THE MORM.NO OREfiOXLU THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21. 1911.
10
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'oolas K.t Ii to 1 p... 1 cent: 1
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IRIXAND. TKVK8DAT. DEC 11. MIL
aiocKAcrs oe ix the pork
BARREL.
The Democratic majority in the
iuse has already given evidence that
appetite has more Influence than
pledges, and the committees are
reparing to pile up more evidence.
the greed for appropriations and
t the votes which they are expected
swing the Democrats have already
rgotten the pledges of economy
llch they made only a year ago.
stir raids on the Treasury, If
liccessful. will swell the Government
Itpenses In the next fiscal year to a
im larger than they ever reached In
me of peace. If all the schemes al-
lcJy propounded go through and the
Democrats develop a "growing appe-
as the session passes, they will
use a deficit of over 1100.000,000 in
be fiscal year 1913.
Already Democratic rapacity for
otes has caused the passage in the
I louse of the Sherwood pension bill.
Ithtrh would expend $75,000,000 In the
ffort to win the votes of the average
1 2000 old soldiers and their depend-
r ts In each Congressional district
'he committee on public buildings has
list voted to report an omnibus bulld
og bill, which its chairman hopes to
mid down to $20,000,000, but which Is
I nnre likely to be expanded to $40.-
00.000 when it reaches the House.
The Secretary of the Treasury recom-
nenrls an appropriation of 123.000.-
'0 tor rivers and harbors, which sum
he hungry Democrats will perhaps
louble with demands from every dls-
'rkt which has a creek capable of
rjj.iting a flatboat.
Democracy already has Its nose In
the pork barrel and is deaf to the ap
peals of Underwood not to disgust the
rtuntry by Its greed. That leader,
moved by fear that his party will
waste the first opportunity In sixteen
years to win the Presidency, voted
asuinst the Sherwood pension bill and
appealed to the buildings committee
sgainst the building grab. But the
pension hill went through with a rush
and the committee voted to report an
omnibus building bill. Underwood's
only hope now is to Induce a Demo
cratic caucus to forbid the Introduc
tion of the latter bill, but he admits
that he will have the fight of his life.
I Political motives largely animate
the Democrats In their present course
an in the passage of the tariff bills at
the extra session. They fully expect
President Taft to veto the Sherwood
pension bill and the building bill. He
warned the Republican leaders In the
last Congress that he would veto any
Mil h measure which came to him In
future. The Democrats calculate that.
If the President should sign the pork
burrel bills, they will get the pork ana
tt will share the odium. If he should
vt to the bills, they expect to save their
record for economy on the face of the
returns and to save the votes of their
rreedy constituents also, while the
President will alienate the soldier vote
and the vote of the small towns which
are must eager for public buildings.
That the President will not hesitate
if veto the bills, regardless of the con
srquencesj to his own political for
tunes there can be small doubt. He
has already Intimated, though not In
specific words, that he would rather
b- right than win a second term. He
has shown by previous vetoes that he
places the performance of his duty
above the gratification of his ambition
and that he has the courage to act
upcn his convictions. The probabili
ties are that, by vetoing the pork-barrel
bills, he will win the approval of
fsr more than enough people to offset
thewe whose greed for pensions and
buildings he will have disappointed.
- The .oernor and his rRiTira.
i The Oregonian is said to be "hound,
log West." The accusation comes
from a bushwhacking partisan of the
Governor, a newspaper that has made
a practice of pursuing relentlessly and
with vindictive hatred public men like
Svnator Fulton and Acting-Governor
Uowerman and other Republicans for
the heinous offense of belonging to
the "old guard."
Governor West is a soft-hearted,
well-intentioned young man who has
happened through exceptional condi
tions to be elevated to the Governor's
chair. He has got Into trouble through
!'. egregious meddling with stable
methods of government and boyish
experimentation with the powers and
privileges of his high office. He takes
a snapshot Judgment of every question
or problem that comes before him and
formulates over night grave state poli
cies. He has an entirely original gen.
lus for getting In hot water by saying
foolish things and doing other things
equally absurd. He vetoes legislative
bills w holesale.-most of them worth)-,
because It suits his whim or because
their authors are his enemies, takes a
great group of grinning convicts under
lus wing, stages a murderer's reprieve
at the state prison In the most theatri
cal fashion, aboltsfrea the death sen
tence, and otherwise disports himself
la a manner to surprise and startle
the public. The Governor Is subjected
to a constant fire of criticism because
he provokes criticism by his spectacu
lar progress from one freakish and
Juvenile executive performance to an
other. That Is ail.
