passed the ex perimental stage In development, and growers will be able to place a large and excellently preserved product upon the market. The excellence of the private schools of this city has been well attested dur ing the past week by the classes that have been graduated therefrom and the exercises attending their graduation. The High School will take Its turn this week, closing the year with an elab orate programme and turning out a large class of boys and girls to the active duties of life. Our citizens gen erally have pride In 'these schools, es pecially, of course, In the High School, on account of its cosmopolitan charac ter. Certainly the graduates thus far have reflected credit upon their train ing and upon the institutions that have graduated them, and those who will go out from the High School will no doubt justify the expectations of their friends in the account that they will give of themselves. The school work drags somewhat toward the close of the year, the ten months' strain tell ing upon both teachers and pupils. They have been, however, signally fa vored this year on account of the cool weather which has prevailed, and have gotten through the year's work with a minimum of discomfort. Japan paid during last year a total of $5,674,546 for railroad equipment of foreign manufacture, about one-fifth being for locomotive engines. In fur nishing this equipment the United States was surpassed only by Great Britain. The Japanese, In sharp con trast to the Chinese, have taken kindly to railway-building and traffic. The strong feeling of caste which prevails among them makes it necessary to fur nish flrst, second and third-class ac commodations on every train. First class cars are, moreover, subdivided Into compartments, making a degree of privacy In traveling unknown In Amer ica, except as it relates to special trains or cars and their privileges. The first class cars, however, are far Inferior in their furnishings to the common cars on even the poorer roads In this coun try. Though behind England in fur nishing Japanese railways with rolling stock, the United States supplies more than two-thirds of the rails used in Japan, having surpassed in low prices and promptness of delivery both Eng land and Germany, which formerly held this trade. A leading Democratic party journal, the Kansas City Times, says: Men of education ought to give the benefit of their erudition to the settling of questions which affect the interests of all their fellow cltlzena. Other things being equal, the edu cated man has a broader range of vision than has his uneducated brother. The trouble seems to be that the scholars havo a love for quiet which makes them withdraw themselves from the "strenuous life" and bury themselves In their libraries, among their book. Their right to do this la questioned. They ought not to wrap In a napkin and lay away the talent given them, but should put It Into circulation that It might bless others, and, by reflex, prove the source of great pleasure to themselves. Th$y are deterred by the gross, stu pid, self-sufficient, malignant ignorance, fed by partisan prejudice, which they encounter. The blatant partisan ora tor will carry the crowd, and leave your "man of erudition" without a hearing. The flrst electric suburban railroad In Russia has recently been opened to traffic. It connects the City of Lodz, in Russian Poland, with the neighboring towns of Zgierz and Pablanlce, and is 13 miles long. The road was built at a cost of $560,000 by a company of Pol ish merchants, under a charter that provides that the government shall share In the profits, shall have the right to purchase at the end of twenty years, and that the road, together with all equipment, Shall become the prop erty of the government at the expira tion of twenty-eight years. These facts Are of interest chiefly by con trast with the way things of this kind are done In the United States. A correspondent "compliments The Oregonlan up'on some of its- recent suc cesses In the pictorial art, and sub mits a mild deprecation of certain other results that have been Indiffer ent. It ought, perhaps, to be said that perfect Illustrations cannot be made from the very Imperfect "copy" that Is often submitted for reproduction. The rule should be, and Is, not to attempt to do anything with bad photographs or drawings, and hereafter an added effort will be made to enforce It. A poor picture will not make a good illus tration. President McKlnley's determination