TTTr 5IORNIXO OltEGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1912,
10
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r0 WOMEN WANT TO VOTE?
The Polk- Count v Itemlzer has been
collecting the views of the women of
rullas the Orearon town wnere it is
published, on the subject of voting.
..i r,.t in rik the census of
the village, the editor of the Itemlzcr
Instructed his employes to asK me
women whether they wanted the right
to vote or not. To be more accurate
thrv were to ask some of the women
it rsf thpm hv anv means. The
ii iestlon was put only to the "head
Udy" of each household, to use the
iirmiMr'i nollte expression. For all
one can learn from this proceeding the
daughters of every family In Dallas
eagerly desire the right of suffrage.
So do all the widows ana oia maius.
Kvldentlv the Itemlzer did not think
these classes of females were worth
taking Into consideration. Or perhaps
the editor realized the Question or vot
ing as too indelicate for discussion
with any women but m-asoned matrons
who were familiar with the world and
Its wickedness. At any rate, the straw
k-ote which the Itemixer took is almost
worthless, because It omitted the very
rlnsses ho are most likely to feel an
Interest In public affairs In such a
community. The mothers of growing
families are likely to Ignore the sub
let until conditions have compelled
them to think about It.
The result of the Itemlxer's investi
gation, such as it was. is about what
one would have expected. The vote
of the women stood three to one
against suffrage. In other words, the
editor obtained precisely the result
which he wanted. Most persons who
take- straw votes meet with similar
good fortune. Ry manipulating the
process In the right way It can be made
to prove or disprove anything under
the sun. The Itemixer calmly felici
tates Itself upon the result because It
"verifies a statement" which that Ta
per made long ag. "regarding the
suffrage question." The statement was
that women did not want the right to
vote. Having thus satisfied Itself that
it knows the state of female opinion
In Dallas, the Itemlzer goes on to say
that It does not believe the women of
Oregon want the franchise. And. It
opines, if the question could be left to
the women 'of Washington. California
nr any other suff Aige state they would
.-heerfully give up the privilege of vot
ing. The reason why the Itemixer
thinks so Is because "only a small per
ent of the women ever go to the polls
-r take any more Interest In politics
than they do" In the states where they
jannot vote.
We submit that the time has gone
by when any newspaper which un
lertakes to discuss a subject so Im
portant as the enfranchisement of
women can afford to base Its opinions
upon misstatements of current facts.
Whether or not women actually use
the right of rotlng In states where
they have It Is a question upon which
Ignorance is no longer excusable. Ev
ery reader of the newspapers knows
that the women of Los Angeles turned
out In great numbers at the last city
ctlon. So did the women of Seat
rle. The women of Colorado are welt
known to vote quite as dutifully and
.ntelligently as the men. In Lapland,
where women have long enjoyed the
right of suffrage, they not only vote,
hut many of them are members of the
legislature. The statement that worn,
rn do not exercise the suffrage when
It has been granted them Is a variance
rom the truth which a paper of the
tandlng of the Itemlzer ought not to
Indulge in.
But. leaving all such matters aside,
we believe that the unconsidered vote
of a town like Pallas upon the suf
frage question would necessarily be
misleading. It Is a comfortable com
munity, where the great economic
questions which underlie the demand
for woman suffrage have not made
themselves felt. There are no girls
working In manufactories for wages
which undermine "their health and
moral, and no child labor. As the
Itemixer well says, "there, are no homes
In Pallas particularly blighted by poverty.-
In our large cities there are
miny such homes, and the "head la
dles" who inhabit them are obliged to
look out for ways and means of reliev
ing their miserable circumstances. The
rout of living Is not necessarily a burn
ing Issue In a well-to-do country town
!;ke Dallas, but In larger cities It come
home to the woman with terrific force.
Women In these place have been
forced to believe that the only way to
secure simple Justice In the matter
of wages, pure food and wholesome
conditions of living Is through the bal
lot. They want the right to vote, not
because of "a dwlre t.i enter other
fields except the nome. ' as the Item
later wrongly surP"P!. but because
of their derlre to protect their homes
ind bring up their children properly.
Our rural contemporary believes
that "the true mother with her hands
fully occupied In raring for her prog
eny, takes no. Interest In politics."
- our oplnlin. the "tnte mother" Is
precisely the person who does take an
Interest In politics, and the reason
why she does so Is because in no other
way can she "care for her progeny"
properly. The Interest of women In
poll. lea Is largely a direct growth of
an Intelligent Interest In children.
There may be here and there a rural
ditor who does not perceive the Im
mediate connection between politics
nd healthy babies, but to most reflec
.ive people It Is only too plain. How
ran we obtain pure food for the child,
lecent playgrounds, the necessaries of
life at reasonable prices, protection
from epidemic diseases, education and
'Ivlr.g wages, except through politics?
