Morning Oregonian., November 24, 1903, Page 8, Image 8

THE MORNING OKBGONIAN, TUESDAY, NOVEMBEE 24, 1903.
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TESTERDATS WEATHER Maximum tem
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TODATTS WEATHER Partly cloudy, with
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PORTLAND. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21.
nniORuirr of the stage.
The Portland minister who denounced
the theater before his congregation last
Sunday was In the main right. Every
manager, and every actor who reads
that caustic arraignment of the mod
ern drama "knows it is in the main cor
rect, and must often have felt with a.
sickening of heart the evil Influences of
the written drama of today and the de
moralizing effect of life behind the
scenes. It does not Impair the force of
what the preacher says to admit that
his Ire Is doubtless largely roused by
the fact that Sunday night audiences
represent many a dollar which would
otherwise go Into the contribution box.
The fact is that the commercial spirit
has taken possession of the dramatist
and box-office. The only question either
one cares to ask is, Will it draw? To
this end. we have drunkenness and
adultery portrayed as excruciating
.Sokes. Sympathy Is courted for the lib
ertine of both sexes, escapades are
treated as harmless pleasantries, and
complicated situations are created in
which the sense of right and wrong is
hopelessly confused. Every play in
-which the motive power turns about the
Ftxual passion is indecent. Every play
where wrong Is glided over with wit,
humor and beauty Is Immoral. Every
play where the marriage tie is treated
as anything else than sacred and irre
fragable sets the foundations of society
to crumbling.
"We have heard for many years about
the elevation of the stage. "We have
been told that if the pulpit will only
meet the theater half-way in a char
itable spirit, the stage will be reformed
and pursue Its way as an educational
and moral agency. But there is no
move toward a redemption of this
promise. The more the theater gets the
more It wants. As fast as popular fa
vor turns to It, trusting in its fair prom
ises. It responds with lower and lower
levels of filth and meanness. The stage
has left few oaths for the exclusive
use of bar-rooms, and little of realism
to the bagnio. The characters of real
Interest are male and female scamps.
The only virtuous women across the
footlights are those too young to know
hetter or else too old or plain to be
tempting. "We are trained to laugh at
the Indignation of an outraged wife and
to weep over the just punishment of the
depraved.
We have been told to get ready for
the transformation of the theatrical
life Into a highly moral and religious
occupation. The time is here, but the
theater has not "made good." It Is as
had as ever, perhaps worse. "Women
and girls are still forced to live and
travel In the company of dissolute men.
Few rehearsals can be pulled off with
out profanity. The leading man gets
drunk as often as of yore, and the di
vorced women Is en regleperhaps more
than ever. The average actor Is among
friends in the saloon. The reigning
actress is at home in the fast set. The
actor or actress who seeks or is sought
In pure society is the rare exception.
They filt Into the lower strata of bo
hemranlsm and good-fellowship because
they have not the desire or the forti
tude to keep themselves for the higher.
There are the glorious exceptions.
There are deserving plays which edu
cate and ennoble while they Impart
pure enjoyment. But for every "Bon
ale Brier Bush" there are ten like "A
Stranger In Xew Tork"; for every "Car
alnal" there are half a dozen Zazas,
Saphos, Mrs. Tanquerays, Camllles.
There are manly men and pure, sweet
women on the stage, who know too well
the baseness of the plays they are com
pelled to produce, and who shrink from
the godless life that swarms about
them, with its constant flings at moral
and religious truth. Its hostility to the
pulpit, its impatience of high stand
ards. Its resentment at honest criti
cism. There is no actor or actress,
whose moral sense Is yet sound but
longs for the day to come when the
hollow life of the stage, with its temp
tations, can be laicl down for one of
quiet affections and the sacred ties of
this would be most unfair as well
as unwise if it stood alone without the
recognition of the ultimate responsi
bility which rests upon patrons of the-J
theater. There Is no pander to our
vitiated taste who does not despise the
public for its moral Imbecility as well
as himself for his weakness. There Is
no manager who would not breathe a
prayer of thanksgiving for himself and
his family if audiences would leave the
tainted play and flock to the deserving
one so as to force cleanliness upon
dramatist and producer alike. There Is
no actress whose womanly instincts do
not revolt againBt the words she is
compelled to speak and the unwomanly
suggestions she is required to put into
dress and mien. There are few actors
who will not Join in denunciation of the
haser plays and mutter a hope for the
dawn of a better day. The remedy ia in
a firm stand on the part of decent peo
ple in opposition to the bad and sup
port of the good. There is no calling
in the world where the conduct of a
business is so absolutely at the mercy
of the clientele to which it caters. If
decent people would do their duty In
this respect, there would not be an Im
moral play on the American stage In
three months.
SOMETHING DOING AT WASHINGTON.
It Is impossible to believe that ail the
indications of hostility to the Presi
dent on the part of the Republican
leaders are explainable by chance or in
advertence. Six months ago the oppo
sition to his nomination next year was
abandoned as impracticable and as In
volving a split in the party which would
be all but fatal to Republican success.
There are signs that -that decision Is
now under review for reconsideration
and possible reversal.