Let Governor West, who aspires to
mul.tte" the example of Abraham
Lincoln, as he says, be reminded that
the Great Emancipator freed slaves,
not convicts. He never acted In haste,
spoke unjustly or in anger, bore mal
ice, punished personal enemies, broke
faith with friend or foe. spurned coun.
sef. despised precept, contemned ex
perlecce, set aside the law, usurped '
the function of the Legislature, or
evaded responsibility for his own
deliberate arts.
rOHMIfSIONER WALDO'S M1STAKE-
In maintaining: that no greater pre
caution should be taken for the safety
of the President of the United States
than for that of the Mayor of New
York City. Police Commissioner Waldo
shows lack of the sense of proportion.
He may have Intended only to flatter
the Mayor by placing: him on an equal
Ity with the President. That he Is
mistaken is evident from a consldera -
tlon of the consequences of the death
or injury of the one official as com-
pared with the other
Much as all well-disposed citizens
would regret the death of Mayor Gay-
nor, such an event would anect tne
Interests only of New Tork City, which I
la after all but a part of the United I
States, though it may Imagine that it
Is "the whole thing" surrounded by a ! prove of the Government's suit to dis
large area of "hinterland." The death I solve the plumbing supply trust There
of President Taft would have vital 1 is no more Indefensible combination
consequences for the whole nation, ' than that ring of allied monopolies
one of the most regrettable of which
would be that James Schoolcraft Sher-
man would become President. It
would vitally affect the question who
should be the next President. It might
be compared to a wave In the ocean,
which never ceases until it beats on
shores thousands of miles apart. The
death of Gaynor would resemble noth.
lng greater than the swell of a steamer
on a good-sized lake.
Mr. Waldo should make a tour of
the United States, get acquainted with
his own country and revise his opinion
of the Importance of New York City
In relation to the whole republic.
DEGENERATES NOT ACCOOTABLEf
"To hold that a man who would
entice a child Into some secluded spot
for the purpose of lust and murder Is
In possession of normal and respon
sible mental equipment Is untenable,
says a correspondent in The Oregonian
today.
"Yes, It Is untenable to hold that he
Is a normal being. Yet degenerates,
as a. rule, are responsible. That is.
they are responsible to the extent of
realizing the enormity of their mis
deeds, the necessity for concealing
them and the consequences that will
fall on them If they are caught. If
the degenerate did not possess this
much of moral consciousness he would
not "entice a child Into some secluded
spot.!' He would attack In the open,
wherever he found his victim, as do
the bolder of wild beasts.
The details of the crime almost In
variably measure the accountability of
the criminal. It ts not only right, it
Is wise to hang such a degenerate as
the Holzman murderer. '
IF WE AIX DEMANDED COIN.
What would be the consequences If
every person receiving payment for
property sold were to insist on pay
ment In gold and were to count It, giv
ing no heed to the certificate of the
Treasury Department as to the con
tents of a bag of money? So much
time would be consumed In counting
money by bank tellers. In counting it
again by the recipient. In counting It
again every time the recipient pafrl
out a part of It. that banks would be
compelled to double or treble their
forces, the amount of business trans
acted by each firm and Individual
would be reduced and business would
be revolutionized. People would be
continually going to and fro with
bags containing large sums In gold
and silver. They would find It neces
sary to carry arms and hire guards to
protect their treasure from robbers.
This question, suggested by the ac
tion of Mrs. Dubordleu In Los Angeles,
illustrates the extent to which paper
representing money credits has revo
lutionized business and Increased the
volume of trade. Compare the few
scratches of a pen by which a bank
teller transfers $100,000 from the ac
count of a customer to that of a cus
tomer of another bank with the labor
of counting and recounting that sum
In gold and transferring It- from one
bank to another. Consider the treas
ure trains which would be constantly
earning gold from one city to another
to settle balances between banks. Con
sider the Immense Increase in the cost
of doing business, due to employment
of additional men in counting and
transporting gold. Even then the
volume of business would shrink enor
mously, for the supply of gold coin is
not sufficient to carry through every
transaction. For every $20 gold coin
in existence hundreds of dollars
change hands every day in the form
of paper credits; checks, bank notes.
drafts, etc. The relation between de
mand and supply of coin would be en.
tlrely changed, gold would become rela
tively scarce and prices would soar
skyward. The friction due to contin
ual counting of money would cause
waste of gold and further diminish the
supply.
It would harm the whole country
if there were many Mrs. Dubordleu.
or the Monetary Commission would
be called upon to recommend far more
radical changes In our financial sys
tem than It has contemplated. 1
WOMEN IN JEWISH MTEKATTRK.
A writer in the annual number of
the Jewish Tribune, published Decern,
ber 15. gives anaccount of the esti
mate of woman in Hebrew literature
w hich may surprise some readers. He I
remarks that non-Jewish writers now
and then believe that "the Jewish law
dealt harshly with women. She was
the chattel of her father and later of
her husband. She had neither rights
upon her own person nor upon prop
erty." But this, says the writer in
the Tribune. Is a mistake. Hebrew
literature, both In the Bible and the
Talmud, "has always considered
woman the better half of humanity."