In the modern world politics Is life,
ind because wo.nen are deeply con--erned
with life, therefore they feet
driven to take a hand In politics. To
borrow the Itemtzer's phrase, they
v !h "to taint themselves with poll
tic!"." Just as they have long tainted
themselves with cooking, washing and
maternity. We are sorry to run across
puch Idle expressions as "the nasty
came of politics" In our contempo
rary'! article. Politics Is not a (fame;
it Is the highest of sciences and the
one upon hfh our welfare more In
timately depends than upon any oth
er. As for nastinesa. docs the Jtemlzer
really think It pollutes a woman any
more to no to the polls and drop a
ballot Into the box than It does to
stand all day over a steaming- tub and
wash her husband's dirty shirts? It
Is time to Ret away from nonsense of
this sort and look at the subject of
woman's suffrage on Its merits.
THK NEW sqrARx OKAI
ciouthern delegate to the Repub
lican National convention are being
elected In the same manner as they
were elected in 190-4 to nominate
Roosevelt and In 1908 to nominate
Taft on Roosevelt's recommendation.
But. after half of these delegates of
1912 have been elected In that very
same manner. Roosevelt has discov
ered that they should have been elect
ed is some other manner, and has be
gun contests by wholesale. He con
demns participation of Federal oftl-
c.als in tate conventions, although the
only one who has taken an active and
aggressive part Ir. the campaign la
the clerk of the I'nlted States Court
at Oklahoma City. He stampeded the
convention to Roosevelt.
The (uiuare deal requires that what
is sauce for the goose be sauce for
the gander; that convention methods
accepted by him In 1904 and 1908 be
accepted by him In 1912. But the
square deal, according to the Roose
velt version, requires that the rules
be changed to favor the Colonel, even
after the game is half played.
We are being treated not only to
a new set of Roosevelt policies, but to
a new Interpretation of the square
deal. Apparently the deal Is not
square .unless the Colonel gets four
aces.
A qi-KMTIOX OF rCXCTl'ATIOX.
A pretty little controversy has arisen
over the punctuation of the Inscription
to be engraved on John Paul Jones
new statue In Washington. When our
first naval hero was fighting his fa
mous battle with the Sera pis. the Brit
ish commander asked him If he was
ready to surrender. "Surrender?" re
plied Jones from his sinking ship,
"I have Just begun to fight."
Here the trouble comes in. A
school of skeptic question the pro
priety of putting a question mark after
after "surrender." They say it ought
to be a mark of exclamation.
Since there Is no way to settle the
difficulty except by a majority vote
of those having charge of the statue.
It is easy to understand how wildly
argument will rage. The only questions
which people quarrel violently over are
those which admit of no conclusive
answer. To posterity it will make lit
tle difference whether Jones' statue Is
adorned with an interrogation sign or
a mark of surprise at this particular
point. All agree that Jones was wor
thy of a statue and visitors to the cap
ital will be glad to pause and gaze
upon the monument to his fame. At
least we hope they will. To gaxe upon
some of the statues in Washington is
conducive to sorrow rather than glad
ness, but this one may belong to the
less melancholy class.
TL'p to the present time most of the
monuments which the American peo
ple have erected in public places com
memorate the deeds of military and
naval heroes. We have no fault to
find with this. Certainly such deeds
ought not to be forgotten. But there
are others which also deserve to be
kept In eternal remembrance. America
has had other heroes beside those of
battle on land and sen. Our country-
has produced poets, scientists, philan
thropists whom posterity ought not to
forget and whose monuments ought to
adorn the streets and parks of the
National capital. It Is a fine thing
to see the statue of Andrew Jackson
In a Washington Park. It would also
be fine to see one of Ralph Waldo
Emerson there. It Is a question wheth
er the serene Yankee minister did not
do more for the permanent welfare of
his country than the cantankerous
President. The French place their
men of literature and science as prom
inently In the niches of fame as their
0nerals. Would It not be a little more
feemly If we fell Into the habit of
doing the same?
ADVANCK IX PKlr: AND ITS CAISK.
The general trend of prices In the
year 1911 was slightly lower than In
1910, but it offers slight comfort to
the man who is interested mainly in
the cost of food. The Bureau of ta
bor reports an advance in the price
of food products, the decline being
most noticeable In the prices of metal
and Implements. The most marked
advances during the year were: Corn,
64.6 per cent; steers, S5.7; barley,
34.3; potatoes. 204.1: eggs. 150.8;
creamery butter, 73.4; milk, 70; dairy
butter, 7.V: granulated sugar, 45.1;
coffee, 27.9. The only marked decrease
in the price of an article of food was
3S.1 per cent in poultry, but this does
not help the poor man's table.
As compared with 1910. the general
range of prices in 1911 was 2 per cent
higher for food: 2.8 per cent higher
fo.- drugs and chemicals. The other
seven groups of commodities showed
a decrease, ranging from 7.7 per cent
for metals, down through 3.3 per cent
for cloth and clothing, 1.6 per cent for
farm products. 0.8 per cent for lurn-h--
and building material to 0.4 per
cent for house furnishings.
