If
THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1912.
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PORTLAMrTUESDATr-DEC 17. lls-
THE PEOPLE'S WIU.
The public has had notice that
through the initiative certain issues
decided at the election of 1912 are to
be resubmitted to the voters. No
question under the present system is
ever settled, or ever will be settled,
if the way is to be left open to the
paid agitator, the legislative promoter,
the Constitution-mender and the hired
petition-chaser. An Oregon system
that makes practicable and certain
the determination of important public
questions is the ideal which all good
citizens desire: an Oregon system that
may be made the Instrument for the
support of organized law-fixers and
the constant object of misuse for friv
olous, improper Rnd undesirable meas
ures is open to Just criticism.
All agree that the initiative and
referendum In Oregon have been over
used; and nearly .all agree that cer
tain modifications and amendments
ought to be made, and limitations
fixed, if the public interest is to be
conserved and the Oregon system is
to survive. But the precise cnarac
ter of the changes and corrections
Is not altogether clear. The defects
are glaringly plain; the remedies are
not easily determined. The Oregonlan
offers here a summary of the prin
cipal proposals for revision of the
Initiative and referendum for the pur
pose of fixing them in the public mind
and of inviting attention to hem by
the 1913 Legislature. They are:
(1) Let the Initiative be restricted
to the consideration and adoption (or
rejection) of constitutional amend
ments (as in Switzerland).
(2) Require every proposal under the
Initiative to be submitted first to the
Legislature for adoption. If the Leg
islature refuses, let the measure go
automatically to the referendum, giv
ing the Legislature the right to submit
an alternative measure-
(3) Limit the number of measures
on the ballot.
(4) Prohibit submission of the same
measure (such as single tax, prohibi
tion, capital punishment) at two suc
cessive elections.
' (5) Require all petitions to be
signed In presence of a public official.
(5) Make it unlawful for our pub
lic officer (except the Governor or
the Legislature) to propose any meas
ure affecting his own public service
or employment.
- (7) If a referendum is Invoked,
. provide for an immediate election,
after due notice, following the ad
journment of the Legislature.
(8) Vrovlde for submission of local
measures; (such as county divisions,
consolidation of cities, etc.) to a refer
endum of the people concerned.
The Oregonlan desires to make It
clear that it has not offered the fore
going schedule of possible changes as
its own plan; for if some of the pro
posals shall be adopted, others should
not be. It has small faith, for ex
ample. In any plan to limit the num
ber of measures on the ballot; and
it does not see that any limitation can
be placed upon the right or power to
call for a referendum on any meas
ure, beyond the present constitutional
restrictions. If we are to have the ref
erendum, it must be a popular refer
endum; but If we are to Jiave the
Initiative, It Is clear that there ought
to be a defined and exact method for
its use, and that the popular will or
desire for new legislation should be
expressed only through the available
machinery of representative govern
ment. We cannot have an organized de
mocracy if we are to persist in ignor
ing the orderly and systematized
methods of carrying out, through duly
selected representatives, the popular
will
TEXAN HONOR.
The Texas home appears to be sin
gularly in need of protection. It must
be defended not only from actual foes,
but from those who may possibly be
come foes at some future time and, of
course, the only way to preserve its
sacred integrity is by shooting. Not
long ago the fair but frail spouse of
a haughty Texan, who loves his honor
more than his neighbor's life, ran
away with another man. The insulted
husband avenged his soiled honor .by
shooting the betrayer's father. We
dare say the aunt or the grandmother
" would have done passably well if the
father had not been available. What
Texan honor required was that some
body would be shot and It did not
matter much who might happen to
be chosen for the vicarious sacrifice
After the father had thus atoned
for his son's offense to the Texan
home the eloping wife was restored
to the rejoicing bosom of her militant
husband and the second act of the
drama opened. The son, the betrayer,
appeared on the scene, and Texan
honor now demanded another shoot
ins. So the husband, ever ready to
perform his duty under the unwritten
law. scored another death.