The reopening of the question must
be due to the assembling of Congress
and the consequent comparison of
notes. The leaders have no doubt dis
covered a growing dislike of the Pres
ident among the party machines in the
various states. Here in Oregon the
dominant faction, six months ago the
President's self-constituted agency, has
disputed with him on appointments, on
forest reserve and land problems. They
are out of sympathy with his Cuban
policy, his isthmian canal policy, and
with at least one of his Cabinet offi
cers. It is not at all unlikely that sim
ilar conditions are reported from other
states. It is not strange that the lead
ers are fain to address themselves once
more to the task of taking the nomina
tion for one of their own number.
Doubtless also they are mightily en
couraged by the representations of cap
ital in the money centers. The Presi
dent's action in the coal' strike and in
the merger case has alienated from him
the great corporations, or rather has
revived the distrust they felt for him
as Governor of New York. Every as
surance from his friends that he will
not be hostile to them falls short of
disturbing their conviction that he will
show his friendship to them in his own
way, which will not be their way. He
acts without consultation with them.
They never know at night what he will
do before morning. He is not their
man, he is his own man. If it were
not for the tariff, they would plan to
let him be nominated and beat him
with Cleveland.
It is perfectly clear that Roosevelt is
not the man to win or hold the support
of professional politicians. He is not of
them or for them. He does not exist
by their endowment. To him their
plans and desires are nothing. He Is a
stranger to their ideals, their methods,
their counsels. "Why should they give
this" thing to him, for him to use to
break down their power, to humiliate
their friends, to alienate the "business
Interests," to instruct Attorneys-Gen
eral to prosecute their favorites? The
power they wield in their states Is their
own. They wish to use it for their own
behoof. They prefer to cast their votes
at the next National Convention for
some one who will appreciate and re
member the obligation, to reciprocate.
They will not take Roosevelt unless
they have to.
Among all the evidences of this dis
affection, none is so Impressive as the
determination of the Senate to make a
monkey of the President on the Cuban
treaty. The extra session of the Sen
ate, held last Spring, to ratify the
treaty, was made ridiculous by adjourn
ment without ratification of the treaty.
Now they have offered him the added
slight of rendering abortive the extra
session of both houses of Congress,
called by him for the same specific pur
pose. December 16, the date set for the
vote, falls well within the regular ses
sion. There is only one show for the
President; and that is to stand his
ground like a man and appeal to the
people. If the leaders are trying to
force him to treat with them, to "take
programme" of their formulation, he
will only humiliate and weaken him
self by yielding. "We shall soon see
whether Hanna actually wants the
nomination or is merely playing for
recognition of the ship subsidy and
other concessions desired by the cor
porations he serves.
A PRACTICAL PROPOSITION.
The necessity of new bridges across
Sullivan's Gulch at Union and Grand
avenues Is apparent. These two thor
oughfares run the entire length of East
Portland proper, and not only the con
venience but the business interests of
the citizens of a wide section depends
upon the maintenance of bridges at
these points in good and safe condition.
It is asserted that it would be mani
festly unjust to build a costly structure
at one of these points, taxing the property-owners
of an entire district, as
might be outlined by the Common Coun
cil, for its construction, and leave the
other unsupplled. Two costly steel
bridges cannot be built without prac
tically confiscating the property of
some taxpayers who have no holdings
in Income-bearing property. This is a
simple statement of the situation, which
amounts to a dilemma to the authori
ties and Is the cause of much well
placed anxiety to property-owners, not
only on these thoroughfares, but within
what may be called the disturbed dis
trict Now comes Mr. E. H. Virgil, a care
ful man, successful financier and a
well-known resident of the East Side
for many years, offering a solution of
the question which Is at once simple
and feasible. He shares the view that
it would be unjust discrimination to
build a costly steel bridge at one of
these equally important points and
leave the other without a bridge of any
kind. "Why not," he asks, "build two
wooden bridges at a cost of from $10,000
to $15,000 each?" Bridges properly and
substantially constructed, covered, as
such bridges are elsewhere, would, Mr.
Virgil believes, last almost as long as
though built of steel, and two bridges
could be had for less than the post of
one modern steel bridge. "With side
walks for pedestrians on each side, car
tracks or space for them along the side
walks, and two roadways for teams, the
whole, well built of suitable timber and
covered for protection against the ele
ments, would supply the needs pf traffic
at these points for many years.
Mr. Virgil asserts that a bridge, cov
ered as he has Indicated, will last twice
as long as an uncovered bridge. It may
be added that such covering would fur-
nlsh grateful protection to pedestrians
in the storms of "Winter and the heat
of Summer a fact that, while It does
not add to the commercial value or a
bridge, adds greatly to the comfort of
those who use and those who pay for It.
Mr. "Virgil supplements his suggestion
very practically, saying: "Let us get
at this question sensibly and go after
something we can hope to get. Steel
bridges we cannot have for Sullivan's
Gulch. Let us have wooden bridges."
The proposition is worth considering.