to make another Western trip In 1902 is doubtless promoted partly by the apparent dangers of Democratic suc cess In the November elections. The President is a loyal Republican, and of the revivifying effect of his tours upon the party there need be no doubt. Perhaps there is no doubt, either, as to the need of such aid as he can render in this way. A disastrous flood is reported In West Virginia, whlcti is compared in Its de structiveness with that at Johnstown. But this doubtless Is an exaggeration. The number drowned at Johnstown never was ascertained accurately, but .it was not much less than 3000 persons. And more property was exposed and destroyed at Johnstown than existed at the scene of this flood in West Vlr- . glnia. TKAXSITI0.VAL bP()CH !' RELIGION Chicago Times-Herald. It Is Impressive testimony ta a great religious change when three such men as Presidents Harper and Angcll and Dr. Hirsch can speak as they did last Sun day. The authority of tradition and the church was waved aside by all of them. President Angell In his baccalaureate ser mon at Ann Arbor Justified the higher criticism of the Bible, the separation of the "pure truth" from the "dross," and said of the doctrine of evolution that "It gives us. when stated with those reason able limitations which scientific men of the highest repute are now setting, most exalted ideas of the method of divine pro cedure in respect to sentient beings, as well as to the lower forms of existence, and Inspires us to new reverence for the infinite wisdom and goodness of the cre ator." President Harper urged his students to adopt an Individual religion broader than any church. He said: "The church Is only the outer shell, which takes on a dif ferent form and can be destroyed, while religion is imperishable." He spoke of the religion best adapted to the newer life of the world In these terms: It will be simple. It must be reaonabl. It mut stand the test of investigation, it must make no false and pretentious claims. It must be a religion of toleration. It must be characterized by Idealism, or the artistic soul cannot endure It. It must be ethical. It must also be a rellslon capable of furnish ing comfort In time of trouble, for this 13 what art and science cannot do, and this, aftpr all. Is the greatest demand of the human soul. The religion of Jesus answers all these tests. Rabbi Hirsch, who has a different re ligion from the Christian, was for the most part in perfect accord with Dr. Har per. He ridiculed the pageantry of the church and declared that the new age was worshiping God In the open. "Sec tarian lines In Christianity nre fading away, he said, "and even now the left wing of the Jewish church Is -rubbing shoulders with the Unitarian." To the stern orthodoxy of old these men. two of whom ar.e Christians, ex claim In union: "Your Holy Book ('those Incomparable writings,' as Dr. Angell calls It), is the fallible work of fallible human beings. Your church is a purely human institution without any authority what soever. Religion Is a matter of individ ual selection. Jew and Gentile are passing out Into the open together." The good tendencies of such fraternal Ism and toleration are evident, but if It becomes universal in Christian lands It must cause profound alterations In church activities. The missionary now goes forth by direct authority of the Dlv'ne. That gives him his enthusiasm, his resolution, his persistence, his willingness to meet martyrdom. But there is no demand for such martyrdom in a scheme of universal toleration, and If the new religion should resolve itself Into a simple deism like the rabbi's the revolution would be felt from turret to foundation stone. The question Is suggested. "Will chaos come after authority Is gone or will hu manity rise on stepping-stones of its dead creeds to higher things? Our three prophets, were optimistic, but there are thousands and tens of thousands who still sling to the sanations of authority and revelation. Chicago Tribune. For several hours on Sunday afternoon an audience of three or four thousand people listened in the big tent on the Chicago University campus to addresses by President Harper and other distin guished men on the general theme, "Is Religion Progressing?" Dr. Hirsch cour ageously dissented from what he regard ed as a disposition to Identify religion and Christianity, but an affirmative view pre vailed. Our age is often characterized as Irre ligious, and In the sense that traditional