The father of the betrayer of the
home was unarmed when he was shot
down, but Texan honor, as it seems,
overlooks trifles of that kind. In
deed, it has been averred that it pre
fers the back of a victim to the face,
and that it usually selects unarmed
opponents when a killing is demanded
by the code. What the truth may be
upon this point we do not pretend to
know. Let us proceed with the re
freshing tale.
The Texan Jury who tried the pro
tector of the heme for his double
murder did its full duty under the
unwritten law. It acquitted him for
shooting the unarmed father of the
eloper, and no doubt it will ac
quit him for shooting the eloper in
propria persona. The verdict of pub
lic opinion in that locality upon the
affair is that "Texans will protect
their families bv indiscriminate shoot-
ing, even If they never get any rail
roads or immigrants." Heroic Texans!
How does it happen that people in
other parts of the country manage to
protect their families without quite
so much slaughter? Is there some
thing uncommonly in need of protec
tion In the Texan home or has the
Texan husband a little more of the
fool and a good deal more of the bully
in his makeup than we find else
where?
DEFENDING THE CO IAMBUS SPEECH
The New York Globe undertakes a
herculean task when it sets out to dis
pel the fog that surrounds Its Imme
diate contemporaries over the Roose
velt scheme for recall of Judicial de
cisions. The Globe points out lucidly
that the Columbus speech did not
mean what the alarmed Eastern
Journals thought it meant, nor. even
what Colonel Roosevelt, in using the
unfortunate phrase "recall of Judicial
decisions" said it meant Says the
Globe:
By thla time nearly everybody under-
j . t. -Alnn-I Qnnlav,H'a nlan ha
nothing to do with ordinary aulta between
Individual in any court, ana mv
nothing; to do with any kind of case In the
I'nlted Stntea Supreme Court. Hla plan la
severely limited. He propose to deal only
with a apeclal claaa of caaea in atate court.
All Colonel Roosevelt proposed was
to permit the people to pass on any
constitutional question involving the
rights of the people as a whole de
cided by a state court. They do it
now, though the machinery' for the ex
pression of their will, in the declara
tion of a public policy, is more or less
cumbersome in most states; but In
Oregon, through the initiative, It is
simple enough.
But the Globe's defense of Colonel
Pnnuvoii'ii moderation would be more
convincing if , the ' Colonel himself
would stay put on his own proposal.
The Progressive National platform,
largely the handiwork of the Colonel
himself, declares not only for the initi
ative and referendum, but for the re
volt unci It makes no exemption of
Judges-- At Chicago the other day
Colonel Roosevelt approved senator
Brlstow's scheme for a National initi
ative and referendum.
Tti r'nliim hits snpfirh Is a model 01
conservatism and a monument of re
nctlnnlsm rnmnared with Colonel
Roosevelt's present position on the re
call.
WKTTELAW BHB.
The death of Ambassador Whitelaw
Reid deprives the country of a dis
tinguished citizen and an able public
servant. His career was one of
achievement through capacity and
merit. Like many pther Americans
who have made their mark In the
world, he began life poor. Fortune
favored him exceptionally in giving
him a rich wife, but he was not
content to enjoy wealth in idleness.
He had been Minister to France and,
for the last seven years. Ambassador
to England, and in both positions he
represented the country with dig
nity and a competent mastery of his
duties.
He was born at Xenla, Ohio, in 1837
and graduated at the age of nineteen
from Miama University. He then
immediately went into newspaper
work, beginning by editing a paper in
his native town. He entered the Civil
War as volunteer aide on the staff
of Major-General Morris and served
during the war as correspondent of
the Cincinnati Gazette. It indicates
something of his activities at this time
that he was present at both Shiloh
and Gettysburg.
After the war he tried his hand at
various business ventures and finally
Joined the staff of the New York Tri
bune, the newspaper which Horace
Greeley had built up with brilliant
success. Reid took a hand in nomi
nating Greeley for the 'Presidency, as
readers will remember from Colonel
Watterson's interesting story published
not long ago. In 1872 he succeeded
Greeley as editor of The Tribune and
became it3 principal owner. It was
predicted by some that the great
newspaper would lose a good deal of
its prestige when the hand of its fa
mous editor was withdrawn, but noth
ing of the kind happened. The Tri
bune continued to flourish under
Whitelaw Reid and has remained a
power in American politics.
