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SOITIUKS ITALY.
Earthiiuakes are an old story to
Southern Italy. From the ancient
davs almost a thousand years before
Chrl-t when the Greeks came sailing
across the mild Mediterranean to
riant their colonies and build their
cities along the const of Calabria and
Ficily, all down the centuries through
the wars of Rome and Carthage,
through the misrule of Roman gov
ernors, through the tyranny of Sara
ten and Norman, of Spaniard and
Neapolitan, the people of that lovely
land have suffered perpetually from
human cruelty while tho happiness
that man's inhumanity might have
f-rared them has been blighted by the
mysterious forces of nature. Through
out Calabria and Sicily the blessing
ttnd tho curse of nature are strangely
mingled. The climate permits the
orange and the palm to flourish. The
courses of the streams are bordered
Jn the balmy Summer months by tall
thickets of blooming oleanders and
on the mountain sides forests of ver
dant pines temper and perfume the
breezes from the sea. The soil Is of
unparalleled fertility. The olive
flourishes, the vine bears luxuriantly,
on the upland plains of Sicily the
Romans fabled wheat to have been
planted by the gods so well did it
thrive and all through Roman times
Sicily, with the Valley of the Nile,
was accounted the granary of the
world.
The Greek cities planted in Cala
bria, which were supported mainly by
agriculture, rose one after another
to unprecedented power and mag
nificence. So great was the wealth
of Sybaris that it has given a name
to unreined sensuality, and Crotona,
its greater rival, was famed through
out all the ancient world for the
salubrity of its air and the robust
vigor of its men. In the Olympian
games the wrestlers of Crotona were
invariably victorious, and it was from
that renowned city that Milo came,
the strongest man of antiquity. Mar
velous was the beauty of that old
civilization where boundless wealth
supported the arts and the intellect,
where Pythagoras elaborated his
rules of life and invented his death
less theorem, where Zeuxis painted
divinely and the chaste pillars of the
temples were reared by architects
whose glory might have excited the
emulation of Phidias himself. Now
the site of Sybaris is but a desolate
stretch of sand. The salubrious air
of Crotona has been replaced by
malarious vapors. On the fields where
the agile Greeks reaped their abun
dant harvests Vergil's tristis lupinus.
the dreary lupine, has alone survived,
and of the beautiful temples which
overlooked the sea nothing remains
but here and there a broken column.
The avarice of rulers and the fury of
perpetual earthquakes have wrought
the ruin of the fairest part of the
earth.
Classical literature is full of allu
sions to the terrors of Calabrian and
Sicilian earthquakes. There was an
old tale that one of them in prehis
toric times had formed the Straits of
Messina, which run in a narrow chan
nel between Sicily and Italy. The
sea. says Vergil, who collected all
these legends and used them in his
verse, the sea broke in between the
island and the mainland by violence,
"venit medio vl pontus." A little way
from the foaming strait Mount Aetna
rears its summit ten- thousand feet
into the sky. never entirely free from
volcanic violence, often in furious
eruption. To the north In the serene
Summer sea lies Stromboli, another
volcano whkh is always crowned
with a halo of flame and still farther
northward Vesuvius towers, some
times quiescent, sometimes suddenly
bursting into destructive fury. From
these volcanoes, with their mysterious
terror of Interior fire, the ancients
borrowed their conception of Tartarus
which has come down to us as the lake
of fire and brimstone. Under Aetna
the lively Sicilians of the Greek
pericd fabled that the giant Encela
rius lay buried and it was the heav
lngs of his mighty frame which
caused the mountain to totter and the
surrounding earth to tremble.
Still the desolation of Calabria and
the savagery of Sicilian life are due
more to evils of absentee landlordism
than to the terrors of earthquake and
volcano. Whenever the people have
not been utterly plundered they have
nestled even on the flanks of the
flaming mountains, planting tho
olive and the vine on the edges j
ot tne lava streams, ana nature
mingling kindliness with her ferocity
has abundantly blessed their toil. In
spite of all its sorrows Sicily has al
ways been a populous island and at
various times it has been the home
of a brilliant civilization. Lovers of
literature will not forget that it was
the home of Theocritus, Tennyson's
greater master, nor of Empedoeles,
who ranks with the giants of meta
physics, nor of Archimedes, the father
of natural philosophy. But life In
that enchanting isle has never been
safe from the sudden violence of
earthquakes, and the same is true of
the bordering mainland. There was
a hideous one In 17S3, which de
stroyed the little city of Scilla on the
straits of Messina. The inhabitants
ran from their houses to the shore,
ns they did at Lisbon, and camped
there to pass the night, when sud
denly half the mass of a near-by
mountain fell into the sea, the waters
gathered into a mighty wave which
swept over the crowded people and
gathered them all. four thousand in
number, into a common grave. The
famous eruption of Vesuvius, which
destroyed the cities of Herculaneum
and Pompeii, is the best known of ail
these fearful phenomena, but it was
probably not by any means the most
destructive.