Grand-avenue bridge has for some
monthB been closed to teams and street
cars. Union-avenue bridge Is old and
none too safe for the heavy traffic that
It is compelled to carry. It is not wise
to delay action in this matter until an
accident causing loss of life and carry
ing damages in a sum In aggregate
large enough to build two safe and sub
stantial wooden bridges as above pro
posed follows a dilatory policy which
promises great things but accomplishes
nothing. If good wooden bridges prop
erly protected will last a generation, let
us have them and trust to posterity to
be able to provide for such needs as
may then arise. Objection may be
made to covered bridges as "country
fled," and out of date, but an objection
of this kind will hardly be considered
seriously when urged In the presence of
the bridges that now span Sullivan's
Gulch, or in conjunction with the vague
hope of a costly steel bridge "some
time" at one of these points.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
Dr. House is wise In choosing ridicule
as the most effective weapon against
Christian Science, so-called, but wrong
In his apparent belief that it Is to be
stamped out by the dead-set which or
thodoxy is making against it. To the
disinterested observer it is reasonably
clear that Mrs. Eddy has founded a new
denomination. Staggering under a load
of absurdities, incumbered with a most
awkward, self-destructive and inauspi
cious name, running headlong against
criminal statutes, the "church she has
formed goes on conquering and to con
quer. Its phenomenal rise js indicative
of a persistent future, and orthodox and
infidel alike will have to put up with It
as one of those stubborn facts which
defy explanation and thrive on oppo
sition. It has doubtless been a mistake to
proceed upon the assumption that
Christian Scientists are not human
beings, endowed with the very general
faculties of observation, perception,
natural affection, and such other quali
ties as make for self-preservation. It
has been taken for granted that in em
bracing Mrs. Eddy's book they took
leave of their reason and presence of
mind. "Unfortunately, the sequel proves
otherwise. The courts have been re
sorted to in the effort to crush them,
but they have the ordinary resources of
lawyers and pleadings, and an average
ingenuity in adapting conduct to the
necessities of the case. Consequently
large numbers of them continue at
large, in spite of yawning prisons and
asylums, and legal decisions rejoice
them as often as disconcert. "When
ever it is needed, a new encyclical
comes forth from Concord. The Chris
tian Scientists were not born yesterday.
They can take care of themselves.
It is probably true that the violence
of the attack made upon Christian Sci
entists by the orthodox pulpit has over
shot the mark and earned for the new
cult a measure of toleration It could
not otherwise have counted upon. The
fact remains that their miraculous pre
tensions are quite as logical from a
New Testament standpoint as the dic
tum that miracles ceased in the apos
tolic day. The fact remains that their
ralson d'etre is quite as cogent as that
of the other denominations which hoot
so loudly In derision. The fact remains
that nearly everything of which the
new sect stands accused is denied by
Its votaries. The fact remains that if
you are looking for clean living and
high Ideals, most of their accusers could
get points from them. The world is
wide, brethren. Take your own little
slice of doctrinal cake, but suffer each
to enjoy his own in peace.
OPEN RIVER OPPOSITION.
The sincerity of the Tacoma news
papers in their efforts to secure an open
river from the sea to the Inland Empire
Is reflected in the comments made on
the recent delay of the steamship Algoa
at the mouth of the river. This steamer
made a quick run from Portland to As
toria, meeting with no delay or obstruc
tion anywhere along the route. Her
pilot stated that she could have made
the run in the same length of time on
a draft at least two feet greater than
was registered when she reached As
toria. This performance offered un
questionable and conclusive evidence
that Portland's part of the channel to
the sea was in good shape. The vessel
met with a few days' delay at the bar,
and there was a slight loss In conse
quence. That loss and similar losses
that may be suffered until the river Is
opened to( the class of ships that can
safely traverse the upper reaches be
tween Astoria and Portland, must be
met by the producers of Oregon, "Wash
ington and Idaho.
An open river above Portland will be
of no advantage until the cork is re
moved from the mouth of the bottle.
The one great reason offered for the
opening of the upper river is that it
will reduce freight rates or at least reg
ulate them and stand as a guard against
further advances by the railroads. But
rates can never be reduced. If the prod
ucts of the Inland Empire are floated
or rolled down to Portland or Astoria
and their movement to the world's mar
flets blocked by the bar at the mouth
of the river. Astoria and Portland can
not consume all of these products, and
if they cannot pass on out to the open
sea, nothing Is to be gained by opening
the middle river and bringing them
part ol the distance. An open river
means something more than mere words,
although It Is apparently not so under
stood at Tacoma. Realizing that their
popularity would be jeogardized In some
of the districts reached by their circu
lation man east of the mountains, the
Tacoma newspapers are careful not to
antagonize or speak slurringly of the
projected Improvements which will bring
the Inland Empire in easy reach of the
tidewater markets by a water-level
route.
Yet every word of misrepresentation
that is printed about the . Columbia
River bar falls with equal force on the
projects for the improvement of the
river above The Dalles. The jetty at
the mouth of the river ha3 demonstrat
ed beyond all question that a good
depth of water can he obtained as soon
as the work is completed. There Is no
question about the feasibility of that
part of the open-river project. Noth
ing has yet been done to offer so com
plete a guarantee of success in opening
the river above The Dalles, but that
too will be opened. Meanwhile our Ta
coma "knockers" cannot carry water
on both shoulders. If their theory is
nrrwt -nrhlch Y a tint anA ho r?nlmn-
bla bar cannot be Improved, it is a i
needless waste of money to open the
river from Lewiston to Astoria, and
even the Puget Sound paper that advo
cated the abandonment of the latter
project would suddenly become very
unpopular east of the Cascade Moun
tains. An "opon" river that Is closed at
the mouth will never serve as a freight
regulator, and no man In the three
states can consistently blow hot on one
part of the improvement, and cold on
the other.