After his marriage Reid began to
devote his time to the public service
and filled many positions with honor
to himself and credit to the Nation. As
a literary man and a diplomat he won
a high place in the opinion of the
world. He was a fine type of the
American citizen, cultivated, patri
otic and successful in all that he un
dertook. SENATOR CULLOM.
The radical of one generation is the
conservative of . the next. Thi3 oft
repeated saying comes naturally to
mind when one reads Senator Cullom's
"Fifty Years of Public Service." He
recalls the insolent contempt with
which railroad officials treated .his
movement for Federal regulation of
railroads. He tells with Indignation
of their supercilious disregard of law
and of the rights of the public. He
tells with what persistence he worked
for the passage of the first Interstate
commerce law and how the railroad
Senators, one after another, de
nounced the bill as unconstitutional
and bad in every respect. But he
forced it through by sheer persistence
and he supported every movement to
strengthen it. When the Hepburn bill
was in committee, he was ill in Flor
ida, but he telegraphed to Washington
a request to have his vote in com
mittee recorded in favor of the bill,
and he supported the Mann-Elklns act
of 1910.
But this man, who will have round
ed out thirty years of continuous
service as Senator next March, is now
regarded as a conservative, even as a
reactionary. His expressions of deep
respect for the courts, of opposition
to direct election of Senators, of dis
like at the manner in which Senators
from the far West are shouldering
aside the Nestors of the upper cham
ber prove him out of touch with pres.
ent-day opinion. In anger at his op
position to the expulsion of Lorlmer,
Illinois has thrown him into the dis
card, forgetting his valuable services
In molding and fighting for much of
the progressive legislation of the last
thirty years. At the age of 82 he is
to be driven into retirement, for he
who once led the progressive forces
is not progressive enough for the pres
ent generation.
That his work has borne good fruit
can be perceived by glancing over the
report of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, the creation of which
was largely due to him. Railroad of
fials have abandoned their domineer
ing attitude. They submit to the
overhauling of their system of
accounting. to the revision of
their rates and classifications, they
obey orders to refund overcharges,
they generally recognize that they
must toe the mark set by the law.
They realize that they are the serv
ants, not the masters, of the people,
and they strive to please.
The people so fully recognize that
the railroad question has been set
tied in their favor that they turn their
attention to other issues. Other de
tails' of the relation of the public to
the railroads may require legislation,
but no man doubts that, when the
people call for action, this business
will receive attention and the attitude
of the railroads will be very different
from that which they assumed in
1887, when the first interstate com
merce law was 'passed. They will
discuss the proposed laws from the
standpoint of the public interest and
if they should be overruled, they will
submit with a good grace.
Though we believe Cullom erred in
standing by his colleague, Lorlmer,
and though we are not disposed to
condone his error, we cannot forget
that he was among the first of the
progressives at a time when progres
sive ideas had their beginnings and
when nerve, patriotism and devotion
were required of the man who voiced
those ideas in the Senate and forced
their translation into law.
THE PANAMA CANAL CONTROVERSY.
Almost without exception the East
ern newspapers accept the British
protest against the Panama Canal toll
law as well founded. They unite in
declaring that exemption of coast
wise vessels from tolls is a violation of
the Hay-Pauncefote treaty. They as
sert that we cannot refuse to submit
the question to arbitration without
sullying the honor of the American
Nation. ' Many-isay that we should re
peal the exemption clause of the canal
law and thus frankly confess ourselves
In the wrong, quoting Secretary Stlm
son's recommendation to that effect.
The New York Times contends that
the clause of the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty whereby we bind ourselves to
give equal treatment to all nations is
the equivalent we gave Great Britain
for abrogating the . Clayton-Bulwer
treaty, and that the exemption of our
coastwise vessels from tolls to which
foreign and foreign-going American
ships are subject is discrimination. It
upholds Sir Edward Grey's contention
that an ' English ship might find it
cheaper to transfer a cargo at New
York to a coastwise vessel for carriage
to San Francisco than to make the
voyage herself and pay the canal tolls.