Perpetually threatened as it Is by
earthquakes, one Is tempted to ask
whether Calabria will not firesentlx
be abandoned by human beings? His
tory supplies the an.wer. That which
hath been shall be again, and that
which is now hath been before. The
awful destruction of this shock will
be forgotten like those which pre
ceded it. The peasants will continue
to drive their primitive plows across
the fields and the landlords will con
tinue to rob them, even as they have
done through all recorded time, and
the treacherous kindness of nature
will in a few decades cover with ver
dure every trace of her cruel work.
Then the tragedy will be repeated.
HELP FOR ITALY.
The catastrophe in Italy is one that
calls for the sympathy of the whole
world. It would seem that most of
those not dead are destitute. Towns,
cities and country are ruined. The
people must have help. No such ca
tastrophe as this has been recorded
since authentic history began. Possi
bly there was greater destruction of
property at San Francisco, but there
was little loss of life and few, com
paratively, were left destitute.
It Is the duty of the world now to
succor the unfortunate people of
Southern Italy. In Oregon, as else
where, the work has begun, and it
should receive the support of all who
sympathize with suffering humanity.
Such, indeed, include all our people,
Hnd in such emergency all will be
glad to help.
THE FINCH TRIAL.
Tire presumption is, of course, that
lawyers know better than laymen how
to try their cases. Still when a law
yer makes such an exhibition of him
self as Mr. C. F. Lord did In his clos
ing argument for Finch, and indeed
throughout the entire trial, laymen
cannot help expressing surprise and
asking pertinent questions. One
question which presents itself Insist
ently is this: Would not a really ef
fective criminal lawyer have accom
plished more with the jury in a sin
gle hour of condensed and pointed
oratory than Mr. Lord did in his
seven hours of diffuse and wearisome
repetitions? Is the effect on the
jury's minds strictly proportionate to
the time a lawyer consumes in spout
ing at them? Does he not by pro
longing his argument beyond all rea
son produce an effect directly contrary
to the one he wishes? Even granting
that Finch's defense had rested on a
sound basis of fact and reason, which
it did not. it seems pretty clear to the
lay observer th.. the conduct of his
lawyers would have destroyed its
power to win belief.
Evidently the lawyers who were
employed by Finch to conduct his de
fense took Ruefs attorneys for their
models. From the beginning of the
trial they spared no effort to inter
pose senseless delays, to make much
of trifles, to gain time by all sorts of
tricks and deceptions. It is not of
course known that they actually
helped Finch invent a false story of
the murder he had committed, but
there was a good deal in the trial
which suggested something of the
kind. Whoever invented it, the tale
was unskillful to the last degree. It
is wonderful that four lawyers, after
putting their heads together, should
have relied upon such a flimsy fabri
cation in preference to the tried and
true device of insanity; but very likely
Finch's defenders used the best judg
ment they hud, and, if they failed in
the realm of fiction, probably It was
more from innate lack of the novel
ist's gift than from lack of practice.
Miss Burkhart saw the murder
committed and described it in a
straightforward and convincing man
ner. No man in his senses could have
doubted for a moment that she was
telling the truth. More than that,
both the circumstances of the affair
and the accounts of two or three
trustworthy witnesses confirmed her
at every point. Yet in the face of all
this the defense had the hardihood to
go to the Jury with a tale which di
rectly contradicted Miss Burkhart
and two reputable physicians, to say
nothing of other persons. It involved
the introduction of a seal which was
proved to have been locked in a
dravyer at the time of the murder. It
gave the lie to the fact that Fisher
must have been shot while he sat ,in
his chair or lie could not have fallen
where he did; and it required an ex
tremely improbable explanation of
Finch's reason for buying the re
volver which he shot Fisher with.
Adept artists in mendacity would
Have done a better piece of work than
this. It would have been far safer,
considering their abilities in fiction,
if Finch's lawyers had relied upon in
sanity. Evidently that was the first
Intention. Finch actually feigned for
some time after the murder that he
remembered nothing about It. His
mind was all a blank from the time
he bought the revolver till the officers
had him in handcuffs. Had he per
sisted in this invention and hired a
truly skillful band of lawyers and in
sanity experts to deploy It before the
jury, there is no telling what might
have happened. Finch might have
been cleared and a new precedent set
in the Idiotic annals of American
criminal procedure. Is it not a pity
that Finch's original idea of his de
fense was dropped and the silly fig
ment of an assault by Fisher substi
tuted for it?
It looks a little ominous that
Finch's lawyers should so openly have
taken the Ruef array for their
models. The unavoidable conclusion
from it is that the nefarious arts of
Ach and his colleagues are now to be
repeated: according to the-ability of
counsel. In every criminal trial in the
land. There are to be endless delays
in selecting jurymen, everlasting
wrangles over evidence, even the
judge on the bench is to be deluged
with billingsgate and opposing wit
nesses are to be spirited away. It is
interesting to speculate where those
lawyers who are willing to drop every
vestige of decency and conscience
when they go into court will fix the
limit of their efforts for their clients.