The present general and continuous
advance In prices began in 1898 and
became marked In 1899. Taking the
average wholesale price of 1890 to
1899 Inclusive as 100. the advance has
Deen unbroken except In 1908. until
in 1909 the figures were 139.9 for raw
commodities. 126.6 for manufactured
commodities and 129.3 for all com
modities. The highest level for man
ufactured commodities was reached in
1910, prices having since declined
from 129.6 to 126.6. but there Is no
pause In the enhancement of raw ma
terial prices.
The boom In prices coincides ro
closely with the boom In trust organ
ization that they would seem to be
cause and effect. But since trust con
trol Is more nearly complete over
manufactures than over raw materials,
the fact that the advanc- In prices of
manufactures has been lesa than that
in prices of law materials casts doubt
on this theory.
The remedy for high prices seems to
rest In the hands of every man. With
the proverbial three acres and a cow
in the suburbs of a city, a man can
raise his own vegetables, fruit, poul
try, eggs, produce hU own milk, but
ter and cheese, and be at least half In-
dependent of the general market con
ditions. The high cost of living is
caused by the growing reluctance of
men to follow occupations which bring
sweat to their brows, dirty their hands
and cut them off from city pleasures
and conveniences. The advance In
prices Is a premium we pay for es
cape from these conditions. That extra
40 per cent on the price of raw com
modities can be cut off, if we will
buckle down to work, dig, sweat, soil
cur hands and spend our evenings at
home Instead of in urban resorts of
pleasure.
BOI BNE AXD LABOR.
When one reads an account of labor
conditions in the Bourne cotton mills,
near Fall River, Massachusetts, owned
by the senior Senator from Oregon, the
mind almost Instantly reverts to the
way Mr. Bourne and some of his fellow-Senators
attack the so-called
trusts. The average wage in the
Bourne mills is perhaps not over $6
a week, and only the foremen and
machinists receive as much as 112 per
week. The hours are as long as the
law will allow, the sanitary conditions
under which the men, women and chil
dren work, and the moral surround
ings are of the worst, and the legal
age limit is violated every day.
Turning to that greatest of ail trusts,
which Bourne and his colleague would
put out of business if they possibly
could the so-called steel trust we
And that there are no children em
ployed. ' and the lowest wage paid Is
greater than the average for the adults
in the Bourne mills, while the average
wage is far more than double, with
several hundred employes getting each
several times as much per year as any
of the Bourne workers.
In the Bourne mills, when old age
or disease comes on, the employe Is
shunted to one side as If he or she
were a lump of earth. In the steel
mills there is a pension fund of over
312,000,000, and 200.000 workmen will
sooner or later participate in its prin
cipal, earnings and accretions.
In the Bourne mills none of the
workers Is interested In the profits, the
owners taking all; in the steel trust
mills nearly 20 per cent of the em
ployes are owners of stock in the plant,
which stock they have been enabled to
buy largelj- through the dividends paid
on It. The stock subscriptions by the
employes last year amounted to nearly
$6,000,000 in the capital stock of the
company.
How many of Mr. Bourne's employes
own stock In his plant? So far as any
body knows, not one. The Bourne
family pockets the entire earnings of
an eighth of a million annually.
The Standard Oil Company was one
of the first of our . great Industrial
corporations to create a pension fund.
When the company was dissolved by
order of the courts, the first concern of
the managers was to keep this fund In
tact, to the end that It might reach
those for whom It was provided.
The Pennsylvania Railroad pays)
annually into a pension fund, ultimate
ly to benefit its 200.000 employes, over
3700,000 a year.
The sugar trust, the Du Pont Pow
der Company and the National Cash
Register Company all have large pen
sion funds: and each of them pays
wage from double to treble what our
renowned Senator Bourne pays his em
ployes.
THE TIME HAS COME TO BlllO ROAD.
Unless Oregon wishes to be com
pletely distanced by her northern
neighbor In roadbuildlng, the voters
will And it necessary to adopt some of
the road legislation to be submitted to
them at the coming election. A move
ment is now gaining headway In
Washington for a bond Issue of $15,
000.000 to carry out the following proj
ects:
1. The completion of th Pacific Highway,
from Blaine, on tho International line, tc
Vancouver, on the Columbia Klver.
2. a road Into the Grave Harbor country,
and on Into th fertile region of South
Bend and Kaymond.
S. An oaat and west highway, whether It
be by the Rainier National l'ark or the
6noqualmle Paee. with branches" leading on
the one hand to Wenatchee and on tha
other to KMensbura; and North Yakima.
4. A road to Spokane.
5. A road to Walla Walla.
These roads would be trunk high
ways binding together Eastern and
Western Washington and every part of
Western Washington, except the Olym
pic peninsula. To complete the sys
tern there would be needed several
nortb-and-south roads east of the Cas
cades.
To equal this system, Oregon will
need to extend the Pacific Highway
from the Columbia River to the south
ern boundary; to build several main
roads from the Willamette Valley-
through the Coast Range to the ocean
and to build two or more roads across
the Cascades to the eastern boundary.
We have spent enough time in discuss
ing how to do It; the time has come to
decide on one plan and get to work
under that plan.