It also takes Sir Edward's view that
exemption of our coastwise ships
would throw a heavier burden on
foreign ships for the upkeep of the
canal than they would bear if all ships
paid toll.
The Times quotes against us our
own protest against Canadian discrim
ination in Welland Canal tolls, a pro
test , to which Canada yielded. It
Stouts the plea that the words "all na
tions" in the treaty mean all other na
tions than the United States. It calls
attention to Sir Edward Grey's admis
sion that we are free to grant subsidies
equal in amount to the tolls, but
against this course as well as against
toll exemption , it quotes Secretary
Stimson's statement that isthmian
traffic is profitable even now, when the
Panama Railroad charges 34 a ton as
against the proposed canal toll of
$1.20. The Times says that, unless we
voluntarily remove the cause of Brit
ish protest, arbitration will be inevita
ble. It expresses a hope that Stim
son's change of front indicates that
Taft has reconsidered his position.
Much the same opinion is expressed
by the New York Sun, Herald, Globe,
World, Journal of Commerce, Brook
lyn Eagle, Baltimore Sun, Springfield
Republican, Chicago Inter-Ocean and
Record-Herald and Indianapolis News.
If foreign vessels were free to en
gage in American coastwise traffic,
there would be no question that ex
emption of our coastwise vessels from
canal tolls would be a violation of our
pledge to give equal treatment. - But
they are excluded by a law our right
to pass which is not and cannot be
questioned. Were our coastwise ves
sels allowed also to engage in com
merce with foreign ports or to handle
foreign cargoes by transhipment at
American ports, they would compete
with foreign ships and the British pro
test would be valid. But they 'cannot
traffic at foreign ports without be
coming subject to canal tolls and if
they tranship cargo from foreign ships
at an American port for carriage to
another American port, they violate
our law and become subject to seizure
and forfeiture. Therefore, exemption
of our coastwise vessels from tolls
gives them no advantage in competi
tion, for they can have no competi
tors in that trade and they can only
engage in foreign trade at the sac
rifice of toll exemption or oil pain of
forfeiture.
Sir Edward Grey's argument that
exemption of our coastwise vessels
would place an unfair burden on Brit
ish shipping is based on the assump
tion that the tolls will be fixed at such
a figure that they will pay cost of
operation and maintenance and in
terest on the cost of the canal. This
assumption is unwarranted. Profes
sor Johnson estimates that in a decade
the canal would pay its way if we
collected tolls on our coastwise ships.
In the meantime it will be operated at
a logs, which we must pay. Hence on
Sir Edward Grey's theory the initial
toll la too low and will impose an un
fair burden on the United States, not
on American ships. It is based on
what the traffic will bear, not on the
cost of the canal.
But we are not bound, to collect only
enough to pay expenses and interest.
We might collect Just enough to meet
those charges or we might. If we
chose, collect as much less than that
sum as the tolls on coastwise ships
would amount to. We should then be
doing what Great Britain concedes our
right to do paying a subsidy out of
our treasury equal to the tolls on
those ships. But we are not com
pelled to keep the canal revenue down
to the expenses. We might collect
tolls high enough to yield a profit, as
the Suez Canal Company does, that
company paying good dividends. There
Is nothing in the treaty to forbid our
doing so, provided the tolls are equal.
In short, the annual expense of the
canal is no measure of the toll rate,
hence Sir Edward Grey's argument
falls to the ground.'
The policy of ship subsidies does
not enter ino this contention. The
Oregonian has been, and still Is, op
posed to subsidies; but has always
maintained that good policy dictated
reserving our coastwise trade for our
own ships. When a foreign nation
denies our right to foster our coast
wise trade In any way we choose, it
Is our duty to assert and maintain
our right to do so, by toll exemption
or direct subsidy. We may believe
that such a course would be folly, but
we maintain our right to be guilty of
that folly.