The 'ery creation of woman, he ar
gues Ingenuously, places her higher
than man, for Adam was made out of
gross raw material, while Eve Includ
ed nothing that had not been first re
fined by previous use in Adam him
self. This ought to be convincing of
itself, but many more facts are ad
duced to prove that Hebrew literature,
as well as the Jewish people, thought
highly of women and 'accorded them
a great deal of liberty.
For example, in religious work
women had the same rights as men.
From such Instances at that of Deb
orah we know that she could be a
prophetess. She could lead religious
choirs and even compose her own
songs for them. She might also com
pose prayers and recite them in public
services, as we learn from the Book
of Samuel. See I. Sam. 1:11. This
Was far In advance of Paul's advice.
Paul not only discouraged matrimony,
but he forbade wopien to speak in
church and ordered them to be sub
ject to their husbands In all things.
The Jewish opinion was that "he who
Is not married is unworthy of being
called a man and is always barred of
Joy. blessings and good." This doc
trine may not be so pleasing to ascet
icism as Paul's, but it is vastly more
sensible.
One regulation which our author
cites strikes us as particularly wise.
It Is enjoined upon a man seeking a
wife to study carefully the brothers of
his sweetheart. Evidently It Is sup-
. posed that the rough young men may
let re any a cat slip from the bag
which their more watchful' sister
would keep out of sight. Moreover,
J ..chlldren moit,v inherit the qualities
, of mother., brothers." Is this
, Tne artlcIa one of numerous
. interesting ones In a notable edition
I j .. v., ,...,
THE PLIMBIXO TRrST.
Every man in Portland who has had
I occasion to erect a building will ap
which controls everything connected
, with plumbing, from the manufacture
of washers to the wiping of Joints.
Manufacturer, Jobber, master plumber
and Journeyman are all In a conspiracy
to rob the home-builder and divide the
plunder. If the prosecuting officers o
Oregon had any conception of their
duty they would follow up the Govern
ment's suit against the supply trust by
bringing suits against the other mem
bers of the ring.
It may be pleaded in extenuation
that Oregon has no anti-monopoly law.
That may be, but President Taft's re
cent message made clear the fact that,
even had the Sherman law never been
passed, th,e oil and tobacco trusts could
have been dissolved under the common
law and that the Sherman law Is prac
tically only the common 4aw reduced
to the form of a statute. In fact, elm
liar combinations and monopolies had
been enjoined under the common law
long before the Sherman law was
thought of. It was well enough to re
duce this law to statutory form and
make It more positive. But in the ah
sence of an anti-trust law In Oregon,
the prosecuting offlcers already have
all the law they need. Let them add
to it a fair supply of honesty, ability
and energy and they can break up the
little trusts, which, as has been truly
said, are more oppressive than the big
ones.
DETECTIVES THEORETICAL AND PRAC
TICAL. Detective William J. Burns' brilliant
work in uncovering the mystery of the
McNamara dynamite conspiracy has
won him a good deal of praise and a
good deal of detraction. One cannot
expect persons who sympathize with
criminals to think highly of a man
who seems born to bring them to
punishment. On the other hand. It
stands to reason that everybody who
detests crime and its promoters will
Join in glorifying Mr. Burns. His de
tective work In the McNamara case
brought him more conspicuously be-
fore the public than anything else he
ever did, but it is not perhaps his most
difficult achievement. Those who have
followed the narratives of some of his
cases in' McClure's magazine, or who
otherwise knew his record, will re
member others fully as intricate and
some which were even more wonder
ful.
Burns Is not In any sense a literary
detective. His method Is to go to the
scene of a crime, listen to the' talk of
the people roundabout, observe the
circumstances and thus obtain some
sort of a clew. When he has once
found a clew, though it may be a faint
one, he follows It up resolutely to the
end. His superiority seems to con
slst mainly in the ability to Judge ac
curately of the worth of a given piece
of circumstantial evidence, or of some
careless bit of conversation. What a
man of Inferior gifts would pass by as
of no moment often leads Burns to
the goal he desires.
Burns is an opportunist pure and
simple. Unlike the detective of liter
ature, he does not preconceive a the
ory and then proceed to verify It. No
doubt he always has theories. No
great man ever does much without
them. But he keeps his theories well
under subjection and never permits
them to override the facts. The work
of the literary detective is deductive,
and for that reason it appears all the
more marvelous to the reader. He
seems to create a world In his own
mind and by the marvelous power of
his reason make it exactly reproduce
the unknown elements in the real
world. He charms the reader by prov
ing that the outer universe is really
logical through and through and that
anybody can manufacture it 'for him
self if his capacity to reason is strong
enough. Burns looks upon the world
as a tangle with threads running
through it. If he can get hold of one
of the ends he can feel his way along,
but he never tries to predict where
the thread will lead him. Or if he
does predict, it Is with many reserva
tions and Infinite caution. Burns is
scientific in his methods. The detec
tive of literature Is theoretical.