The Washington people are evident
ly alive to the advantages of the Pa
cific Highway and will no doubt be
ready to co-operate with Oregon in
building a bridge at Vancouver. With
such a disposition among our neigh
bors. Oregon should allow no obstacle
to stand In the way of this great proj
ect. Oregon should also see to It that
those who cross the bridge a few years
hence will not have occasion to make
invidious comparisons, to Oregon's dis
advantage, between the roads north
and south of the bridge.
THE IJXK Or XATtRK.
Funeral services for an aged mother
and her only less aged daughter were
held in Centenary Church Monday aft
ernoon, followed by the burial of the
two time-worn bodies In Rlvervlew
Cemetery. Miss Katharine Zeller
died at the family home on the East
Side last Thursday, and the death of
her mother, Mrs. Susan Zeller, fol
lowed three days later. The daughter
was seventy, the mother eighty-nine
years old.
The lives of these two had run In
closely parallel lines since the older
was nineteen years old, a date In her
life record that had long become so
dim and Indistinct to the moer that
It blended, as It were, with her own
years without a distinguishing mark.
Tender and in a sense pathetic were
th' events briefly characterized by
these lives and deaths. They repre
sented the common vicissitudes of life,
of labor, of care and of love running
side by side, up and down the slopes
of the years.. The cares of the one
were the cares of the other. Their
loves, their Interests, their thoughts
were in common.
lose association through long- years
makes two persons thus situated sin
gularly dependent upon each other. A
striking Illustration of this fact was
furnished In the. lives of Alice and
Phebe Cary. the sweet singers of the
Middle West, whose lives were so
closely associated in work, in prlnci-
pie, in aspiration and ir. home that,
according to their biographer. Mary
Clemmer Ames, the latter found It 1m
possible to live after the death of the
former, but. though In good health at
t .e time of her sister's death and not
past middle life, she survived her less
than six months. ,
"I feel the link of nature draw me,
quoted Phebe Cary, as she approached
the end of her beautiful, useful, un
selfish life, and the sod that had bee
broken In Greenwood Cemetery for
Alice Cary In January was again
broken for Phebe in July of the same
year.
In the case of the mother and
daughter who were burled in River
view Cemetery Monday one ru
neral service and one burial sufficed
The link of nnture in this case was
weakened by the erosions of time and
the two, their life work accomplished,
relinquished their hold upon the close
ly woven fabric together, or so nearly
sj that one funeral occasion sufficed
fr- both.
Girls who wish to make their en
gagements legally binding will do well
to heed a late decision of a court in
Kansas City. According to this opin
ioj, a blushing nod Is not sufficient to
ratify an engagement. W hen the ques.
tlon is popped, the girl should reply
with a distinct, unmistakable "yes.
Otherwise, the contract is not binding
upon the young man and she cannot
recover damages if he is unfaithful to
his pledge. As a matter of prudence
It would be well to have a hidden wit
ness at hand when a proposal is ex
pected, or why not a dictagraph?
If Louis Hill persuades every coun
ty in Oregon to hold an annual fal
the achievement ought to be commem
orated In imperishable bronze, though
on second thought, there is a differ
ence in fairs and we don't know that
there la any particular glory in found
ing some sorts. The fair which can
be summed up in a horse race and a
crazy quilt is not of much advantage
to the world. No doubt those which
Mr. Hill will encourage are to be real
exhibits of our varied resources and
the means of developing them.
Laborers are warned to keep away
from Western Canada. For that mat
ter, there are few regions that desjre
the unskilled laboring man. Most of
them have a full local quota. When
a man of that class by diligence and
industry accumulates a "stake," he is
welcome anywhere, for his success
shows his fiber; but the happy-go-
lucky man, on one Job today and an
other tomorrow, would better vege
tate where he is known and pin his
trust to Providence and hope of a mild
Winter.
There is a physical culture expert at
Harvard who, being a mere man.
would delude all women Into doing
housework to make their figures beau
tiful. His programme of running up
and down stairs, scrubbing floors.
kneading bread and working at the
washboard has been followed for ages
without producing the results he pic
tures. When he is older and working
for a living, he may meet some women
who do all these things, and be wiser.
The man who clamors for a fair
vote and who accuses his opponents of
unfair tactics is backed by men who
have been convicted of falsehood and
treachery by La Follette. We need a
new definition of "a fair vote," "un
fair tactics," Just as we need new def
initions of- the square deal and the
Roosevelt policies. There Is opportu
ntty to make a little campaign money
by publishing "The Roosevelt Glossary
of Political Terms."
Hereafter a maiden cannot mutely
declare her love by melting into a
man's arms, or nestling her head on
his shoulder or offering her ruby lips
to be kissed, and then maintain a
breach of promise suit if the man
proves false. She mustutter a plain.
audible "yes." Just as would be re
quired In making a business bargain
hus is love being stripped of Its ro
mance in this prosaic twentieth cen
tury-
The Spokane Park Board is a set of
mean old things." All the benches
are to be big enough to hold a chaper.
one and the parks are to be especially
illuminated. This will drive the spoon
era to the darkest corners of the
church steps. The Park Board should
bear in mind that to love is human.
but to spoon is divine.