To concede that we have no right
to exempt our coastwise vessels from
tolls would be to abandon the right
to carry out one of the main purposes
of the canal. That was the develop
ment of the cheapest means of transit
between our two coasts. What pos
sible- concern can Great Britain have
with the means we adopt for promot
ing water competition with our trans
continental railroads? It is our own
domestic affair.
A MARVELOUS FOWL.
Roseburg has a hen whose achieve
ments promise to make the city and
its inhabitants famous forever. This
remarkable fowl has surpassed all re
corded performances in the egg line
According to a report which we have
no plausible reason to doubt she laid
266 eggs in less than 11 months.- The
exact period in which she rose to im
mortality was ten months and 19 days.
This amounted to slightly less than
an egg a day. The vaunted Corvallis
hen, which we were betrayed into
admiring the other day, now clucks
with shame and a sense of the wrong
she has done the public by putting
forth groundless claims to glory.
.This conscienceless fowl laid only
a paltry 257 eggs in about the same
time required by the Roseburg marvel
to produce her 266. The discrepancy
between the two achievements leads
one to . inquire whether college edu
cation is really necessary in order to
enable a hen to do her best? Is the
discipline of the classics indispensa
ble to the most exalted triumphs in
the line of eggs, or does it, all things
considered, cause that noble func
tion to wither?
Were the disappointing Corvallis
hen transported to the stimulating
environment of Roseburg what would
happen to her? We predict that her
tale of eggs would forthwith begin to
grow longer. We cannot get rid of a
suspicion that her feeble performance
at the seat of learning may be traced
back to an excessive interest in foot
ball. Had she devoted her time to
the true work of the college instead
of frittering It away watching the
team at their practice she might now
be sitting on -the pinnacle of fame
beside her Roseburg sister. No doubt
the faculty will take this lesson to
heart and see to it next year that the
college hens, as well as the students,
pay proper attention to their real du
ties.
It is proposed to' change the name
of the great National collection of
books at Washington. Hitherto it has
been the "Library of Congress." Her
bert Putnam, the head of the institu
tion, suggests calling it the "Library of
the United States." Names do not
matter much -but such a change might
as well be made. Under its rules the
great collection is available to every
citizen, no matter where he lives. With
proper precautions the books are sent
all over the country to students. It
is one of the most democratic Instltu
tions we have.
The Smith College girls are trying
their hands at co-operative house
keeping this year. This Is one of the
aristocratic Massachusetts institutions
and the fact that some of the students
are willing to save money by working
proves the strength of the democratic
impulse we hear so much about. They
co-operate by cooking, washing dishes
and mopping. Perhaps we may some
time see women outside of college do
ing the same thing.
A company has been formed in St.
Louis to supply households with heat
as they are now supplied with light,
thus doing away with wood and coal
and the bother of handling them. The
project depends on manufacturing
cheap gas. Sooner or later a way will
be found to transmit pure heat over
wires or through some conducting
substance as we do electricity and then
goodbye to half the worry of the
world.
The men who have cornered mil
lions of tons of butter would better
beware of old smooth and invidious
oleomargarine, which looks like but
ter, sells like butter and tastes like
butter. ,
The Chinese Emperor is suffering
from whooping cough. An operation
for summary removal of the entire
affected area will be favored by many
of his late subjects. ,
The world's long-distance flight has
Just been completed. But it is only
when they break their necks that avi
ators attract headlines these swift
moving days. ' ' .
Skunk farms have not- been a suc
cess in this region, but the Mapleton
man . may succeed with mink. It is
the piolleer in these lines who is a
benefactor.
John Hays Hammond would be a
grand ambassador at the Court ,of St.
James, but Mr. Taft shows his bigness
In leaving appointment open to his
successor.
In sending mashers to the rockpile.
Judge Tazwell can add Just one im
provement. Deputize male relatives to
escort them, no questions to be asked
on return.
Sir Thomas Lipton says husbands
should help-take care of the children.
The ruminations of a bachelor on such
topics are usually extravagant.
Appointment of George M. Corn
wall as regent of the State Agricul
tural College is practical and of merit,
and no more need be said.