Of course an accused man ought to
have every advantage which he can
derive from a fair statement of his
case, from all the evidence he can
muster, from the watchful vigilance
of counsel and from a reasonable ap
peal to the Jury's heart. This we all
concede. But there, it truly seems,
the lawyers' labors for the man on
trial ought to come to an end. They
ought not to feel obliged to advise
him to perjure himself, nor Is it their
duty to Invent fictitious defenses for
him. But if they must invent, let
them In all conscience inject some lit
tle semblance of verisimilitude into
their figments.
To an unprejudiced outsider there
Is not the slightest doubt of Finch's
guilt. Beyond all question he com
mitted a murder for which he richly
deserves hanging. But granting that,
it also looks to the outsider as if his
defense had been badly planned and
inartistlcally conducted. It really ap
pears ns If imitation of Ruefs lawyers
mi e iiul to bs the winning play iu J
future criminal trials. Perhaps our
next murder case may show that the
lawyers themselves are of this optn
Ion. LOOK FOR THE 1909 ANNUAL.
It has been for many years the cus
tom of . The Oregonian to Issue an
Annual number on each New Year's
day. It has been uniformly a record
of. progress. No important interest
or Industry has been neglected. It
has been the purpose always to pre
sent to the world the story of Port
land and Oregon in its most favorable
light. Thousands of copies are every
year distributed throughout the
United States and in foreign coun
tries, so that the Annual has become
probably the best-known and the
most important medium through
which information as to this great
country and its people is spread
abroad.
Formerly the Annual was largely
made up of articles on various topics
about Oregon; but. with the perfec
tion of newspaper illustration, pic
tures have come to dominate the edi
tion. Now The Oregonian, which re
produces photographs and drawings
as well as any newspaper anywhere,
and better than most, is about to send
out an Annual that in that respect
greatly excels any previous number.
The text, too, is various, intelligent,
timely, very readable and highly in
structive, the Annual being largely
edited by a number of writers who
are well known throughout Oregon
and who have been successful in their
several lines of endeavor, and there
fore know what they are writing
about.
The Oregonian commends the An
nual for 1909, to be issued tomor
row, to the public, with entire
confidence that it will contain no dis
appointments, but will Indeed be far
above the mark of any previous
Annual.
VAIN QUESTIONS.
The Oregonian prints today a letter
from Albee, Or., which, is typical of
many others. The writer of it, S. S.
Smith, is evidently a schoolboy who
has an essay to write or a debate to
prepare for, and instead of seeking
the information he needs in books of
reference he writes to The Oregonian.
Questions of wide interest or whose
answers are difficult to obtain The
Oregonian gladly receives and spares
no pains to print correct replies to
them, but young Smith's questions are
neither Interesting nor difficult. The
answers to them, so far as they have
definite answers, can be found in doz
ens of referenoe books, and schoolboys
should be trained to look them up
for themselves.
Some of young Smith's questions
can be answered in as many different
ways as there are different persons in
the world, and one way is Just as cor
rect as another. To one man the
most "important event" of the past
year may have been his marriage, to
another the election of Mr. Taft. It
all depends. Our schoolboy friend
asks for eight "most important"
events all together. Most important
to whom? If he means the events
which will be remembered a thousand
years from now, we do not know what
they are. Perhaps one of them was
the birth tt some babe In a working
man's cottage.
IRK WARNING OF LORD ROBERTS.
Napoleon could not invade Eng
land, because he could not command
the sea. Steam was unknown at that
time, else he would have been able
to invade England. He could have
detained the great war fleet of Eng
land at one point, while throwing his
men by transports across the English
Channel at another. Steam power,
in the hands of such a man, at such
a time, would have changed the face
of the world.
But conditions have so changed
since that day that Lord Roberts has
produced consternation in his coun
try by the declaration that England
might now be Invaded, because the
sea Is no" longer securely hers, and
her principal war fleet might be de
tained at one point by a force able to
match it, while a great army might be
passed over into England, at some
other point; and England has no land
force able to resist such invasion.
The result of the argument i3 that
England requires a large standing
army, as well as a great fleet.
The statement has produced a sen
sation in England. It discloses a con
dition or situation undoubtedly true.
The London Times pays that Lord
Roberts has "issued to his country
men a grave and reasoned warning
of the perils they incur by their un
preparedness to resist invasion." All
the forces that might be summoned
on English soil would be unable to
make a stand against 200,000 men
from Germany or France, under per
fect discipline as an army. Napoleon
knew it well, and it was this knowl
edge that led him to the plan of the
Invasion of England. But he could
not command the sea; vessels then,
without steam, could not move with
celerity and certainty; " he could not
detain the main war fleet of England
in one locality, while he was passing
his troops over In a single night by
transports at another. But this un
doubtedly might be done now, by any
power- that was relatively equal to
that which Napoleon possessed a cen
tury ago.
It should not have required the
statement of Lord Roberts to show
to Englishmen the real danger of the
present and the future time. But
there are only a few who are observ
ant and reflective, who have grasp
of the past, through historic time, and
of the possibilities of the future,
through changes constantly in .prog
ress by introduction of new forces
and their use. Yet It is certain that
England now is In greater danger of
invasion than she ever has been since
the Norman conquest. The only sure
protection will be a large and per
fectly disciplined army, equal to any
that might be landed by an enemy.