The heavy vote against woman suf
frage in the river wards of Chicago
well Illustrates the character of the
opposition to this great reform. The
river wards Include the Chicago slums,
the abodes of vice, ignorance and
crime. All these forces naturally op
pose votes for women.
La Follette and Houser have swol
len the ranks of the Ananias Club by
the nomination of Roosevelt's bosom
friend, and as events may prove, evil
genius, PInchot, for membership. These
are sad days for the upllfters. Their
lofty brows are spattered with mud
of their own making.
All the halos are not given to the
trusts, which Perkins, Roosevelt's ft
nanctal backer, idealizes. One is re
served for Patten, the maker of a
wheat corner. Difference in the point
of view makes a great difference in
the way one regards such men.
The New York woman, mother of
twenty-three, who attempted to com
mit suicide rather than have another,
was In despair awaiting the trumpet
call. She Is not to be blamed.
High-salaried departmental people
are wasting Government time in dis
cussing when an emigrant becomes an
immigrant. Simple solution would be:
When he lands."
There need be little fear of another
trial by the Colonel. He will ere then
have developed a new wrinkle or
evolved another Idiosyncrasy.
According to decision of a Missouri
court, a nod Is not legal acceptance
of a proposal. What would he have
a'loud yell and a grab?
If Roosevelt continues to repudiate
the policies he has Indorsed, he may
yet declare for small families and race
suicide.
A moving-picture show of a minis
terial association meeting would be
edifying as well as provoking of hilar
ity.
The Folsom guard who potted a
runaway at half a mile has the mova
ble target record.
LIGHT SE.TE.CE FOR MONSTERS.
Sentence of Orovllle Child Mnrderera
Hotly Condemned.
PORTLAND. April 8. (To'the Edi
tor.) Ministers of the gospel are con
stantly patting forward the belief that
the world Is growing better, and some
of us, I may say most of us. acquiesce;
It is so much more comfortable to do
so. But every now and then, thanks to
the columns of our dally papers, we
realize that this idea of our superior
enlightenment is a fallacy.
Several months ago there appeared in
The Oregonlan a tale of cruelty so mon
strous that it must have revolted all
humane people who have not sunk be
low pig level, and then some. 1 mean
the torture of a 12-year-old girl by two
human fl-ends. The form of torture
they employed stands side by side with
that of the Cencl. Little Helen Rum
ball, of Orovllle, Cal., after several
years of beatings, kickings and other
mild signs of displeasure from her step
mother and her step-mother's brother,
Arthur Lewis, to which the neighbors
testify, was one day last Summer taken
up by this pair into the attic of their
house, "where the temperature was
shown to have been raised to 130 de
grees, and bound hand and foot. " Lewis
is described by the reporter as being
"a powerful man. who had boasted of
his ability to break the necks ot steers.
Incidentally, little Helen's neck was
found broken In two places, "In Just
the same manner," some days later,
when her lifeless body was dragged
from the sweltering torture chamber.
Friday, April 5. the case was ended,
and what, pray, was the decision of the
noble court? The man Lewis was given
ten whole, years in the state peniten
tiary, while his sister, she of the softer
sex, was given two years behind the
bars!
Why, a Chinaman has been given half
that much time lor running a gambling-
came, and a few weeks ago an
American who stole a few cans of
tomatoes from a grocery store to as
suage the hunger of his wife and two
children, was sent up for two years.
So It appears it is not an extraordinary
crime to mistreat a child for years,
and by way of climax to craze her by
heat, malm her delicate body, and
finally choke her little life out. Prob
ably Helen Rumball did not care much
by the time they got to the attic party.
I can well believe she- did not. But
what Is the matter with us? Are we
any better than those people of the
Middle Ages? My answer Is "No." so
long as public opinion fails to rise in
open revolt against such cowardly lax
ity in dealing with degenerates like
little Helen Rumball's murderers.
GENEVIEVE THOMPSON.
69 North Twenty-third Street.
WAV TO GET LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Writer Declares Election of North and
Evans Will Do It.
PORTLAND, April 9. (To the Edi
tor.) Several years ago the moral con
ditions of the city became so bad and
gambling was permitted under the fine
system to such an extent that all de
oent and law-abiding citizens of the
community found it necessary to elect
Sheriff to enforce the laws which
should have been enforced by the Mayor
and his Police Department. Tom Word
was the man chosen, and without the
assistance of either the District At
torney or the city officials immedi
ately set about the task of cleaning up
the city, and his success will long be
remembered by the residents of Port
land. Judging from observations and
reports of the moral conditions of the
city at the present time, gambling is
being permitted by city authorities and
the city is filled with dissolute wom
en, and it appears to me to be about
time to elect men to the office of Dis
trict Attorney and Sheriff who will do
their duty and enforce the law without
fear or favor.
There are many candidates for these
two offices, but In looking over their
records and qualifications the majority
of them appear to me to fall below the
standard required for the work before
them.