A state matrimonial agency is being
agitated in Washington. Eventually
a husband or wife may be obtained by
telephone. -
The coal trust having been ab
solved, no doubt the price will move
up a few cents to cover the cost of
litigation.
Government reports indicate that
each person ate 87 pounds of . sugar
during the year. How much vinegar?
The man who is to marry Helen
Gould will be noted merely as Helen
Gould's -husband. i :
Wilson at sea in a storm. What an
hour of excruciating uneasiness for
the pie hungry!
Now that the Greek fleet has been
walloped, perhaps the Greek ego will
subside a bit. -
Consumers having forced down the
price of eggs, up goes the price of
butter. -
Have you noticed how uncommonly
good all the children are of late?
Per capita consumption cannot keep
ahead of graduation of dentists.
Eggs by mail. How unhappy may
become the actor's lot
WHERE ARGUMENT MIGHT LEAD
Father Gree"ry Follow Up Line ol
Reasoning; of Jeans' Doubters.
FORTLAND, Dec 15. (To the Edi
tor.) In The Oregonlan a communica
tion from Mr. Rosenwald recently at
tempted to inoculate others with the
chimera of the non-existence of Christ
as a historical person. Those so
called higher critics try to tear down
and know not how to build up. Wh.it
have they ever proven? Has not Chris
tianity furnished In all ages the lead
ing scholars, inventors,' critics? If ig
norance is bliss, then men like Rosen
wald are blissful. Let him and others
of his kind read the Catholic works
both modern and ancient. The Catho
lic church is a power and a most prom
inent factor in the field of science and
criticism, not wanton, lawless and un
scientific . " v
If Mr. Rosenwald denies the historic
ity of Christ because the Pauline
epistles look spurious to him, let him
know that he, is forced to deny the
canonicity of the Old Testament in
whole and in part. .The old writings
prophesy the coming of God in human
form. The scriptures of the old law
point out the very time when the his
toric Christ was to be born, and under
what circumstances. The New Testa
ment steps Into the very fulfillment of
all the prophecies, and holds before us
with incontestable force of arguments
the existence of Christ. If a man deny
the divinity or historicity of Christ,
he must not only declare null St. Paul's
letters, but also every other- evan
gelist's. Do these higher critics not know
that there were other inspired writers?
These critics, ignorant of the laws of
hermaneutics and exegesis, ignorant of
the laws of logic, seem to borrow the
force of their arguments from false
premises. From possibility they Jump
to actuality. Possibility is one of the
questions belonging to ontology. It is
possible, even probable, and for all
that, an actual fact, that others called
themselves the Son of God. Where
-ire -they now? Truth, as known and
perceived by the human mind and the
natural light of reason, separated the
chaff and has blown it to the winds.
Christ stands before us as the prom
ised Messiah, more luminous than ever.
What about those master minds of
early Christianity, St. Augustine, Je
rome, Ambrose, Chrysostom and hun
dreds of others intellectual giants
whose writings would have to be ex
plained to our higher critics to get in
some way a correct idea of the depth
therein contained? Every age in the
Christian annals has its galaxy of mas
ter minds.
These self-styled higher critics argue
thus: It is possible that at that time
some one was born who called himself
Christ, but wasn't the Son of God, and,
therefore, we cannot' know the his
torical Christ
It is possible that some microbe has
entered the brain of Mr. Rosenwald,
and disturbed the gray matter vio
lently. Now, because this is quite pos
sible, are we to assume that this has
actually occurred? Again, it is pos
sible in this age of psychological de
velopment and germ hysteria, that all
the so-called higher critics have been
infected with a certain germ that
breeds some sort of psychologic para
noia for destroying the truth? It is
possible that Thucydides is spurious,
and, most of all. is it possible for they
want possibilities that Mr. Rosenwald
and his kind are very spurious?