There Is no doubt that Burns is a
man of genius. When we compare
what he does habitually with the fail
ures of the ordinary detective we ob
tain a measure of his ability. Out of
every hundred crimes committed In
the. United States It Is said by good
Judges that some ninety-five or ninety
six are never brought home to any
body. In other words, our detectives
fail to ferret out the wrongdoer,
though In every Instance there is a
clew If anybody bright enough to see
It were on the spot. Frequently when
the obvious clew Is observed the abil
ity to pursue It is lacking. Burns Is
never blind to whatever clew there
may be In sight, and he rarely misses
the goal It leads to.
In detective stories the Sherlock
Holmes. Lecocq. or whoever.the work
er of miracles may be, to usually con
trasted with the ordinary police much
to his glory and the latter's shame.
The official crime Irunter does not
shine in literature. ' Is his ray any
brighter in real life? How many of
ficials have we in this country who
begin to compare with Burns? Why
is it that we cannot catch our crimi
nals, and If we do catch them, can so
seldom obtain evidence enough to con
vict them? Why are we reverting to
the medieval method of torture to ob
tain evidence of crime if not because
our detectives have proved incompe
tent exactly as Conan Doyle represents
them In the Sherlock Holmes stories 7
Still, granting that In .this respect
the detective stories are true to life,
we cannot say that w are entirely
without objections to them. They are
Interesting nough. We do not com
plain of their dullness, though we
must confess, to our sorrow, that the
last Sherlock Holmes tale does drag a
little. The catastrophe is so obvious
that It is not very creditable to the
miracle-worker. But that is of no
moment Just now. Our objection is of
the same sort as Mark Twain's to the
usual Sunday school book of his youth.
He complained that these books gave
boys false expectations about what was
likely to happen to them In life. There
was always some benevolent old gen
tleman Intervening to help them out
of difficulties. Some lucky chance
would happen to save them from the
hard necessity of thinking and
working.
So it Is In detective tales, though In
a different line, of course. The liter
ary detectivedoes not need to meet
the real world face to face and solve
investigation. He can do it all In his
mind, sitting cosily by his fireside. All
the help he needs Is an occasional dose
of morphine. These stories, teaching
as they do an entirely false view of
detective work, have been so popular
in recent years that they may have
operated disastrously on the character
of our police officers. They may have
been indoctrinated with the notion
that they ought to ferret out crime as
Sherlock Holmes does, and If it cannot
be done in that way it cannot be done
at all. How much of the undeniable
inefficiency of our police work Is at
tributable to some such subtly poison
ous influence?
The success of Mr. Burns is not only
a fine thing in Itself, but it may pos
sibly act as a corrective to the preva
lent adoration of literary defectives
who are so fascinating In books and so
helpless in the face of an actual crime.
There is something wrong with our
inheritance laws when a man can by
will leave $2,000,000 to a strange
woman and not a penny to his vife.
Whatever a man's prejudices or pref
erences may be, he ought to be com
pelled to provide for his family before
he heaps favors on others. Consid
ered, from the point of view of the
general welfare, a man's property is
only partially his own. There are
many proper limitations upon its use.
The right to dispose of it by will was
created by law and the law should see
that It is not used for wrongful
purposes.
The President of Northwestern Uni
versity, Illinois, hopes to extirpate col
lege sno"bbery by altering the architec
ture of his buildings. We are doubt
ful of his success. Snobbery is a dis
ease of the soul Which has persisted
through all the ages. It was about as
virulent in Athens with all the Doric
columns of the Parthenon for an anti
dote as it is at Harvard. The one rem
edy which has ever proved efficacious
against snobbery is work, and of
course that is out of the question at a
modern university.
China having been favored with a
note from the Western powers to the
effect that "war In the Orient must
cease," cannot In politeness do less
than reply In the same vein. She will
order Russia to stop fighting in Per
sia. Italy to withdraw her arms from
Africa and France to make peace in
Morocco. When the notes both ways
have been obeyed all the world will
be at peace. We anxiously await the
blessed consummation.
There may be some connection be
tween the Wabash Railroad receiver
ship and the purchase of a $500,000
necklace by one Gould and a scotcn
estate by another. More attention to
railroading and less to Jewelry and
less Imitation of British aristocracy
by the Goulds might have kept the
Wabash on Its feet.
Bv delivering a letter addressed to
Santa Claus to State Senator Kellaher
Postmaster Merrick has made a start
in conferring a degree of honor that
should be continued the rest of the
week. There are other 250-pounders
who oueht to be benevolent besides
the Le'licose Senator from Multnomah.
Slight difference in circumstances
saves many a young woman from the
fate of the little waitress who ended
a short life of turmoil and trouble by
drinking laudanum at Medford, and if
there be any lesson In her career ana
end It should Impress Itself on the men
who make such affairs possible.
In her contract with Frohman, Edna
Goodrich may safely be assumed to
have capitalized the notoriety growing
out of her divorce from Nat Goodwin.