I wish to call attention, however, to
two young men who are candidates for
these offices who have demonstrated to
the voters of Multnomah County that
they are fully qualified to take up the
important task confronting tnem. Both
have shown their patriotism and loyalty
on many occasions. They are honest,
fearless and conscientious and will give
the public good, clean administrations
in their respective offices, if electea.
One of these men Is Walter H. Evans,
candidate for District Attorney, and
the other is W. C. North, candidate for
Sheriff. Both deserve earnest consider
ation. Elect these two men and we
can rest assured the laws will be en
forced. J. F. WILSON.
450 Vancouver Avenue.
IGNORANT GRADUATES OF SCHOOLS
Business College Man Deplores Their
Lack: of Practical Knowledge.
PORTLAND. Or., April 9. (To the
Editor.) The article of W. D. Moore
house In The Oregonian criticising the
readers In our public schools, hits only
one thing in the public school system
that needs hitting.
The writer of these lines has been in
the business college work for the last
six years, and, in that time, about 90
per cent of the students coming under
his care are graduates of the grammar
schools. I have found that not over 10
per cent of these students have any
idea of the use to which their education
should be applied or what connection
It had with their lives. Ten per cent
will take In all that could find the cost
of excavating the basement of a build
ing 24 feet wide. 30 feet long and 6 feet
deep, and right angled at that, and less
than that number could tell the day on
which a note drawn on the 15th day of
January, 1912, for 90 days, should be
presented for payment. Reading and
spelling abominable. Writing and a
knowledge of the English language
worse than abominable.
One day a young man graduate of the
grammar school, who had been a year
at the high school, and a. brother of
similar qualifications (?) came into the
college to make arrangements for them
to attend. In our conversation he made
the remark, "Pa says that he doesn't
care what It costs, that we will have to
go somewhere this year where we will
not be on the street half the time
dressed like fools."
This may account for the kind of ed
ucation described above. I could give
nstances by the hundred that have
come under my own personal experi
ence, but this is enough.
OLD TEACHEK.
AS OLD MAN.
As I sit here sadly pining for the
friends that come no more; lo, behold!
the lights are shining over on that
other shore. And methlnks I see the
faces that I used to love so dear, who
with all the gentle graces, hover 'round
me. ever near. Tiiey win guide my
footsteps weary, safely o'er the shining
way, and 1 11 hear tneir voices cneery.
ust as If 'twas yesterday. All these
aches and pains will leave me, and I'll
stand before the King, with no load of
care to grieve me, and I'll hear the
angels sing. That wllbe the brightest
hour that I e er expect to Know; it is
life eternal's dower to the soul when
It shall go.
Just to see my lovea ones meet me
t the winding river's brink. Just to
hear them kindly greet me at death's
door I will not shrink. See the lights.
they're brightly glowing; hear those
Joyous words of prayer. Ah, I'm going;
es, I m going; soon i n join tnem over
there.
As the gray glint of the morning
failed to rouse his drooping head, earth
gave forth her usual warning and pro
nounced an old man dead.
G. NORBREx PLEASANTS.
WHAT'S TAUGHT IX THE SCHOOLS.
Writer Sees Little L'se In Application
of Mythologr t Stndles.
PORTLAND, April 8. (To the Edi
tor). I tonight read a letter in The
Oregonian that bears somewhat upon
the question of modern public school
education. I can't say much for its
clarity. I thought for a moment or
two I was back in England, it is so like
our village recluses In argument and
expression. I gather that Mr. Moor
house finds a staff to lean upon in thus
championing the most sound and an
cient wisdom of which we have written
record. There are many written and
unwritten laws which should (were
we but half-way just) require no mon
itor. I think the Graeco-Roman meta
morphoses of these sane, wholesome
laws which we have. In the New Tes
tament, also have their uses even to
the present day.
I think with Mr. Moorhouse that
when If comes to sheer time-saving
utilitarianism, that we might do well
to cut out the mythology, be it Greek
or Hebrew. The aim of true education
should certainly be to inculcate some
amount of kindly sentiment as well as
thorough commercial efficiency. I do
not see that this can be done by adher
ing so much to the word of God. If the
message of civilization is one of funda
mental truBt, In Its ultimate may we
not, at least in schools and in pulpits,
teach the higher values of scientific
principles and deductions. This, I
think, has become absolutely essential.
There are now growing up two op
posing factions, those who believe In
Mrs. Gamps receipts ana inose wnu,
when they go to church, have to listen
to tirades that afford them nothing but
a concern for the future weltare, men
tallv and nhvslcally. of their descen
dants. There is no doubt much to la
ment in the modern worship of money
power, but I don't think any just man
will find an antidote to It in the He
hw Scrlntures I infer that environ
ment Is often the cause of much of the
degeneracy that we see arouna us, ana
on the other hand, I question the wis
dom ot any mere hard and fast, inex
perienced administration of the Hebrew
morale.
I trust that an altogether more mod
ern tone may soon be possible. Men
have to be fearless and women have to
be tender, and this will be needful, I
trust, for some centuries. Sorry I have
not time to touch a little deeper on
modern teachings, but I have not Dick
ens' art. I wish that kindly, humorous
writer was with us today. We need his
insight. E. B. CLARKE.