Such army can, of course, be provided
only by the methods of conscription
employed on the continent of Europe.
To assume that England never again
will have any powerful continental
enemy would be short-sighted indeed.
A disciplined army of two hundred
thousand men, landed in England,
could not be opposed without an
army equal In discipline and num
bers; and a Napoleon would be able
to engage and detain the naval power
of England, till from another point
he could land such a force In a single
day and' night. Lord Roberts did not
mistake. The conditions are no longer
what they were a century ago. 1
Great Britain has not relied on the
good will -of .her neighbors hitherto-
She cannot rely on it hereafter. It
will be necessary for her to have an
army for defense, as well as a navy.
The speech of Lord Roberts, in the
House of Lords, is the first note of a
policy that Qfeat Britain certainly
will find it necessary to adopt. Per
haps not very soon; but it is inevit
able. Yet it might be postponed till
too ' late to save the country from
conquest.
The Mayor appears to believe that
the Portland General Electric can be
forced to supply light for the city,
without a contract, from month to
month, till the city can work up some
scheme to compete with it orto shut
it out. But the Portland 'General
wants a time contract, so it may have
assurance of something to go on, for
improvements and extensions; and it
objects to being used as an instrument
for breaking itself down. This, sim
ply stated. Is the present issue as to
public lighting. Meantime, the ques
tion is, what is a fair price for the
light? That should be granted and
paid; and one thing Is certain,
namely, that a city light plant never
can supply light at as low a rate as
contractors can and will. The whole
city and county government, under
public direction, costs . more than
twice as much as an equal amount of
business costs, or would cost, In pri
vate hands. But then we have that
imaginary thing we call self-government.
For support of this fiction the
people submit to miserable service
and prodigious extortion.
The holiday weakness predicted for
the Chicago wheat market has utterly
failed to materialize, and the old year
drifts out today with the May option
well above $1.08 per bushel, while il
is bid for wheat for delivery next
July. Meanwhile corn and oats are
holding their own and selling at the
highest prices that have been reached
In years. The speculative deal of Mr.
Patton is credited with responsibility
for much of the strength in these
markets, but, whatever the cause may
be, there is no questioning the fact
that the producer can market his re
maining stocks of wheat, corn and
oats at prices far above the average
of recent years. For this reason,
much as the honest farmer may dep
recate the principle of corners, he will
hardly fail to approve of the one
which Mr. Patton seems to be work
ing up to such a successful climax.
Chicago is not the only point In the
country where dollar wheat is in evi
dence, for an entire cargo was cleared
at this valuation in Portland yester
day. It is but natural that so many of
our American cities should endeavor
by all possible means to escape the
evils which are thrust on them by the
chair-warming brigades which clutter
up the salary rolls with their names
and the public offices with their un
needed presence. Municipal owner
ship, however, might increase instead
of decreasing the burden. Different
cities throughout the country have
tried different branches of the work,
and the results are far from satisfac
tory. After a ten years' trial, Boston
is about to abandon its municipal
printing plant,"the city having squan
dered in that decade about J 1,000,000
in doing its own printing. The plant
is now in charge of a competent man,
but he recommends its sale and that
the work be done by contract. This
expert declines to stay permanently
for the reason that the office Is drift
ing back into the hands of the poli
ticians and will be run In the inter
est of themselves and their friends.
Tho French court has denied the
petition of Count Boni de Castellan
that the custody of his three sons be
given to his mother, and by the de
cision the children will remain in the
custody of their mother. There are
plenty of instances where indescriba
bly vile sons have had the best of
mothers, and the case of the unfortu
nate mother of Count Boni may be
one of these. For all that, the French
court did not seem to deem it advisa
ble that the innocent children should
remain in the custody of a family
which had been so thoroughly dis
graced by the acts of one of its mem
bers. The court, however, must have
been sore perplexed over its inability
to take the children out of the cus
tody of either of their unspeakably in
decent parents.
The moderately warm dispute be
tween the city police and the Sheriff's
office as to which had the genuine
trainrobbers may be considered set
tled. The men captured by Sheriff
Stevens and his deputies have plead
ed guilty and have been sentenced to
the Penitentiary for long terms. It
is not yet two weeks since Burke and
Hayes, with a third man, held up the
O. R. & N. train, and their capture.
securing the evidence and speedy con
viction is a piece of work that is high
ly creditable to Sheriff Stevens and
his deputies.
It is reported from Washington, and
it Is generally believed there, that
President Roosevelt In his answer to
the House of Representatives for a
statement of the grounds on which
he based his intimation that members
of Congress feared investigation by
the men of the secret service, will em
body a statement of the work of Chief
John E. Wilkie's force, and an ar
gument in support and defense of it.
This would make "mighty interestln'
readin'."
No one asks the execution of the
law upon a murderer for revenge. No
one "wants his blood." But protec
tion of the members of a community
against murderers is possible only by
enforcement of the law against mur
der. There Is Justice, too; but it is
not vengeance.