religion has not full power over It the characterization Is true. But to admit an age to be essentially Irreligious essential ly indifferent to the things which are permanently best would he to admit that it was essentially decadent, that It had ceased to feel "the power of ascendency In the universe." The pres ent age is religious in a wider and pro founder sense and with a far subtler pa tience than is sometimes recognized in "religious" discussion. It sadly lacks a unifying and really vital faith, but that lack bespeaks a break with tradition rather than a want of moral earnestness bespeaks In reality a creative spirit, a reason for higher hope. Summed up, the great comprehensive ef fort of the present age Is and a corre sponding effort must be discernible In every virile age to restate and apply re ligion in accordance with the social trans itions which have taken place since the Middle Ages. After all. It Is world wis dom, religious truth, which scientist, agi tator, statesman, industrialist, commer clalist are today working out. and their awkwardness, belligerency, and suspicion are natural Incidents of novel tasks. Tolstoi defines "religious perception" a that "which shows the highest level of life-comprehension reached by the men of a certain period." There is no consensus of opinion concerning the prop er interpretation of the modern world Its local, class, national, racial struggles and problems. Men cannot yet "see through" the social movements which are taking place. Hence they cannot agree upon ideals either In thought or action. "But the age Is seeking for a new unity In faith for some comprehensive basis of relationship, effort and hope In a strife whose many-sidedness, whether of wom en's clubs, political parties, peace con gresses, ecumenical councils, labor unions, or trusts, only evinces Its energy and easrerness. Tho crusader's fervor may thus burn s gain and perchance in a holler cause. Present day absorption in commerce or whatnot that seems untouched by re ligious purpose is transitional. When the new perspective has been caught clear sight of, when substantial unity succeeds the present chaos of convictions and alms, common zeal may then pursue that worthy faith with devot'on as adventur ous as was ever brought to the service of deip conviction. Though much distraught, our age assur edly Is deeply, energetically, hopefully religious. i "The Popnlistle Terrorism." Salt Lake Tribune. The Chicago Chronicle, an ardent Dem ocratic paper, commends Perry Belmont's declaration that the party cannot hope for success unless it unloads Mr. Bryan: and the Chronicle adds that "99 per cent of Intelligent Demo'crats believe the same thing, but the Populistlc terrorism pre vents them from saying so." That Pop ulistlc terrorism being the feeling that if Bryan and Bryanlsm are discarded, the Populists won't vote the Democratic tick et, which would in itself deprive the Democratic party of even the slightest hope of success. It'B a depressing outlook either way. If the Democratic party had any assets, we would advise It to go into liquidation. Real Neighborly In Topcka. Kansas City Journal. Out on Buchanan street In Topeka, where the Governor has his new man sion, the wimming have all voted they al ways call them "wimming" out there that the Governor's folks are real nice people. Yesterday Mrs. Montgomery ran over and borrowed a cup of sugar; Mra. Waters got a week's loan of Mrs. Stan ley's lace curtain stretchers, and Mrs. Wllmarth called and told Mrs. Stanley that she could use her flatlrons whenever she wanted to. Buchanan street never was proud or stuck up and the Governor will find It Just like home. Biblical Origin of tho "Word "Klclc." Chicago News. The use of the word "kick" In the sense of protesting or complaining has the au thority of the Bible. In I Samuel 11:29, Jehovah Is made to say: "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded In mine hablta- i Uon?" AMUSEMENTS A Summer theatrical season, an ex periment In Portland, was Inaugurated last night at Ccrdray's Theater by the Cummings Stock Company, which ap peared In the romantic drama from Mrs. Burnett's story, "A Lady of Quality." If the size of the house and the manner in which the play was received may be taken as an Indication, the experiment will prove a successful one, and Portland will no longer be a city in which there Is "nothing doing" during the Summer months. "A Lady of Quality" Is a play with a very decided moral, said moral