It is not probable that Senator Hanna
will enter actively Into competition
with President Roosevelt. Even Ohio,
in that case, would give Mr. Hanna a
good deal of trouble. Delegates are
chosen by districts; and though the Re
publican opposition in Ohio has stood
by Senator Hanna in the recent contest,
when the question was whether he
should be returned to the Senate or not,
he could not count on their support
for the Presidency. They who insist on
having Mr. Hanna for the Presidency
Bhould keep out of six-story buildings;
for only recently he threatened to throw
any one he should catch at this sort of
thing "from a six-story window." And
yet you can't tell. The contest over
General "Wood may lead to other dif
ferences; and since the greatest -men
"Webster, Clay and many more were
not above the ambition for the Presi
dency, can Mr. Hanna surely be exempt
from the same weakness? As for Mr.
Roosevelt, he naturally desires elec
tion to a position to which he came by
a chance no one could have foreseen.
His desire to be elected to the position
Is not presumptuous. He is a man of
marked individuality and power, and
his party will stand by him. Senator
Hanna Is well, In his placa In the Sen
ate, but he will not be wjfiited for the
Presidency. The Oregonian thinks the
country will be for Roosevelt. It knows
the "West will be. There Is a lot of
babble now, and it will be loud for
months to come. But. neither Hanna
nor any one else will supersede Roose
velt. in un article upon the prevention of
suicide in a recent number of the New
York Independent it Is stated that a
large proportion of those who took their
own dives In Greater New York last
year took carbolic acid for this purpose.
To this statement the following criti
cism is added:
There 1b no good reason now why carbolla
acid, with Its bad reputation as the favorlto
drug for suicides, should be sold as freely
as It Is. There arc many familiar antisep
tics Quite as powerful and even more avail
able for most purposes that are not nearly
bo dangerous, and especially have not tho
suggestive quality of the evil reputation that
this drug has. There Is nr adequate excuse
why carbolic acid should be so readily avail
able for domestic purposes, nor why it
should be sold without more ado to every
ono who asks for it.
There Is wholesome truth in this crit
icism. A few days ago a woman com
mitted suicide in Spokane who a few
days before the act had said to her
daughter, when speaking of laudanum
as a means of self-destruction: "If you
want to commit suicide, take something
strong, like carbolic acid." She might
have added a fact which probably ln
'fluenced her choice, that laudanum can
not be procured without a physician's
order, while carbolic acid can be -procured
and no questions asked. "The
suggestive quality of this drug's evil
reputation" should, be a sufficient warn
ing against Its too ready sale.
"It Is dreadful to think mother should
be so foolish," said a young woman of
Spokane recently while bemoaning the
fact that her mother had taken carbolic
acid because the daughter insisted upon
having the "good time" comprehended
In staying out ail night at a question
able resort. Of course, a mother 13
"foolish" not to fall in cheerfully with
ideas of pleasure that keep her daugh
ter out all night. If a wayward daugh
ter wants corroboration of her estimate
In this particular, she can secure It In
degree, though not exactly In kind,
from the husband who seeks excuse for
dissipation In the statement that his
wife "pulls against him." The mother
in the one instance should accept the
situation cheerfully, urge her daughter
to "have a good time," and herself go
to bed and sleep soundly, only waking
in time to let the reveler In at daynlght;
the wife .In the other case, after wait
ing dinner cheerfully until 8 o'clock,
should put the babies to bed, darn and
mend until 10 or 11 o'clock, and then
retire In the sweet assurance that her
husband would come home stupid from
liquor toward the morning) after having
left his month's wages In the gambler's
till. What unreasonable and -foolish
creatures women some women are,
anyway, to take little things like these
seriously! In the words of the young
woman of Spokane, worldly wise at 19,
"it is dreadful to think mother should
be so foolish."
Raymond McVeigh, 18 years of age, of
Brooklyn, N. Y is dead from Injuries
received In a football game. Rev. Dr.
G. E. Merrill, of Colgate University,
thinks that football as played at pres
ent results In too many fatalities to be
called "sport." He says that while busi
ness or occupation for the good of soci
ety, necessary and unavoidable, may
justify such risks, they do not belong
to good "sport." The Journal of the
American Medlcalj Association gives the
number of deaths from football acci
dents In the year 1902 as twelve. Over
eighty cases of very serious injury are
on record. Dr. Merrill would like to see
it made a less dangerous and better
sport.
There is no chance now for hard
times. Here and there some lfttle check
may be noted, but the Industrial pro
ductivity of the country is unabated,
and there Is no attack on the money
standard of the country, like that which
produced the unexampled reverse of
1893. That Insanity will not be repeat
ed. We are not now pumping ditch
water Into the veins of the business of
the country, as a substitute for blood,
as we did during the years when the
silly people of the country were trying
to "do somethlnc for silver." We shall
rhave no serious backset and no hard
times.