Of course, if it had been unlawful
for Mr. Dunbar to collect fees, as
Secretary of State, It would also have
been unlawful for members of the
Oregon Supreme Court to collect more
than their constitutional salaries.
That would have been the height of
absurdity.
But The Oregonian is really sorry
that Charles P. Taft persists in being
a candidate for the Senate. In that
bodv he would only embarrass his
brother, the President. Every one can
see how and why.
The "insanity" dodge was omitted
m the Finch trial. It would not do
for anybody connected with the crazy
Finch defense to make insanity ad
missions. The office of District Attorney and
the compensations thereof "looked
good" to Mr. Cameron when he was
running for the office.
The New Year is considerably be
hind this Spring weather.
Now. -to the- wter -wagon.
OREGON MUST ACT AS ONE MAN.
Onlr Hope of Getting; a Riven and Hr
bora Bill Through Tula Stanton.
PORTLAND, Deo. 30. (To the Edi
tor.) From the best information I can
get, I learn the passage of a rivers
and harbors bill at this session of
Congress Is very doubtful unless the
people of the country generally make
their wishes known so effectively that
Congress will be compelled. In defer
ence to public opinion, to pass this
measure. This matter is a serious one
for this state and the entire Northwest,
and the people generally must Interest
themselves In the subject.
Unless there Is a rivers and harbors
bill passed at this session of Congress,
all the work now In progress in this
state and in Washington and In Idaho
and throughout the country will cease
for lack of funds before the next reg
ular session of Congress. What this
means In addition to the cost of the
work, besides the loss attendant on the
delay, destruction by the elements, and
the disorganization and disbanding of
plant and forces. Is understood by
everyone and is a condition which the
people of this country should not sub
mit to. With the stoppage of all work
now under way, surveying or adopt
ing new projects will also be neces
sarily postponed. It is practically out
of the question for any one project to
be made the subject of a particular
bill and receive any recognition.
liance. With the failure of Congress
to act mis session we wui n&vc ,
verted to a triennial river and harbo
Kill Inntaol tf on nnnllfll bill and O II
of the greatest and most Important
f .,... 1 o.,Vi4oot3 will rpceivft at-
UUVCMllliciuai .. Li.'j-.- .. -
tention only when everything else, big
- - .... . . ,1 A..A
or little, is provided ior. n, ineieix.o
the people of this state feel that th
i.n..ronnii nf their harbors and ol
their rivers Is of importance and that
the work should continue, men cvc.j.
one that is interested in the matte
should write to the Senators and Con
gressmen from this state and Insist
- thi. aiatp Is concerned, upoi
the passage of a rivers and harbors
The duty of calling the attention of
our representatives at w nom..s .. -
our condition ana to our u--;. -.
j.niA nnnn nnv one man
but every commercial body In this state
and every individual should make his
wisnes Known.
I therefore trust that this appeal will
meet with a ready response, ana ii"
the people generally wui
If every other state in the Union in
. - . i h.rhrtr lmnrove-
teresLea in riveto
ments would do likewise, there would
be no question but that there would
be a rivers and narDors um -v..
J tv,a ohnrt session Of COIl
gress and will adjourn March 4, and
j n.. will not be to ex-
at tne ouwiuo . - - - -
ceed 60 days within which to prepare
and pass a bill tnrougn oulu
the necessity for immealate action is
. A H . T)EVJnjJtt&
One of the Directors of National Rivers
and Harbors congress 101 n.
Coast.
WORDS OF CAUTION.
Which Are Juat as Good for Portland
aa tor Any Other City
Opposing the scheme of public owner-
ohin onH nneration 01 municipal ugni
i nrnnnsi in Its city, the Tacoma
Ledger offers these remarks, which
might be commended to Mayor uina
and his followers in poruana n
Vi a a n n v "
City-owned -water plants fail much lea
tho reason that the machiner of a water
plant is less compic -in
manaftement. In the case
p ant a city nas me " -- --
trlDUtlOD. t uici - - " ,
erated. Gravity or artificial pressure came
tricitv must ue buk w v.-- -Inventions
machinery Is likely to become out
of date in a iew -
la required if a plant is to keep step with
ES. a H.h. ?lant orn and e.c lent The
condemned tor Inefficiency. The Itician
have interfered to find posltlone for their
lieutenants. The city sutlers the conse-
,UWhln' the butrlness of a city-owned plant
goes wrong, who shall be blamed? The
city? There is not much comfort to be had
In blaming- the city of wtilch you are a cltl
ren The superintendent may reply, in
SSwer to complaints, that the city ha.
failed to provide sufficient money to main
tain the plant In good condition and has
failed to appropriate for new equipment at
the generatlne plant 'hat wouM wve in thj
coirt of maklnK electricity. The blame is
shifted from one place to another. After
all It rests upoa the shoulders of the gen
eral public A, the National Civic Federa
tion report observes, a high capacity -for
lf-(tovenimet Is required! to make public
operation a succesB.