being to tho effect that a woman, If she Is strong enough, need not suffer all her life for the sins of a man. but can rise superior to the world and maintain her own posi tion while she wrecks the life of her be trayer. In the case of Lady. Clorinda Wildalrs, the heroine of the play, she con quers the villain by hitting him a blow over the head with a riding-whip, but before that climax was reached she "has him going" sufficiently to make the point Mrs. Burnett 'wrcte the story to estab lish. The drama is one which calls for con siderable action on the part of the two principal characters. Sir John Oxon, the professional rake, who Is the villain of the play, and Clorinda Wildalrs, the moth erless girl, who is its heroine. There is a good company of other people, including His Grace the Duke of Osmond, who is presumed to combine In his person all the virtues that Oxon lacks. The situa tions are strong and well introduced, and the dialogue is all forcible and to the point. Mr. Cummings as Sir John Oxon is as usual quiet and easy, but he throws much feeling Into his portrayal, and is fully equal to the requirements of the many situations in which he is a leading char acter. Hl3 work in the scene In which he comes to tell Clorinda that he loves her no more, and again in the third act, when his insolence provokes her to strike him, is exceptionally good, and shows him capable of better things than he hid an opportunity to do when he appeared here before, E'.lnore Franklin, although somewhat lacking in height and figure for the part of the queenly Clorinda, plays the part earnestly and with considerable force. In her final pcene with Oxon she was es pecially strong, and she earned curtain calls after three of the acts. Wlllard Blackmore was a painstaking Osmond, Frank B. Fanning a sedate Lord Dunstanwold, and Gilbert Gardner a good Lord Humphrey Ware. James W. Cole as the chaplain Infu3ed conslderab'e comedy Into the flrst act. Florence St. Leonard made a pretty and vivacious Lady Bottle, and Mabel Hync. was sufficient as the gentle sister Anne. The remainder of the cast is adequate, and the company as a whole is stronger than on Its first appearance here. The play was well mounted and handsomely costumed. "A Lady of Quality" will be the bill fcr the rest of the week. Hovrllngr and Athletics. Harper's Weekly. One of the forces by which the progress of civilization Is promoted and manners are ameliorated is the horrible example Most evils have to run their course until they reach a. point where their inexpedi ency is obvious enough to arouse public opinion. Has not the use of organized cheering In college games of all sorts reached a point where It may be recog nized as an abuse and a public nuisance which it is time to abate? The late Yale Princeton baseball game, wherein Yale organized an uproar In the last inning that upset Princeton's nerves, seems an example of this evil sufficiently; horri ble to precipitate reformatory action. The thing has been growing for years. At the great football games In the Fall you find the huge assembly of spectators di vided Into sections, each of which is in charge of one or two young men, whose duty it Is to make the company he has charge of give due vocal support to their team. From the beginning of the game to the end these youths devote themselves to extracting the greatest possible fund of noise from the folks assigned to them. It Is no trouble to holler when your side gains an advantage. That is a welcome relief to the feelings. But whereas in old times cheers were an expression of satisfaction, now they are used for pur poses of Inspiration, and to carry dismay to the enemy. It seems a very Cnlnese or red Indian way of doing things. More over, It is bad for sport. Tho best team ought to win. The game should be played by the players, not by the spectators. The elaborate, organized ringing In of the spectators as part of the competition is not only a noisy nuisance which interferes with the pleasures of watching a game, but It prejudices fair play. It would be an excellent thing If all the young organizers of noise who are so conspicuous and so urgent in their de mands on crowds at college games were discharged and their places left vacant. There will be life enough on the benches at a good game without all this prod ding. It is the player's Job to excite the spectators, not vice versa, and the spec tators are always ready to be stirred by the players to joyous deliverances. But