It would be business, too, for being
Goodwin's wife for ever so short a
term should bring monetary compen
sation.
If the stork refuses to surprise a
man with a baby In the good, old-
fashioned way, his wife has no alter
native but to adopt one and put it in
his Christmas stocking.
If Congress will vote the $100,000
necessary to mane roaus in Ltaicr
Lake Park, that wonder of Oregon will
rival Yellowstone and Yosemite as an
attraction to tourists.
The people of Indianapolis and
M uncle must have had an ex post facto
thrill when they learned that they had
lived in close proximity to so much
dynamite.
Twentv-one million pounds of meat
were condemned in this country this
year, destroying by that much the
dog's chances or escaping the sausage
mill.
Lowell observatory makes the state.
ment that there Is no frost at the Mar
tian Pole. There lies Dr. Cook's op
portunity to come back.
The cut In water rates comes at the
right time to encourage the bibulous
to climb on the water wagon at the
opening of the year
Mrs. William Golden must have a
nervous headache whenever she tries
to determine her relationship to her
own relatives.
The alleged white woman recently
wedded to a negro at v ancouver denies
the lack of color In the report.
The surest indicator of Portland's
growth and prosperity Is the proposed
.reduction of the water rate.
Senator Borah thinks three years'
residence on a homestead Is enough.
It is, in the sagebrush.
This Is the shortest day of the year.
especially to the man who arises early
and does much work.
Return of a few unfaithful paroled
men may improve the others who are
out.
Stars and Star-Makers
By Lena Cass Baer.
A Pittsburg crematory concern Is
worrying itself unduly, perhaps, but
Just the same worrying about whether
the ashes of all that Is mortal of E. H.
Sothern. when he has passed away, are
to be placed In an urn in Its crema
tory and then scattered over the sea
with those of Julia Marlowe, his wife.
The actress many years ago purchased
an urn in Pittsburg when on a visit
. -u.u v, k
ashes after death. She purchased an
other also with the understanding that
the ashes of her then husband, Robert
Tabor, be placed therein after death,
and that when both had departed the
ashes should be mixed and carried In
one urn and scattered over the sea.
Since her second marriage the crema
tory people are wondering whether
Sothern will assume that part of the
plot agreed upon by his wife's first
husband. The concern says that the
wishes of the actress regarding her
urn will be respected, but so far neither
Mr. nor Mrs. Sothern has intimated
what is to be done with the other urn.
. .
Ann Murdock, who created the role
of Margery In Henry W. Savage's pro
duction of Rupert Hughes' -farce, "Ex
cuse Me," and whose pronounced clev
erness has established her among the
favorite players of the younger gen
eration, suffered a rather peculiar ac
cldent during the performance of the
play recently In Chicago. In the sec
ond act an actor playing opposite Miss
Murdock, in making a gesture, unin
tentionally struck her a blow on .the
temple. The shock was so forceful
Miss Murdock sunk unconscious to the
floor. The curtain was rung down
and the orchestra played two selec
tions while an understudy was dress-
lng for the part. Miss Murdock re
vived in sufficient time, however, and
when the curtain went up again was
received with tremendous applause,
and at the end of the act an Individual
curtain call.
Stellar lights to visit Portland this
Winter include Blanche Bates, Elsie
Janis, Anna Held and Maude Adams.
"The Girl In the Train," considered
by many to be the best American ver
sion of any foreign musical comedy
taken over In half a dozen years. Is to
Include Portland in its itinerary next
Spring.
"Madame Sherry"
again in January.
is to be with us
Oliver Morosco; Pacific Coast thea
trical producer and manager, is in
vadlng the East. Under his manage
ment, Dick Tully's "The Bird of Para
dise" will be given its first Eastern
presentation in Albany, N. Y Christ
mas day, remaining in that city a
week; then will follow one week each
in Rochester and Baltimore, after
which the play will open for a run
at the Maxlne Elliott Theater In New
York City, the opening date being Jan
uary 15. On the same night "The Fox,'
also under Morosco management, will
be produced at another New York
house. Both openings will come some
what earlier than originally planned,
and consequently Oliver Morosco will
be compelled to hasten his departure
Eastward. He had expected to remain
in Los Angeles until after the first of
the year, but now plans to be in Al
bany Christmas day.
.
A complete new stock company, "The
Myrtle Vane" players, has taken pos
session of the Lois Theater in Seat
tle. Their opening night was last Sat
urday, when they presented Sardou's
"La Tosca." The roster Includes sev
eral people known in Portland. Eva
Earl French Is character woman; Eddie
Lawrence, a former Bakeronlan, is
character comedian, and Walter Mc
Cullough Is leading man.
.
Gaby Deslys has gone Into the
beauty business as a rival to Lillian
RusselL She Is contributing literary
splashes to a syndicate, which Informs
the feminine community at large how
to keep young and attractive (at so
much per week).