There have been many failure.
owned electric light plants. Can Tacoma
operate a plaat for generating lrlclty
more successfully than the average Amerl-
CertaLily It does appear unwise tor Uis
oltv. without a fuller understaading In the
mlnda of the people to venture Into an en
teral. Involving an investment ot2.0MX
a year. A man of ordinary dlscreUon and
business Judgment. If he 1. oni. figure
out to a reasonable -rUlnty 'J.
going to pay it oac nt, ' Ta-
money to make an 'mproveiMnt The Ta
ooma Council appears to be trusting larKf'y
SV for the member, are sadly deficient
In Information aooui ";"-- ini mt
workings of the proposed plan, Andust
SS is ortfienrtderatlon of voters
The average LouncmiKui ,r , in
about handling public money than he Is
about nanainiR "
Llaroln the Ideal Great Heart.
From a Chicago Special
. tt . v, .a annp&ra in the
ijreat xxeo.ii, ,
second part of John Burryan i Pil
grim's Progress." is President Roose
velt's favorite character in allegorical
literature. "Pilgrim's Progress Itself.
,j ndiriora one of the
. .. rtttin. and Abra-
greatest douo " ,
ham Lincoln he deems the Ideal "Great
Heart" of public life. The President
. .... n tho Tlev. Duncan C.
says in a lt: 1 1 1 , ,
Mllner, a retired P-esbyterlan minister
written in repiy m -
. . . ....ifiA.iinn nf words on the
oa It ID St lUi v c i--i---'
same subject attributed to Mr. Roose
velt.
The presidents letter follows:
no . riu. r u, Mllner: Yes.
NOV. OV. J -
you are entirely right. But I had no Idea
that wnfti x bhib oa ky o
Heart U my favorite character In allegory.
. . . ... nnnt-M..- a. tirsJirh of fiction.
i: Tou say). JUST Bunyan'. "Pngrlm's
Progress" Is to my mind one of the great-
. , -nraa written: And I
think that Abraham Lincoln Is- the Ideal
Great Heart X'r x
Keeping W ithin the Limit.
Harper's Weekly.
Mr.. Just wed Oh. dear, dear! Mary,
sini'p vou've been here only one month
you've broken more china than your
wages amount to. How on earth are
we to prevent this sort of thing?
Mary Well, mum, I molght have me
wages raised
Emotions Aroused br Chancellor Day.
Washington Herald.
The Rochester Herald admits that
Chancellor Day may have a look-in on
Washington after the African hunting
trip is well under way, but not before.
ThB engenders within our hearts emo
tions entirely defying analysis,
One Regretful Phase of a Loss.
Washington Post.
Wall street will not be sorry to see
Thomas F. Ryan retire from business,
but it will be mighty sorry to see him
carrying away $50,000,000 of real
money.
Hot New. to Spain.
Washington Post.
Ko, the Spanish newspapers didn't
Issue extras when they heard the United
States had risen to be the second naval
power in the world. It was not news.
SCYLLA AND
Southern Italy, the Scene ot the
Always from the beginning of human
history, and ages before the present
records of human history began, the
southern part of Italy has been known,
through song and story, as subject to
terror, and cataclysmic disasters. On
the opposite sides of the Strait of
Messina were dreaded Scylla and
Charybdis. There was no conception
of the order of nature: everything
wind, volcano, violence of sea and
earthquake was supposed to depend on
the will of the gods one or another.
Odysseus (Ulysses), striving to lead his
companions home after the capture of
Troy, had passed through immeasure
able dangers and was approaching the
dreaded place between Trlnacria and
Calabria. The Ooddess Circe, over
whose magic Odysseus had prevailed,
and from which he had delivered his
companions, had given him warning
against the dangers of Scylla and
Charybdis. The verses that follow are
from the Twelfth Book of Homer's
Odyssey; translation by William Cowper:
CIRCK'S WARNING TO ODYSSEUS.
Here vaulted rocks Impend, for ever dash'd
By the hoarse billows of the azure Deep;
The blessed Gods those rocks. Erratic, call.
Not even birds can pass them; not the
birds
Themselves which his ambrosia bear to
- Jove,
But even of those doves the sllpp'ry rock
Proves fatal still to one, for which the God
Supplies another, lest the number fall.
Ship never yet, arriving there, escaped.
But planks and mariner, are whelm'd at
once.
Or, caught by fiery tempests, swept away.
The Argo only from the Colchlan shore
Pass'd safely, further'd by the vows of all;
And even her perhaps, rude winds had
drlv'n
Against those bulky rocks, but Juno's aid
Vouchsafed to Jason sent her safe along.
These rocks are two; one lifts his summit
.harp
High as the spacfan. heaVns, In dusky
clouds
Enveloped, which nor Autumn sees dls-
pers'd
Nor Summer, for the sun shines never
there;
No mortal man, with twice ten feet sup
plied.
And were his hands a. num'rous, might
attain
It tow'ring head, or to its base descend,
For .moothness such, it shows, as if by
skill
Of some nice artist pollsh'd all around.