cheers that are drummed up in and out of season by a claque take all the spon tanecusness out of contemplation, and are calculated to make the considerate yawn and the judicious grieve. A New Life Table. Some time ago the British Institute of Actuaries discovered that there were mis takes in Its old tables of life experience which were published In 1869. It deter mined, therefore, ta make a new and thorough set of investigations for the purpose of preparing new tables, and In vited the co-opcratlon of the faculty Of actuaries of Scotland. The work Is now about completed, and the chief results have been communicated to the London Times by one of its correspondents We print a comparison showing the numbers out of 100,000 at age 10 who may be ex pected to be still alive at the several higher ages given, according to the new and the old tables: NUMBERS LIVING (HEALTHY MALES). Difference In favor of Ace. Old. New. new table. 10 100OO0 100.000 15 08.224 03.231 CO 20 00,223 00.453 230 23 JW.Olll 04.387 132)1 30 80.805 01.012 2077 S3 88.IS81 88,005 2714 40 82.281 85.1U7 ."181 45 77.010 81,2(52 3S4T ,V) 72.720 70,183 3450 53 (MM3 00,010 340s! 00 3S.813 62,073 3207 B5 40,207 02,307 3010 70 39.124 40,615 2401 73 23.091 27.752 2061 80 13.930 15.510 1C00 85 5.422 0.353 037 Willing to Die on a Full Stomach. Colonel Kekewlch, during the siege of Klmberley, was approached by a private who asked: "Colonel, when do you expect we are going to get something to eat?" "Eat!" exclaimed the Colonel, "did you join the army merely to get something to oat?" Well, that's about the size of It." "Here," calling an officer, "give this man something to eat, and then have him shot." The officer understood the Joke, and replied: "All right. Colonel." The private, exhibiting no alarm, said: "Boll me a ham, Cap'n, stew up a couple of chickenB, bake two or three pounds of po tatoes, fetch me a gallon o beer, and load yer guns. With such inducements the man what wouldn't be willing to die Is a blithering Idiot." A hearty meal was pre pared for the soldier, but he still lives. Morlej-'s Life of Gladstone. John Morley, who Ib writing a "Life of Gladstone," gets on slowly with the work. It took him a long tlr-ie to sort out the vast accumulation of papers left by Mr. Gladstone In Hawarden castle. By way of explaining the slow progress he Is making Mr. Morley says: "Imagine a life of nearly 90 years filled to the utmost capacity!" N'1TE AXI) COMMENT: "O Winter wilt thou never go?" Better lay In your fuel supply. It looks like an early Fall. It was a little Inconsiderate of Funstor for Callles to give himself up. Llf.i wrltlr.j insurance companies are again policies in South Carolina. Isn't it about time for J. P. Morgan to take a few years off and take stock? The Mayor of Philadelphia seems to be well qualified as a Pennsylvania Senator. However, If Captain Carter applies for a third term in Jail, his application may be considered. Now May Irwin is going to play Ham let. Why Hamlet? Falstaff would suit her far better. The people who went down to the coast yesterday for cooler weather got what they went after.. Spain is said to be preparing for another war, but we understand It is not to be with the Untt'nd States. Does A. Carnogie, Esq., think it Is safe to apply for entrance at the pearly gatos w ll'ii that unlvers.ty degree en his back? Are you a real knocker, or do you knock Fred Grant Just because he Is un fortunate enough to be the son of a great man? The amount! of hot air the average Arc tic explorer unloads before starting to discover the polo would thaw all th Ice Inside the Arc'.c circle. Wnntever crimes may be Uid at the door of Richard Crcker. he can stand up, and say to all the world that he nevtr wxotc a historical novel. The newspapers of Cuba are discussing the poverty of the native vocabulary. They say that school children have such a limited command of the opinlsh lan guage that they recite their lessons In elegantly and incorrectly, continually re peating the same vcrds and olten giving those words a meaning not sanctioned by the dictionaries. There are artisans ail over Cuba "who are Ignorant of the right names of the tools they use, and there are blacksmiths, masons and carpenters who do not know the names of certain figures and things which they draw und fabricate continually." The Dlario de la. Marina, of Havana, says that a great school for the teaching of Spanish should be founded in Cuba. A flood of Angli cisms, It declares. Is