The renewal of Spring wild flowers in
November is sometimes noticed in Ore
gon, but the "Indian Summer" has been
so bland in New England that the he
patlca, or liverwort, as it Is sometimes
called,' an April blossom, was In bloom
the first week of November, according
to the Springfield Republican of the
15th Inst. The white corydalls, the hare
bell, the wild columbine, the dog violet
and the wild geranium were also In
bloom. This, however, Is not a common
event in New England, where snow
storms not seldom appear by the 10th of
the month.
SACAJAWEA, THBBIRD WOMAN.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
The romantic story of Pocahontas, the
daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan,
who saved the life of Cap'tain John Smith
when, aa a prisoner, he was about to be
put to death, is familiar to all. The inci
dent occurred in Virginia nearly S00 years
ago, yot is as fresh in tho minds of every
one as any event in the history of America
how she brought about peace between
the settlers and the Indians, went to Eng
land and was feted by royalty, was con
verted to the Christian faith and married
John Rolfe, an Englishman, leaving one
son, whose descendants are proud to trace
back to her as their ancestress. Her story
has been tho theme of romance and
poetry; artists have taken delight in per
petuating her figure in painting and sculp
ture, and her act of mercy and good will
is frescoed on thd walls of the r otunda of
the Capitol at Washington. All that grati
tude and admiration for her heroism could
do for the preservation of her memory has
been freely dene, and tho savage elements
ot the Indian character have been veiled
with a halo of romance by her heroic ac
tion. Her name is a household word, as
sociated as it is with the first settle
ment of the country and only less known
than that of the discoverer himself. This
is all very well and as it should be. We
hav a country with no mythology, with
but little myth, and aa we grow older
there Is a seeking after something of a
mythical nature in our history, just as
there Is a ransacking of pedigrees among
our gentler sex for evidence which will
entitle them to become Daughters of the
Revolution or Colonial Dames.
But Pocahontas is not the only Indian
woman who merits recognition. Those
who have read the thrilling story of Lewis
and Clark's expedition to the Pacific In
1S01-06 cannot but have been struck with
the wonderful service rendered the party
of exploration by the young Indian wife
of Chabonneau, the halfbreed interpreter.
It was not. as that of Pocahontas, a
slnglo act unattended with personal danger
and hardship and heightened In interest
by the beauty of the heroine, but the ex
hibition of fortitude and fidelity extending
for more than a year, under circumstances
unparalleled in history. In the Spring of
1S04 Lewis and Clark started up the Mis
souri River with a small body of men in
light boats propelled by oars and sails,
and proceeded as far as the Mandan Na
tion, about 1500 miles, where they went
Into Winter quarters on friendly terms
with tho Indians. Here they met several
Indlaa traders from the Hudson Bay Com
pany In the' Far North and hardy ad
venturers, among whom was Toussalnt
Chabonneau, a French halfbreed, who had
been higher up the river and whom they
engaged as an Interpreter. His wife, Saca
jawea, belonged to an Indian tribe of
Shoshones, or Snake Indians, who lived on
the western slope of the Rocky Moun
tains. She had been captured when a
child by the Minnetarees. from whom
Chabonneau had purchased her, and at 13
had became his wife. When in the fol
lowing Spring she and her husband started
up the river with the expedition she had
a boy baby but 2 months old. The leaders
of the expedition feared she would be an
Incumbrance, but took her along, hoping
that she might be of service when they
reached the mountains from which she
came. From the start, however, the Bird
Woman, as she was called, demonstrated
that she was an Invaluable acquisition.
With her papoose strapped on her back
she labored "with the men with paddle and
tow rope, cheered the company with her
vivacity, and in many ways rendered val
uable assistance. Once when a canoe con
taining the mo3t valuable effects of the
captains of the expedition, their journals,
scientific Instruments and medicines, was
filled with water in midstream Chabon
neau abandoned it in cowardly alarm, but
the Bird Woman saved not only herself
and baby, but rescued the valuable cargo
and landed It safely on shore.
After four months of hard labor up
stream for 1800 miles, the expedition
reached the headwaters of the Missouri
and the leaders were filled with appre
hension at the difficulties which con
fronted them in the unknown land which
lay between them and the Pacific It was
then that the Bird Woman proved their
protector and deliverer. She recognized
with girlish glee scenes familiar in her
childhood and the spot whore she had
been captured by the Minnetarees. Soon
Indians made their appearance, creating
alarm, but Sacajawea fearlessly went for
ward to meet them and found they were
her own tribe and that Its chief was her
brother. There ensued the most friendly
relations between the members of the ex
pedition and the Indians, who furnished
them horses and enabled them to make
their way over the mountains and to tho
mouth of Lewis River, whence, before
Winter, after many thrilling adventures,
they descended the Columbia in canoes
and safely reached the Pacific. The In
dians everywhere, through the influence
of the Bird Woman, who proved a mascot
to the expedition, received them with
every demonstration of friendship. The
brief outline here given of the valuable
services rendered by this Indian heroine
Is to bo found'detalled, from day to day,
along with the other incidents of this
wonderful expedition, in the narratlvo
published first in 1214. But of late it has
been brought out in more romantic re
lief in Mrs. Eva Emory Dye's admirable
volume, "The Conquest," In which both
the history and romance of the expedi
tion aro faithfully epitomized.