1M
YTHOLOGY IX PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
If
Mitral la Pointed Writer Believes
They Are Not Improper.
CATHLAMET. Wash.. April 7. (To
the Editor.) There Is no place for
mythology In our public schools so
writes W. D. Morehouse, of Wamic, Or.,
and yet we would substitute Bible
teaching for it. Let me ask this cham
pion who wishes to make such a
sweeping change if our dear old Bible
is not largely composed of myths.
We hold that such Instances as the
fall of Lot and the punishment of his
wife as myths; but they are good in
that there Is a moral: "Beware of
too great a temptation." The story
goes that the hand of God stayed the
sun that a prophet might finish his
work of butchery and bloodshed. The
moral here is. "Give opportunity time,"
and so on through the category we find
lesson after lesson (myths) from
which we can draw lessons.
Mr. Morehouse In a great degree
takes exception to Greek mythology.
preferring Hebrew. Does he not know
that our Bible is an account of the He
brew creations and the history of that
race of peoples? Do we not consider
the degree of civilization attained by
Greece greater than any one nation?
Why should not Its mythology come in
for a share of its glory? Why should
we ' hold Hebrew mythology greater?
We assume that Mr. Morehouse Is a
teacher and we would like very much
to know If he teaches mythology
"straight," without explaining to the
child its moral. The examples he cite
all have their lessons. From the fact
that animals do the talking the child
Is Impressed more. The mind of a
child is not appealed to as one of
frown years.
Suppose we would substitute in each
of Mr. Morehouse's examples, men in
stead of animals. What would be the
effect uDon a child? The world is
taught by examples myths. Christ .so
taught. Myths are well so long as les
sons derived are uplifting.
W. P. MORSE.
MILITIA BETTER THAN CIVILIANS.
Guardsman Polntn Out Proportionate
Effectiveness In War.
PORTLAND, April 9. (To the Edi
tor.) I have been a militiaman for
about a year. I have Spent 10 days In
camp, got my rating as a marksman
and think I know whom to look to for
orders and how to carry tham out when
I get them. I am still something of a
"rookie," therefore cannot claim that I
am a good specimen of the average mi
litiaman -although I have tried to learn
all I possibly could and have not missed
a drill since I enlisted.
I was beginning to flatter mysolf that
I a3 an Individual, and the Oregon Na
tional Guard as an organization, might
be of some use to the country if called
into the field, but on reading your edi
torial "The Valor of Ignorance," I feel
inclined to ask "Cui bono?"
If what General Chaffee says iB cor
rect we might as well turn our swords
into plowshares and wait for some mili
tary nation to come along and kick us
off the face of the earth. According to
him the organized militia Is of no more
use than a mob of civilians hurriedly
brought together and armed with rifles
and bayonets. The only salvation for
th. r-ountrv Is an immense sianaints
v but will the people of the United I
ea ever consent to support a big I
arm
stnading army when the success of the
pending militia pay bill is very doubt
ful? Of course we all know that regular
troops are better than militia, but it
seems to me that militia are better
than civilians in about the same pro
portion that regulars are better than
militia. " However, I do not claim to be
an expert and if --'hat General Chaffee
says is true we may as well forget what
the Minute Men did to the British regu
lars in 1776 and "Eat, drink and be
merry, for tomorrow we die.
y' GUARDSMAN.
To Lonely Youtn.
Fannie Stearns Davis, In the Atlantic.
For all the ribbons and the curia
You are not like those other girls.
rear heart, you cannot laugh as they.
Who never know what makes you gay:
you must be lonely, often; yea.
And learn to love your loneliness.
Yea. lonely. wistful eyeal
Oh. child.
Vexed by the windy heart and wild.
Youth hurts you, and mut hurt you. Yet
Hold to your dream! nor once forget
They shall ba utter Youth for you
When other- dancing-days are through.
Hold to your dreams!
What If, tonight.
You aeemed ao stupid, and the light
ToiuiK laughter lashed you? Some day,
sweet.
Your turn shall come! your turn, to greet
High Friends, deep Love: no puppet-play.
But Love's last pain and pride, some day.
And nights like this, Tired Heart, will seem
The least queer shadow of a dream!
And yet (great eyes and tear-wet curia)
You would be like those other girls!
So be It! Run! Blow out the light.
But bo more tears! You child, good-night!
The Burning Question
By Dean Collins.
The East is the East and the West, the
..est.
And similar terms apply
To North and South and to other points
That in the compass lie;
Howbeit. wherever at eve I walked.
Ante-election talkers talked.
I turned to the East and I heard them
there; ,
In the West I heard their spiel:
At North and South, 1 saw them stano
On soapbox or automobile.
And I thought as I wandered along th
street,
"Politics is at boiling heat."
"Public int'rest must be stirred up
As n'er it was stirred before,"
I kept on thinking as on I went.
Engulfed in the speakers' roar.
I spake to a man in the crowd, "I wot
Politics is simmering hot."