Inundating Cuban writing and conversation, and wlt'.iin 20 years "not a word of Spanish will be un derstood in the Island." A story is told of a certain prominent railway director who is equally renowned for his ability to make or take a Joke. An. employe, whose home Is in the country, applied to him for a pass to visit his fam ily. "You are In the employ of the com pany?" Inquired the gentleman alluded to. "Yes." "You receive your pay regularly?" "Yes." "Well, now, supposing you were work ing for a farmer InGtead of the company, would you expect your employer to take out his horsc3 every Saturday night and carry you home?" This necmed a poser, but It wasn't. "No," said the man promptly. "I would not expect that; but If the farmer had his horses out was and going my way, E should call him a very mean fellow If ho would not let me ride." The employe came out three minutes later with a pass good for 12 months. England has a woman animal painter who. many Britishers insist, is the only worthy successor of the late Rosa Bon heur. She Is a rather pretty young wo man Mis3 Lucy Kemp-Welch by name, who says she cannot remember the t'.mo when she first began to draw. Her fame came early, for she already has had two of her paintings purchased by the trus tees of the Chantrey bequest, one entitled "Colt Hunting in New Forest." and the other called "Lord Dundonald's Dash Upon Ladysmlth." Only two other women paint ers have been similarly honored by tho C.antrey ;rustees. Born at Bournemouth. Miss Kemp-Welch and her only sister, Edith, also an nrtlst', who has exhibited at tue Academy, were educated entirely at home, under the superintendence of their parents. They had a free, happy, open-air life, and a small menagerie of pet animals served as models for the budding artists. Neither wealth nor influ ence came Vhclr way; the elder sister achieved her almost phenomenal success entirely unaided by either. At her ca pacious studio at Bushey, In the midst of Professor Hcrkomcr's colony of artists, she incessantly piles her brush usually on equestrian studies, in which she pat ently excels. She combines pluck with genius, for on day a spirited horse serv ing as a bat'tlc model In her studio, es caped into the street, but. nothing daunt ed, the artist followed and gently wooed the restless animal back to her room. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS The Twopenny Tube. "HI. Guv-nor. there ain't no station named on thl tleket!" "No: all our tickets are alike." "Then. ow do I know where I'm going?" Punch. Tact. Weary Waggle Dey ain't no sloh a fins ts hydrophobia. iVlllle Wontwork Aw. I'm on tcr youse; youse wants me ter tackle de hfcuscs where dey sot dogs, don't yer? Ohio State Journal. His Opinion. "Well, what do you think of thlnss?" asked one fly of another. "I," re plied the other fly. "am In favor of the open door and tho screenless window." Pittsburg Chronicle Telegraph. Literary Backlns. "That Kentucky novel Is having a fine boom." "Yes; you see. It got Such a rood start by having a racehorse and a brand or whisky named after It at once." Chicago Record-Herald. A Little Philosopher. "Father says he was born In Philadelphia, and mother in San Fran cisco, and Bab and me it. New York, and Sis In Brooklyn: now I don't ee how we ever came together." Brooklyn Life. Carrie I played for Mrs. Graham for a good hour, and I sans several selections beside. And when I had finished. If you'll believe It, she hadn't a word to ay to me. Esther How considerate in her! Boston Transcript. AVhere the Line Ib Drawn. "Is It because he sold his vote that you call him a political degenerate?" The practical politician looked at his questioner pityingly. "Certainly not." he replied; "that Is. not merely because he sold his vote; but because he sold It twice at the same election." Chicago Port. Circumstantial Evidence. Papa Where's my umbrella, I'm sure I put it in the hallstand with the others last cvenln?. "Willie I guess Mabel's beau took it when he went home last night. Mabel Why. Willie! The idea! Will! Well, when he was rayln good-night to you I heard him say: "I'm going to steal Just one." Philadelphia Press. Mother I wish you would go on an errand for roe. Small son My leg aches awful Mother Too bad. I wanted you to go to old Mrs. Stlckney's sweetshop, and Small eon Oh. that Isn't far. I can walk there easy. Mother Very well. Go there, and Just beside it you will see a grocer's shop. Go In and ret' I mo a bar of soap. Tit-Bits. r