After spending the Winter of 1S05-6 on
the Pacific Coast near the mouth of tho
Columbia, Lewis and Clark began their
long homeward journey over the same
route by which thoy had gono, and, as
before, the Bird Woman was the same
good angel. At one critical Juncture,
when struggling through heavy snows-in
the mountains of the western slope of the
Rockies, they lost their way and death
stared them in the face, and they were
only saved by the intelligence of Saca
jawea, who piloted them safely Into the
lost trail through her instinctive knowl
edge of woodcraft After many critical
adventures, In which she rendered simi
lar service, the party of thirty-three ar
rived safely in St Louis after a six
months' Journey without the loss of a
man on the entire trip, excopt In the
death of Charles Floyd from sickness
within six months of their initial start up
the Missouri. Except a brief notice of a
traveler who saw her in 1811, nothing is
known of what became of the Bird
Woman and her boy. But now that a
centonnlal celebration of the Lewis and
Clark exploration Is to be held in Port
land, Or., in 1905, steps have been taken
to perpetuate the memory of this lohg
neglected heroine. An association ha3
been formed for the purpose of erecting
a statue to Sacajawea, the Bird Woman,
to be placed in one of the parks of Port
land, and it3 success is assured. It will
be of bronze, otJ heroic size and Jts cost
will bo $7000.
Are They Features of Us7
New York Evening Post
Valentine Brown, author of "The Chief
tain and Satires" (Portland, Or.), apolo
gizes for the abrupt termination of his
satire called "The Pilgrims," on the rea
sonable ground that "the author at this
time was taken with tho grip, and, un
der the influence of quinine, Alastor and
Azrael refused to answer any more in-terrogatorles"--a
fact which is to ba
placed to the credit of those Imaginary
powers.
- The Minstrel Boy.
Thomas Moore.
Tha minstrel boy to the war has gone.
In the ranks ot the death you'll find him,
His father's sword he has girded on.
And his wild harp slung behind him.
"JLand of song!" said the warrior bard,
"Though all the world betrays thee.
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard.
One faithfulharp, shall praise thee!"
The minstrel fell! but the foeman's chain
Could not bring his proud soul under;
The harp he loved ne'er spoke again.
For he tore Its chords asunder.
And said, "No chains shall sully thee.
Thou soul of love and braver!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free.
They eball never sound la slavery!"
THE DEMOCRATICCANAL DOCTRINE
New York Sun.
It Is not a new Monroe Doctrine, It is
not a Roosevelt Doctrine, or a Hay Doc
trine; it Is simply the Cass Doctrine, an
nounced 43 years ago by Mr. Buchanan's
Secretary of State, in an official communi
cation to the Hon. MIrabeau B. Lamar,
of Texas, then the United States Minister
to Nicaragua.
Secretary Cass prophetic words were
reprinted in the Sun two months ago to
morrow. Events during the two months
will make them seem even more pertinent
now than then:
The progress of events has rendered the In
teroceanlc route across the narrow portions
of Central America vastly Important to the
commercial world, and especially to the
United States, whose possessions extend
along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and
demand the speediest and easiest modes of
communication. While the rights of sover
eignty of the states occupying this region
should always be respected, we shall expect
that these rights be exercised In a spirit
befitting the occasion and the wants and
circumstances that have arisen. Sovereignty
has Its duties as well as Its rights, and nono
of these local governments, even if adminis
tered with more regard to the Just demands
of other nations than they have been, would
be permitted. In a spirit cf Eastern Isolation,
to closo the gates of Intercourse on the great
highways of the world, and Justify the act
by the pretension that these avenues of
trade and travel belong to them, and that
they choose to shut them, or, what is almost
equivalent, to encumber them with such un
just relations as would prevent their general
use. ,
That Is the Cass Doctrine, emmelaterl hv
the Democratic Secretary of State in the
Administration of a Democratic President.
It goes far beyond the present application
or its general principle by a Republican
President and a Republican Secretary of
State.
Under the Democratic Cass Doctrine of
1S5S, even if the sovereignty over the Isth
mus of the Republic of Colombia had not
passed to the new Republic of Panama,
or if the new Republic of Panama Itself
should attempt to block the Interoceanic
waterway, American interests and Na
tional Interests would warrant our Gov
ernment in overriding a sovereigaty which
in that particular forgot its duties and
abused Its rights.
To such an extremity, to the enforce
ment of the international right of eminent
domain which Mr. Cass' letter clearly In
dicated as one of the possibilities of the
future, we have not been obliged to pro
ceed. The independence of Panama and
the new sovereign's attitude toward us
and the canal project remove that possi
bility from the range of practical ques
tions. But what Democrat can study the Dem
ocratic canal doctrine of Lewis Cass and
then in good faith attack the course ot
Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Hay because they
nappen to be Republicans?
NO FEELING WHATEVER.
The Courier-Journal on Its Own Pro
verbial Dispassionateness.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Says that stalwart and robust son of
the soil, the Portland Oregonian:
In a curious state of mind Is the Courler
Jourjfal. It hates Cleveland so that it Is now
making up with Gorman, and devotes two col
umns to show him guiltless of the "perfidy and
dishonor" Job In 1S04. It abominates antl-Im-perlallsm,
but Its theory of corruption la aid
of the Panama route Impels It to denounce our
recognition of the new republic It is awk
ward that so strenuous an editor should be at
outs with our strenuous President, our strenu
ous high society and our strenuous Panama
promoters. All the scrappers can't be on one
side.