He turned to me in the seething crowd
In .the din of the speaker's cry;
'"Politics Is he one thing now
In the public mind," quoth I.
j-nd thus his eager rejoinder came
"What was tJie score in the latest'
game?"'
Portland, April 7.
T
Half a Century Ago
From Tlie Oijegonlan of April 10, ISfi?.
The smallpox is among the Indians
at Victoria. IAs there is a dense In
dian population about the city, it Is
advised that prompt measures be taken
to arrest the progress of the disease.
There has been a great excitement at
Victoria about the newly discovered
Stickeen mines.
The Olympia Standard is in favor of
the division of Washington into two
territories, the dividing line to run di
rectly north of the Eastern Oregon
boundary line.
Dallas. Polk County, March 29. The
Polk and Union convention nominated
J. S. Holman, Dr. Wariner, J. L. Collins,
B. Simpson and James Gardner as dele
gates to the state convention. The fol
lowing named persons were nominated
as candidates for county offices: B.
Simpson and G. W. Richardson, for
State Legislature; C. E. Moore, for
County Judge; W. C. Whltson, County
Clerk; Isaac Butler, Sheriff; J. Em
mons, County Treasurer; W. H. Helms,
Assessor; J. L. Collins, School Superin
tendent; William Hall, Surveyor.
Our streets are scarcely passable, ow
ing to the number of drags passing to
and from with freight for the upper
country.
The Seceshers met in convention yes
terday and elected the following dele
gates to the state convention: A. M.
Loryea, T. J. Holmes, I. Charlton, W. W.
Page, William Cree, A. D. Shelby.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pope have been
re-engaged. Their previous engage
ment was a success. "Rob Roy" is on
the bills for toiight.
Mr. Thomas fijly left his residence.
East Fork Lewis River, Clark County,
W. T.. on Tuesday, January 14. ult.. for
the purpose of killing deer. Three re
ports of a gun were heard by his broth
er, James, a little before dark, which
were supposed to be from the gun ot
the missing man. He has never since
been seen or heard of. It is believed
that he accidentally shot himself.
As "Ed" Howe Sees Life
A woman makes rather less interest
ing reading thf(n a man, except in a
scandal. '
The dictionary is backed by no bet
ter authority than the decalogue, but
If the present desire for a "change"
keeps up people will finally spell words
wrong and insist that It is a better
way.
"Because the Diaz government is the
best we have ever had," the Mexican
said, "it does not follow that we may
not find a better." But they didn't find
it. Some of our worst mistakes arc
made in discarding a good thing to
look for a better.
Of the many things you hear. What
per cent do you let in one ear ana
out the other? 'Probably you retain
much that you shouldn't, and let many '
good things get ajway with the chaff.
When a man 1 afraid of the future
and sorry for the. past, you can't ex
pect very much more from him.
When a man kLvs he saw 20 or 30
quail in one flocli I know he saw less
than 20. I
When S'Ou calftftt a house and the
phonograph is turned on for your
amusement, they are sure to stick in
Caruso.
Don't walk the floor
let the candidates do it.
over politics;
Men don't like wives who are for
ever putting on the gloves with them.
Around home a man wants it under
stood that he Is champion.
You hear frequent bursts of Indigna
tion because men in the penitentiary
are abused. Of course they are abused:
that's the Idea of sending them to the
penitentiary
TAFT AND SELLING WINNERS.
Straw Vote on Train Shows Trend of
Oregon Opinion.
DAYTON. Or., April 8. (To the Edi
tor.) During a prolonged trip on the
Dallas passenger limited (limited to not
less than 10 miles per hour) out of Port
land last Saturday evening, a straw
vote on preferential Presidential and
Senatorial candidates was taken in the
smoking car of the train. There were
43 votes cast for President and 37 for
Senator, thus:
For President Taft, 22; Roosevelt 6;
LaFollette, 3; Clark, 1; Wilson. 6;
Debs, 5-
For Senator--SePing, 21; Bourne, 11;
Morton, 1 ; Lane, 4.
Thus giving Taft and Selling a clear
majority over all, including Democrats
and Socialists. Those who suggested
the vote expressed the opinion that
this could be taken as indicative of the
proportion in which the votes of Yam
hill and Polk Counties would be cast.
The casting of the vote drew the
people In the car somewhat together
and many and varied were the opin
ions expressed. The peculiarity of
one induces the mention of it here
that the expense of Senator La Fol
lette's trip into Oregon is defrayed by
Jonathan Bourne, and it is made solely
in the latter's interest.
R. CHILCOTT.
Democrat on Republican Ballot.
LOSTINE. Or., April 7. (To the Edi
tor.) If a Republican wishes to vote
for a Democrat in the primary and
writes the Democrat's name on his bal
lot, does that count in I favor of the
Democrat? A SUBSCRIBER.
It does not count as a Democratic
vote. If enough Republicans did the
same thing the candidate would be
nominated on the Republican ticket.
But the Republican votee would not be
counted in determining whether or not
the candidate received the Democratic
nomination.