Full In the center of its western side,
Turn'd toward Erebus, a cavern yawns
Gloomy and deep; beneath it ye shall steer
Ulysses, glorious Chief! your flying bark.
No youth could send an arrow from on
board
High as Us horrid mouth. There Scylla
dwells,
And like a wild-beast's whelp of late re
nounced By its fierce dam, with hungry whining.
fills
Her deep recess, a monster to be viewd
With terrour even by the God. themselves.
Her feet are twelve, all fore-feet; six her
necks
Of hideous length, each clubb'd into a head
Terrlflck, arm'd with fangs in triple row.
Thick-planted, and with carnage flll'd be
tween. Plunged to her middle In the hollow den
She lurks, protruding from the black abyss
Her heads, with which the rav'nlng monster
dives
In quest of dolphins, dog-fish, or of prey
More bulky, such as in the roaring gulph.
Of Amphltrlte without end abounds.
None ever boasted yet that he had pass'd
Her cavern safely, for with ev'ry mouth
She bear, upcaught a mariner away.
The other rock, Ulysses, thou shalt find
Humbler, a bow-shot only from the first;
On this a wild fig grows broad-leav'd, and
here
Charybdis dire ingulphs the sable flood.
Each day she thrice disgorges, and again
Thrice drinks. Insatiable, the deluge down.
Ah, fear her Then! for should thy bark
approach
What time she drinks the billows, not the
pow'r
Of Neptune's self could rescue thee and
thine.
Steer, therefore, close to Scylla, and thy
bark
Urge swiftly on, since loss of six alone
Is better far than shipwreck made of alL
SECOND PART.
They had passed the Sirens safely
and had come to the terrible passage
between the vaulted rocks.
For here stood Scylla, while Charybdis
there .
With hoars throat deep abaorb'd the briny
flood.
Oft as she vomited the deluge forth.
Like water cauldron'd o'er a furious fire '
The whirling Deep all jnurmur'd, and the
spray
VOLTAIRE'S SERVICE TO JItXKID.
The Great Agitator Burned Ip Much
Rubbish In Need ot Removal.
MILTON, Or., Dec. 29. (To the Ed
itor.) A recent contribution to The
Oregonian about the bad done by
Voltaire has raised the question in
the mind of the undersigned, what good
did Voltaire accomplish? I am sure the
world Is the better for his having lived
and written. It is well to judge Vol
taire by the conditions which confront
ed him, and which conditions exasper
ated him into a voice sometimes speak
ing wrong things, but often uttering
truths to regenerate the society of
modern Europe. The church was
against the progressive tendencies of
society, and the rule of Louis XIV was
absolute, as was the sway of the
church. The victims of sore oppression
Voltaire saw and pitied, and if he de
famed Joan of Arc, he sprung to the
defense of the family of Calas. To
counteract the work of a stationary
church, superstition, intolerance and
absolutism of kingly rule Voltaire went
too far, and became the victim of his
own prejudice and shortsightedness, but
he burned up much rubbish in need of
removal.
As long as fanatics and hypocrites
abound God has some work for the
Voltalres. the Paines and the Inger-1
soils. The infidel whips the back of
the bigot. TT Voltaire was willing to
become a black crow to light upon un
burled carcasses, I do not object, so
far as that kind of service is con
cerned. Voltaire stood for toleration
and liberty, and Franklin, easily the
first all-round citizen of early America,
begged Voltaire to put his hand of
blessing upon the head of his grandson.
France today is a republic, and we
ought to keep In mind that Voltaire,
while making France acquainted with
Shakespeare, whose name was un
known by her most intelligent citliens,
he did a greater work in Introducing
France to Magna Charta and to tolera
tion he witnessed In England. Voltaire
helped to light the fires of the French
Revolution that have burned out old
tyrannies, not only In France, but in
every nation of Europe.
As a writer he was on his way
somewhere, and his prose stands for
clearness and quickness, qualities
which have lifted the prose of France
to a higher level than that of Eng
land. A highly-prized book In my hum
CHARYBDIS
Recent FHsrhtfuI Earthquake..
On both those rocky summits fell In
show'rs.
But when she suck'd the sslt wave down
again.
Then, all the pool appear'd wheeling about
Within, the rock rebellow'd, and the sea
Drawn off Into that gulph disclosed to view
The oory bottom. Us pale horror seixed.
Thus, dreading death, with fast-set eyes w
watch'd
Charybdis; meantime, Scylla from the bark
Caught six away, the bravest of my friends;
And as I watching stood the galley's course
And then within, uplifted high In air
Their legs and arms I saw. My name aloud
Pronouncing In their agony,. they went.
My name, and never to pronounce it more.
As when from some bold point among the
rocks
The angler, with his taper rod In hsnd.
Casts forth hie bait to snare the smaller fry.
He swings away remote his guarded line.
Then Jerks aground at once the struggling
prey.
So Scylla raised them struggling to the
TOCk,
And at her cavern'a mouth devour'd them
all.
Shrieking and stretching forth to me their
arms
In sign of hopeless mls'ry- Ne'er beheld
These eyes in all the seas that I have
roam'd,
A sight so piteous, nor in all my tolls.