Fritzt Scheff, the opera star, has an
nounced that she never will again ap
pear on the stage, owing to an af
fection of her throat. It Is rumored
that a disagreement between Madame
Scheff and the management of "The
Duchess," in which she starred, is the
real cause of the trouble. Apropos of
the affair Is the following:
Rennold Wolf, who writes the dramatic
goaslp for the New Tork Telegraph, la ca-
gabl of aaylnc Bome things of a peculiarly
timorous kind, despite the wholly par
tisan and aometlmes foolishly bitter thins
he writes of those against whom he directs
the flow of 'his ink. His well-known hos
tility to the tihuberts h znakea the basis
for paragraphs of much spleen. The other
day h struck a real funny note in a par
ody on an old and childish memory. Speak
ing of Prltzl Scheft's habit of leaving her
company and refusing to appear, Mr. Wolf
aald:
"Members of the Frltsl Scheff Company,
who are still wondering when their star will
return, and when the tour of 'The Duchess'
will ba resumed, have learned a new prayer
which they say nightly befor retiring. It
la as follows:
" 'Now I lay ma off again,
I pray the Lord my soul sustain;
If we should close before I wake.
Give my regards to Lee and Jake.' "
Lee and Jake Shubert are Miss
Scheffs managers.
Eugene Walter and David Belasco
are reported to have made up their
differences and" the playwright has
completed "The Assassin," a play sug
gested when he met the funeral pro
cession following the body of Petros
lno, the Italian detective. Almost
over night he completed a scenarl,
which he showed to Frederic Thomp
son. For various reasons the produc
tion was delayed until finally Charles
Dillingham acquired the rights, and
now the arrangement with Belasco has
been completed through Dillingham.
Marc Klaw filed on Monday In the
United States Circuit Court his answer
to the suit brought against him by
Fanny Ward Lewis for breach of con
tract. He admits . that on April 27.
1909,: he signed a contract, but this
was by mutual consent afterward de
stroyed, thus relieving him of all ob
ligr Hons. In asking for the dismissal
of the writ. Klaw maintains that at
an'y time since the plaintiff could have
secured a contract as good as that
wihlch was canceled.
) Liquors by Hall. -
'-MIST. Or., Dec. 19. (To the Editor.)
--WU1 you kindly Inform me whether
01- not a carrier of the United States
mails has a right to carry Intoxicating
liquors and deliver the same to -customers
or individuals?
I CONSTANT READER.
Vinous, spirituous or malt liquors are
nrit admissible to the United States
mails.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian. Dcembr 2L 1SG1
Colonel Forney writes from Wash
ington to the Philadelphia Press: "In
my comments upon the lamented Col
onel Baker I stated that. In addition
to his many other intellectual gifts,
he was a fine poet a mark that was
received by many with surprise. I am
permitted to publish one of his fu
gitive pieces, written by him 12 years
ago and now In possession of an in
timate friend in this city. Observe
how the last verse applies to his fate:"
Dost thou seek a star with thy swelling
crest,
O wave that leavest thy mother's breast?
Dost thou leap from the prisoned depths
below
In scorn of their calm and constant . flow f
Or art thoa aeeking some distant land
To die in murmurs upon the strand?
Hast thou tales to tell of pearl-lit deep
Where the wave-whelmed mariner rocks in
sleep?
Canst thou speak of navies that sunk in
pride
Ere the roll of their thunder in echo died
What trophies, what banners, are floating
free
On the shadowy deptha of that silent sea?
It were vain to ask. as thoa rollest afar,
Of banner or mariner, ship or star;
It were vain to seek in thy stormy face
Some tale of the sorrowful past to trace.
Thou ' art swelling high, thou art flashing
xree.
How vain era the questions we ask of thee
I too am a wave of a stormy sea;
I too am a wanderer, driven like thee;
I too am seekina- a distant land
To be lost and cone ere I reach the strand.
For the land I seek is a waveless shore
And they who one reach It shall wander
no mora.
r
On the second of March. 1839. Elwln
O. Hall, then printer of the Honolulu
Mission, under the auspices of the
American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, and since editor of
the Polynesian, accompanied by his
wife, sailed from the Sandwich Islands
for the Presbyterian mission, on the
Clearwater River, in what was then
Oregon, but now Washington Terri
tory, In charge of Rev. H. H. Spauldlng,
bringing a printing press, font of
types, paper, ink, materials, binding
apparatus, etc, to the value of $500 or
thereabouts.
Mr. Hall arrived In -the Columbia
River on April 23 of that year and pro
ceeded with all dispatch to the said
station, which he reached, together
with the press, early In May, 1839, and
soon thereafter commenced the print
ing of elementary spelling books In
the Nez Perce and Flathead languages.
which were adopted and used by the
various mission schools.