True, true! All of us cannot think alike.
Nor can we, as we shall proceed to show,
be exact In our definitions. As, for ex
ample, the Courier-Journal does not
"hate" Mr. Cleveland at all. and having
never fallen out with Mr. Gorman, It Is
not making up with him. Touching an his
toric matter in which Mr. Cleveland and
Mr. Gorman bore conspicuous parts it
has tried to tell the truth without fear or
favor. Only this and nothing more.
Wo do, indeed, believe in the ever ex-
nandlntr ITrPntTlMej nnd ?1nrv nf rm nnnn.
Ijry ad have the SUhHmest faith in its
destiny. Hut there is a right and a
wrong way of exploiting the buzzard.
Why should we become party to a gi
gantic fraud and steal, engineered by a
syndicate of Parisian stock gamblers,
supporting not only the gray wolves of
the Senate and the skunks of the lobby,
but giving countenance to a complete re
versal of a hundred years of honorable
National policy? Why should we?
We need not do these things to get the
canal. We need not do them to become
a world power. We could keep the faith,
preserve both the Nation's integrity and
its interest, and still set an example of
the superiority of Republican over Im
perialistic and feudal methods. The worst
part of the Infinite turpitude, the Infamy
and disgrace attending the fake proceed
ings at Washington and on the Isthmus,
Is that they were wholly unnecessary.
Letter of a Brave Seaman.
When the Confederate forces evacuated
Ship Island, September 16, 1S61, the follow
ing letter from the Confederate Lieutenant-Colonel,
Allen, commanding Fort
Twiggs, was found addressed to Com
mander Mclancton 'Smith, of the United
States gunboat Massachusetts:
Fort Twiggs, Ship Island, September 17,
1861. By order ot my government, I have
this day evacuated Ship Island. This my
brave soldiers "under my command do with
much reluctance and regret. For three long
months your good ship has been our con
stant companion.
We have not exactly "lived and loved to
gether," but we have been Intimately ac
quainted, having exchanged cards on the
9th day of July last.
In leaving you today wo beg you to accept
our best wishes for your health and happi
ness while sojourning on this pleasant, hos
pitable shore.
That we may have nnothor exchange of
courtesies before the war closes, and that
we may meet faco to face in closer quar
ters. Is the urgent prayer of very truly,
your obedient ser'ant. H. W. ALLEX,
Lieutenant-Colonel commanding Ship Island.
The Commander of the Massachusetts, U.
S. ship of war, now lying off Ship Island.
D. C. JENKINS JR.,
Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.
Lincoln and John Morgan.
A Washington gentleman quoted by the
New York Tribune relates a hitherto un
published story of Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln, speaking of the activity of John
Morgan, whose Confederate cavalrymen
were raiding Kentucky and Ohio, said to
the Washingtonian: "I admire him, for
ho is a bold operator. He always goes
after the mall trains, In order to get in
formation from Washington. On his last
raid he opened some mallbags and took
possession of the official correspondence.
One letter was from the War Department
to a Lieutenant In Grant's army; It con
tained a Captain's commission for him.
Right under the signature of A Lin
coln the audacious Morgan wrote: 'Ap
proved, John Morgan,' and sent the com
mission on Its way. So there Is one offi
cer in our army whose commission bears
my signature, with the approval of that
daredevil rebel raider."
On the Tombs In Westminster Abbey.
Francis Beaumont.
Mortality, behold and fear
What a chance of flesh is here!
Tblnk how many royal bones
Sleep within these heaps of stones;
Here they He, had realms and lands.
Who now want strength to stir their hands.
Where from their pulpits seal'd with dust
They preach, "In greatness is no trust."
Heme's an acre sown Indeed
With the richest, royallest seed
That the earth did e'er suck in
Since the first man died for sin;
Here the bones of birth have cried,
"Though gods they were, as men they died."
Here are aands, icnoble things,
Dropt from the ruin'd sides of kings;
Here's a world of pomp and state '
Burled in CUst, once dead by fate, -
NOTE AND COMMENT.
No cape; no star.
Thanks is not the only thing to give at
this time of the year.
The mlllenlum and the seedless water
melon will arrive together.
Mr. Flegel had a tender warner In the
person of Mr. Turtledove.
It was the "choir Invisible"
Montavllla Methodist Church.
at the
" Fitzslmmons' hands are in good condi
tion, and so is Gardner's face.
Even the horse in the "King of the
Opium Ring" suffered from stage fright.
The Rev. W. H. Selleck is down on the
theater, but the stage shows no sign of
collapse.
There Is sorrow along the flowing Yam
hill? The farmers have the gladness and
the turkeys the sorrow.
The obstinate Moros refuse to be re
generated in this world and are according
ly translated to another.
The chief outcry against paternalism
comes from those who receive no
benefit from a family arrangement.
In Seattle they took Chief Joseph to a
football match. That was something
like taking the devil to a clerks' picnic.
Columbia and Mount Angel have fallen
out over football. Squabbling is nearly
as much fun as playing the game, any
way. "" "
Another vessel appears to have been
claimed by the seas of the North, which
will soon be fringed with the bones of the
men that went gold-seeking.