THIRD PART.
With loss of six the hero passed
through, and soon landed on Trlnacria,
the island where grazed the sacred cat
tle of the Sun, which Odysseus had
been warned not to let his people
touch; but he. falling asleep, and they,
at the point of perishing for food, dis
obeyed the injunction and feasted on
the sacred oxen. Horrified when he
awoke, he got his people on board and
set sail as son as possible; and this Is
what happened:
The Island left afar, end other land
Appearing none, but sky .lone and sea.
Right o'er the hollow bark. Saturnian Jove
A blue cloud statlon'd, dark'nlng all the
Deep.
Not long my vessel ran, for, blowing wild.
Now came shrtll Zephyrus; a stormy gust
Bnapp'd sheer the shrouds on both sides;
backward fell
The mast, and with loose tackle strew'd the
hold ;
Striking the pilot In the stern, it crush'd
His scull together; he a diver's plunge
Made downward, and his noble spirit fled.
Then Jove, still thund'rlng, hurl'd Into the
ship
His candent bolts; she, qaakfng aTl het
length.
With sulphur reek'd, and o'er her .hatter'd
sides
My people, plunging, on the bolst'rous
waves
Like sea-mews rode, forbidden by that
stroke
Of wrath divine to hope their country more.
But I, the vessel still paced to and fro,
Till sever'd by the storm her planks and
ribs
Forsook the keel now left to float alone.
Snapp'd where it Joln'd the keel Uie mast
had fall'n.
But fell encircled with a leathern brace.
Which It retain'd; binding with this the
mast
And keel together, on them both I sat,
Borne helpless onward by the dreadful gale.
And now the West subsided, and the South
Arose Instead, with mls'ry charged for me.
That I might measure back my course
again
To dire Charybdis. All night long I drove.
And when the sun arose, at Scylla's roi-k
Once more, and at Charybdis' gulph arrived.
It was the fearful time when she alisorb'd
The briny flood, but by a wave upborne
I seized the branches ot the wild-tig fast,
To which, bat-like, I clung; yet where to
tlx
My foot secure found not, or where to
ascend.
For distant lay the roots, and distant shot
The largest arms erect into the air,
O'ershadowing all Charybdis; therefore hard
I clench'd the boughs, till she dlsgorg'd
again
Both keel and mast. Not undeslred by me
They came, though late; for at what hour
the Judge,
After decision made of num'rous strife.
Between young candidates for honour,
leaves
Ths forum for refreshment's sake at home.
Then was it that the mast and keel
emerged.
Deliver'd to a voluntary fall.
Fast by those beams I dash'd Into the flood.
And seated on them both, with oary palm
Impell'd them: nor the Sire of Gods and
men
Permitted Scylla to discern me more.
Else, In that moment, had I surely died.
Nine days I floated, and the Gods, at
length.
On the tenth night, the beams which I be
strode Drove to Ogygia, where the beauteous
Nymph
Calypso dwells; .he pitied and supplied .
My iw-ant of all things. But let this suffice.
Whate'er ensued, thy royal spouse and thou
Learn'd yesterday; and, to rehearse a tale
So lately told, were wearisome and vain.
ble collection of books is Voltaire's
"History of Charles XII, King of
Sweden," and along with that classic
we may' put his "The Asre of Louis
XIV," and the "Ewsay on Manners." Let
me give the readers of The Oregonian
a few of Voltaire's sentences:
"It is to him who masters our minds
by the force of truth, not those who
enslave men by violence; It Is to him
who understands the universe, not
those who disfigure It, that we owe our
reverence."
"All nature is nothing but mathe
matics." "Most men die without having lived."
"Controversy never convinced any
man; men can be influenced by making
them think for themselves, by seeming
to doubt with them, by leading them
as if by the hand, without their per
ceiving 't."
"Miracles are good; but to relieve a
brother, to draw a friend from the
depths of misery, to pardon the virtues
of our enemies these aro greater mir
acles." B. J. HOADLEY.
'A Difference In Decree.
Everybody's Magazine.
"1 Just love cak-i." said Johnnie, feel
ingly. "I''s awful nice."
"You should not say Move' cake, cor
rected his mother. "You should say
'like." And do not say 'awful' say
'very. And say 'good' instead of 'nice.'
Now see if you can repeat the sentence
correctly."
"I like cake," repeated Johnnie. "It's
very good."
"That's better."
"t know, ma," complained Johnnie,
"but it sounds Just as if I was talkin'
'bout bread."
Reins; a Letter Answered Elsewhere.
ALBEE, Or., Dec. 2S.-(To the Editor.)
Please answer the following questions:
Name Ave of tl.e most Important
events that have happened during Roose
velt's administration. (2) Three of the
most Important events during the past
year. (3) Give the name, of the members
of President's Cabinet. (1) Names of
the principal cities in Oregon.
a S. SMITH.
Why Should He Exchanger
Hartford Times.
It isn't easy to understand why
Charles P. Taft should wish to ex
change a powerful editorship for a
mere Senatorshlp.