The fact that Christ is God and a
historical person is an incontestable
fact. The grand achievement in the
reformation of the world, not with fire
and sword, but meekness and purity of
doctrine, is a powerful argument. What
but the doctrine of the Kingdom of God
has strengthened the early Christians
to march into the arena and give up
their lives to the beasts? What power
has emboldened the Christian maidens
to sacrifice everything and even life
for the purity which the .doctrine of
the kingdom Inculcates? Mighty and
robust warriors lay down their arms
rather than sacrifice to a myth and
deny Christ. Then when some one
spurious in every sense of the word
comes and tells us no one knows wnat
the doctrine of the kingdom means,
shall we suffer to be insulted? Over
300,000,000 of Christians" know what
they believe of the doctrine of the
kingdom and follow its teachings. They
believe that Christ is the Son of God
born of the Virgin Mary some 1D00
years ago.
It will also prove interesting to some
to know that orthodox fathers have
never yielded a single point in essen
tials of doctrine. Moreover, it is wen
to bear in mind that not only Chris-
tianitv and Buddhism but all nations
and people believe in a kingdom of
heaven, and this is some argument for
the existence of such a place. Only
to the modern heathen, who has, per
haps, changed the glory of the incor
ruptible God into the likeness of the
Image of corruptible man, are the doc
trines of the kingdom a mytn. as a
parting word, I admonish Mr. Rosen
wald to read the first chapter of St.
Paul's letter to the Romans, and Jf he
finds difficulties therein, I shall have
the patience to explain.
FATHER UKJiUUKl, u.. is. o.
' Fancy Package Again.
. . t. r .xTT-t r T l 1ft Tn tha
Editor.) I . read with Interest Mr.
ny.Hr.i sliarMiKnfne- the lartre
1 a . iiwv m.mw n -
difference in the price the consumer
pays and the pi aducer gets, t-iis sons
t- t hnotvl It- first in the '70s.
when the Grange promised to work
wonders ror tne people uiuh mo
same lines. I believe there was one
man, a Mr. Rockefeller, who conducted
his business along those lines, viz., put
the price of his products down, paid
good wages to his employes and treated
them well, and yet he received more
abuse than anv other man in the
T.nn ho TTindp monev. but
he must have money to maintain such
a business.
It is the people who buy that make
the great difference between the cost
and selling price of an article. If they
. .a v thai, cr ,i rwl y In tha sanfe
packages potatoes, prunes, beans, etc..
In which tney lert tne prauuici, "'i"1""
of in 5 and 10 cent lots, and many of
them put up in dainty packages, and
then have them delivered in their
houses Just as the notion takes them,
they could eliminate a large expense.
There is no law to prevent them from
buying direct., and if there is a system
there is nothing to prevent them from
forming an economic one except it be
that they do not want one.
J. JVI. UI.DE.UJi.in.
jnoincr M iir ui . . .
GRANTS PASS, Or.. Dec. 14. (To
the
Editor.) I have Deen a sunn iw-
rni r n f n r Vpars. but Of
er Ol x in: uieav' 1'
late am very much Interested in the
er
letters on enitoriai page.
I don't think God ever intended
wives and mothers to work out, for by
going out to work we have to neglect
our homes and leave our cnuuien i
roam the streets and fall prey to the
coarse elements of society that will
br
ng us sorrow sooner or later. The
hi
ldren naturally arllt irom moioer s
inonre and restraint If she is away
infl
fro
im them day after day.
am speaking from experience. i
- ii hilrlrpn and force of
had
clrc
n, i 1 1 1 1 . . .....
unistances compelled me to work
out
to proviae a sneuei iti ....
the
little ones until iney tui oiu
.h tn onrn a little to heln mother
kt it-a, oil ?rrown and ffOne to
themselves, but with God's grace 1
tried to do my duty by my family. My
heart has bled many times when I had
to go out and leave the little ones
crying for me.
God gave us our children, but many
times the evil one robs us of the help
we should have in bringing them up
ts we wish. If it is possible stay at
home with the babies. MOTHER.
PSyCKOLOGICAL FACTOR IN LIFE
It Should be Studied by Tboae Contem
plating; Matrimony, Says Writer.