Hanna, the frog, squatted by his pond
of watery stock, tries to swell to the sizo
of Roosevelt, the ox, and It does not re
quire an Aesop to predict the result.
The presence of obnoxious officials in
Colorado mines when explosions occur
may be mere coincidence, but the authori
ties look upon coincidence with as much
suspicion as Colombia does upon mani
fest destiny.
Life, particularly a Sheriff's life, can
never be dull In Wyoming. The pleasant
greeting of "hands up," and the cheerful
crack of the pistol are deadly foes to the
ennui that might otherwise settle upon
the desolate places of the state.
On reaching the age of 3, . we are all
exposed to danger from Cupid, a Massa
chusetts professor declares. It is evident
that Shakespeare would have made
Romeo and Juliet vastly more melting had
he fixed Juliet's age at -J and Romeo's at
5 years. The old nurse might then have
had some further purpose on the
stage than to babble of bygone falls and
bumps.
The Rev. Dr. House's ideas, it is to bo
hoped, are on a higher plane than the
"pome" he iquoted on Sunday. It wa3
enough to jar the hearer as much as the
fall from the hammock did the Christian
Science girl. Such trifles as rhyming
"real" and "feel" helped tho general
effect. The opponents of Mrs. Eddy
should reely keep silent or endeavor to
Improve their prosody.
American newspapers show a lack of
interest in their Oriental contemporaries,
says the San Francisco Argonaut, and do
not reprint much matter from them. The
Argonaut goes on to say that it clipped
somo verses from a Manila paper, and
thus gave them a start In the "States."
The Argonaut is wrong. Most of tho
clever stuff run In the Oriental papers has
appeared in some American paper previ
ously. "Years ago when I was living in Bos
ton, Colonel Higginson was running for
Congress," said Bishop Potter, in a lec
ture in New York the other day,
says the Argonaut "On Election
day I met a negro whom I knew
well, and I said to him, 'I suppose you
are on your way to vote for Colonel Hig
ginson?' To my surprise, he said he was
going to vote for the. other man. Now,
Colonel Hlgglnm had been the Lieutenant-Colonel
of the negro regiment of
which Robert Shaw was Colonel, and
after Shaw was killed in the charge at
Fort Wagner he led the regiment So I
said to Tom that I thought every con
sideration of chivalry and honor should
lead him to support the man who had
given the negro race its greatest oppor
tunity in the Civil War. Tom replied: I
don't see it that way, sah. I think chiv
alry and honor constrain me to vote for
the gentleman what gave me $3 this morn-
: ing.' "
WEX. JONES.
OUT OF THE GINGER JAR.
"Isn't that a racy piece of acting?" asked
the manager "It's horse play, if that's what
you mean." Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune.
Church Don't see anything in the papers
about a new Panama scheme? Gotham My
wife's got one. Saw her straining Jelly through
my last Summer's model today. Exchange.
Sportsman (wishing for fresh fields to con
quer) I should like to try my hand at big
game. Fair Ignoramus Tes, I suppose you
find It verr hard to hit these little birds!
Punch.
Mr. Jones See here! This horse you sold mo
runs up on the sidewalk eery time he sees
an auto. Horse Dealer Well, you don't expect
a $50 horse to run up a telegraph pole or
climb a tree, do you? Judge.
Mrs. Nextdore I guess you heard my daugh
ter practicing today. The muslo teacher was
there today; she's taking lessons by the quar
ter. Mrs. Pepprey Indeed! I thought It was
by the pound. Philadelphia Press.
Smith That fellow. Brown, certainly has a
wonderful memory. Jones Is that so? Smith
Yes. Why, he always remembers to leave his
umbrella at home so as not to forget and
leave it somewhere else. Chicago News.
Old Jones I hope that young fellow 13
thrifty, Mollle. Every young man should save
a quarter of his salary every week. Mollle
Jones Oh, Algy does better than that, papa.
Same weeks he saves half a dollar! Puck.
Mamma Oh. see, Willie, your little brother
can stand all alone. Aren't you glad? Willie
(aged 6) Sure! Now I can get him to hold an
apple on his head while I shoot it off with
my bow and arrow, can't I? Philadelphia
Ledger.
Sam Parks has had an offer of 510,000 for
20 lectures. Ralph Waldo Emerson once
wrote to Carlyle that he could make $800 In
a Winter by lecturing; which simply proves
how much superior Sam Parks Is to Emer
son. Exchange.
Girl In the Grandstand Isn't that a cruel
game? Do you think It's fair for a dozen
men to pile themselves on top of the poor fel
low that has the ball? Her Escort No; there
oughtn't to be more than eleven of them, any
way. Chicago Tribune.
"Do you mean to tell me that you would
deliberately buy votes?" "Of course." an
swered Senator Sorghum. "That's the only
way to buy them. The man who buys votes
impulsively is almost sure to get the worst
of the bargain." Washington Star.
The man with unbounded curiosity had
just been introduced to the celebrated
pugilist. "Where would you rather be hit,"
he asked, "on the point of the Jaw or over
the solar plexus?" "Solar plexus," was the
prompt reply. "It Isn't so likely to In
capacitate you for going on the stage and
telling funny stories." Washington Star.