The mission In charge of Mr. Spauld
lng and at which said press was es
tablished was located on the River
Clearwater, about 125 miles northeast
of old Fort Walla Walla, among the
Nez Perces Indiana This river was
called by the Rev. Mr. Parker Koot:
Koosle, or Little Water.
In the Spring of 1840 Mr. Hall and
his lady, after having established the
first press and printed the first book
In the Pacific American possessions, re
turned to the Sandwich Islands.
The public school examination yes
terday was well attended by ladies
and gentlemen. . In the after
noon Miss Sarah White read the pro
ductions In the Young Ladies' Journal,
edited by the young female students.
and Master Ankeny read the paper en
titled the Radicator and edited by the
male students belonging to the higher
department. . . . The singing and
reciting in concert by the Intermediate
departments could not be beat any
where. Masters Burton. Gleason, Rob
ertson, Sampson, Barren and Hendee,
each of which must not have been
over 6 years old, made quite handsome
speeches. At the conclusion of the ex
ercises the scholars presented - the
school directors with a Christmas
cake, for which Mr. Holman and Mr.
Failing thanked them with very stir
ring remarks and divided the cakes
among the children.
From Mr. L. Day, Tracy A Co.'s ex
press messenger, who arrived last
night on the Julia, we learn that he
brought $30,000 in gold dust; also that
news had been received from Powder
River that diggings had been struck
at that locality paying from 10 to 20
ounces per day to the hand, and
that the gold Is very coarse, much re
sembling the California gold.
The Mountaineer tells the story that
a miner, while on his way to Salmon
River, struck rich diggings, and that
having no bag for his gathered gold.
he filled one of his India rubber boots
with it and at the last date was filling
the other.
The Statesman mentions a rumor
that there had been trouble with the
Indians at the Siletz reservation. Ru
mor has gone so far as to say that
the Indians have compelled the whites
to take refuge in the block houses.
ACCOUNTABILITY OF MURDERERS
Writer Ararneai That Acta of Desrener-
ates Disclose Their Irresponsibility.
CENTRALIA. Wash.. Dec 18. (To
the Editor.) In The Oregonian Decem
ber 16, there appears an editorial en
titled "Pertinent Questions" which
deals, with the death penalty and
kindred ideas. Permit me to ask a
few questions which seem "pertinent"
at this time.
Should society seek to punish the
Individual who commits a crime be
cause of "debased and perverted
human passion?" ,
Is the mentally denclent or perverted
individual responsible for his deficiency
or perversion?
Would it be just to sang an insane
criminal?
Where are you going to draw the
line between murders committed by
persons accounted normal mentally
and those who are the victims of
hereditary defects?
To hold that a man who would
entice a child Into some secluded spot
for the purpose of lust and murder is
n possession of a normal and responsi
ble mental equipment is untenable.
The act itself is proof of degeneracy.
Would it be right to hang a degen
erate? No two human minds are governed
by the same Impulses. There is no
absolute standard of mental responsi
bility. "Back of every human thought
and action there is sufficient cause"
and to demand of the disnatured, de
generate, and inherently vicious, the
same accountability that we exact from
those who have no weaknesses that
are apparent is manifestly unjust.
It is undeniably true that perverts
are menaces to society and that pro
tection is essential, but when that pro
tection takes the form of blood-crav
ing savagery and revenge, we are
going'back to the days when civiliza
tion had little of which to boast.
It is cheaper to hang a man than
it is to keep him properly safeguarded
for life, but the revulsion of feeling
occasioned by the cold, premeditated,
unmerciful and diabolical legal hang-
ng. Is more damaging to the peace
and happiness of a community than
the deprivation of the slight sum per
capita required to maintain the crim
inal for life.
I am not surprised at the attitude
of those who think they are good
Christians in their Insistence upon the
enforcement of the death penalty.
Their reasoning processes, like their
religion may be compared in some re
spects to those of the "disnatured" and
perverted criminal who murders a 6-year-old
girl. They are more to be
pitied than censured.
DO. tilia UlA&bh. i
On Mental Shopping
By Dean Collins.
Nesclus Nltts, he whose wise remarks,
dropping
On Punkindorfs ears, kept their eyes
fairly popping.
Saw a frivolous flea on the floor fleetly
hopping,
And soon in a nicotine lake It was flop
ping; Then Nescius spake on improved Christ
mas shopping.
"I've Jest talked with Philomel Love,
who had went
To the city three days and his wages
was spent
And he tells about this here late Christ
mas rush
A-swarmtn' all round, and the scurry
and crush
or peopiis a-crowdin' the streets, every
one
A-Jumpin' to git all their late shoppin'
done.
"I tells you I figgers that us folks
who waits
To shop till we come to the very last
dates.
Ain't nigh half so wise as them other
folks that are
Malntainin' the power of mind over
matter;
Fer If that idee is correct, then they've
not
No 'casion to rush like us others have
got.
"They claims things mater'al, what-
ever you find.
Is merely a product rolled out of the
mind.
That pain and disease and all sech
aggravation
Is purely sprung forth from mankind's
'magination.
And brickbats and antos, seegars, and
sech Junk
Are likewise results of the thoughts
we have thunk.
"Consider then, how that idee would
help out
In dodgin' the crush of the late shop
pin' rout;
Sence why go and buy, when all things
in creation
Are sprang from mankind's over
wrought 'magination?
Far better jest set, and send out to
your friend
Imagin'ry gifts as you choose, with,
out end.
"Thus one could imagine fine big
tourin cars.
And send his friends bushels of psychic
seegars;
And I need not buy, but could Jest set
and chaw
And "magine silk shawls fer my daughters-in-law.
And all Christmas shopping with ease
I could shirk
If I could Jest make this here mind
science work."
Portland, December 20.
WEBSTER SECOND IN HIS CLASS
Valedictorian Once Denied That States
man Was Churlish About It.
SALEM, Dec. 19. (To the Editor.)
In The Oregonian, December 10, is an
article concerning Daniel Webster and
his college diploma, in which It is said
that, because the faculty had conferred
the valedictory upon other than him
self, he tore up his diploma In the pres
ence of some of his classmates in the
campus, through chagrin, saying: "My
Industry may make me a great man,
but this miserable parchment cannot."
This whole proceeding may surprise
most readers, but anyone who has
studied the life and the speeches, as
well as the letters and other private
utterances of Webster, In whloh he al
wavs sDoke in the most endearing
terms of his "alma mater," will hesi
tate to believe that Daniel Webster
ever descended to the Ill-natured and
churlish action thus recorded of him,
probably by some writer who may have
Imagined he had found something new
that would astonish the world and give
point to a newspaper article. The fact
is, a story similar in details was re
lated of Webster many times, after he
had become celebrated, and the writer
of this heard It more than 60 years ago.
The story, as I then heard it, was to
th effect that, after the graduating
exercises were over, Webster took hla
successful competitor back or tne col
lege building and told him that, not
withstanding hla success over him now,
In after years he (Webster) "would be
as far above him as the heavens are
above the earth."
In the Spring of 1850 I was residing
temoorarllv in Jacksonville, 111., the
seat of Illinois College, and I made the
acquaintance of many connected with
the college, professors and students.
Among them was a Mr. Coffin, an old
gentleman of about 70 years, who was
connected with the Institution in some
subordinate capacity, probably as Jani
tor: at any rate, he was not a teacner.
I learned that he had been a classmate
of Daniel Webster at Dartmouth Col
lege, and had carried off the honor as
valedictorian at the graduating exer
cises. At the time of whlcn I am speaKing
Webster had Just made his famous
neventh of March sneech, and the whole
ronntrv was rinr!nir with praise on the
one hand and denunciation on the other.
of the great statesman lor nis views
as propounded in that speech. One day,
in familiar conversation, I made bold
to ask Mr. Coffin about the college oc
currence, and whether he had ever
heard of the story. He turned to me
without the least surprise and said he
had often heard of the ridiculous story,
but that It was a "He made up out of
whole cloth." He seemed not to know
how it had originated, nor where, nor
to care anything about it at that late
day, as he and Mr. Webster had always
been friendly, and were yet so, as let
ters In his possession would show.
Afterward, while living in wasmng-
ton, I often saw Webster in the Capitol
and on the Btreet, and, on the supposi
tion that the story was true, when con
trasting, the appearance and the repu
tation of the two individuals, one of
them old, snaggle-toothed, of the lean
and slippered pantaloon order, acting as
Janitor In a college, and the other,
striding the world like a Colossus, with
the look and bearing of Jupiter, I
thought many times how truly the lat
ter had forecasted the future of each,
from the college yard. D. W. CRAIG.
"Tama Jim's" Modest Keeds.
Washington Cor. New York World.
t . nraiiar Tnire bhfi director of
public roads of the Agricultural De-
. .a.ivoH o pond business
offer the other day, and went to see
Tama Jim wusun aouui ii
advise anybody about offers to leave
.1.- i-1nna-nmanf Oorvill" Raid SeCre
IUB u'' '
tary Wilson, "and I'm not going to
advise you wnat to u. oni-e x ..o..
been at the head of the Agricultural
Department a good many alluring
propositions irom tuc uunn."" 4...,.
view have come my way, too, some of
Rnt whilA T am not a
L J 1 1-Jli . - -
rich man by any means, I have always
figured tnat 1 couia amy iio
ouse at a time, sieep m uo "
(m ana eat one meal at a time, and
that's all any man really needs."
State Abbreviations.
PORTLAND. Dec. 20. (To the Edi-
tor. ) rieHse suiic " ......
abbreviation of Oregon is and also wno
decides the official abbreviation of a
state. Respectfully,
A CT-ra-"T7TT3C,T7
r,itnn decides the abbreviation of
state name. "Or." or "Ore." Is a proper
abbreviation for Oregon.