ALBANY, Or., Dec. 15. (To the Edi
tor.) All admit that practical common
sense should be exercised . in contem
plating marriage and to do so the psy
chological feature should be studied
more fully than the financial. Here is
a Case my own, and the -experience is
mostly so with all similar cases.
I married a widow. She had dearly
loved her former husband. Hr affec
tion for me as mine for her -developed
into the perfect kind. Two years later
she was taken, from me. Some three
years after that I met another wo
man, who, though near my own age
(39) had not been married. .Her iorm
was perfect, her face handsome and
with a look indicating intellectual
Dower, that cantured my heart and held
my mind. After the first few months I
was fully convinced life without ner
would be a blank. During our court
ship she was propriety itself. Time
after time she refused to -marry me
and this was a puzzle, as it plainly ap
peared that she desired that result as
much as I. Success at last crownea
my efforts, but our married bliss was
of short duration.
Something about the condition and
arrair at once ciouuea our lives, an
her efforts to satisfy' my thoughts
which she suspected, only made mat
ters worse. Confidence she knew was
lacking and to establish this, being as
heroic as she was honest (she had tolu
me no lies about her former life) she
told me all about her life. At that time
neither her love nor her loyalty could
be questioned. they were mine. A
romance was hidden in Tier former lite
and although she had violated the con
ventional law, looking at it from the
standard of true love, I did not blame
her nor do I think heaven would.
My attachment to her was even
greater than it had been for my first
wife. Another man had played an lm
portant part in the life of one as had
another man In the other s and Dotn
men were alike removed out of my
sphere. Under such 'circumstances it
becomes to me a psychological mystery
why my soul turned against her.
though I exercised all my mental power
to defend her to myself and hold her
as the great lovable Intellectual woman
that I knew her to be. I lost the desire
for her and her company and life be
came emptv. That it was more un
bearable to her even than to me was
certain and In compliance with her
wish as" much as my own desire I left
and came out West that the distance
separating us might help her to forget
READER.
RELIGIOUS QUESTION IN POLITICS
"Near-Socialist" Deplores DlaTesslon
From Economics by Speakers.
HILLSBORO, Or., Dec. 15. (To the
Editor.) Father O'Hara seems to have
raised the question of What is Social
Ism? I will agree with him that the
Catholics fathers keep as close if not
Mnsor tn the laboring class and unfor
tunates ones than any of the leaders of
the various religious bodies do. 1 am
nnt a Catholic. I am a "near-Socialist
I am sorry they are trying to make a
religious question out of politics. One
mitrht look in the Dlatform of the
parties, or in the dictionary to lind
out what Socialism means. Also he
mlu-ht look in the Bible to see what
Christianity is. But it has been the
way of some reformers to tell other
things as well as the truth, from
farrin T.nther. who denied being
Hussite and claimed to be a Catholic
long after he had separated from the
church, down to the great Kooseveit,
who rlalmftd to be evervthing.
I believe in the platform that Debs
ran on. but there are different kinds
nf Socialism, as there Is more than
one variety of Republicanism. The
poor, God-forsaken Socialist has
enough principle even in California to
put a distinguishing name on each of
the two kinds when the ballots are
cast. One Is called Social Democratic
and th other Social Labor.
Now, as to what some Socialists
preach. I took a good religious friend
of mine, whom I had talked into a
friendly feeling toward Socialism, down
on Davis street a couple of years ago
r. nna of thpir meeting's, honing to
make a full-fledged Socialist out of
Mm oni his wife But blasnhemy
coarse and uncalled for, was as promi
nent as economics. Never since then
can I get my friend to listen to or
read a word about Socialism, although
I told him I suspected that the speaker
was secretly in the pay of some of the
other political parties. 1 reasonea. inai
if I were head of a campaign commit
tee I would hire all the speakers like
that I could get if they would claim
they were against my party.
t av It that the central Idea of
Socialism is "Government ownership of
tnononolles." which would Include to
day nearly everything except pure
cussedness and pernaps mora-iny, al
though some seem to be trying to
monopolize the latter.
THOS. H. BROWN.
THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT
Socialism Looks Upon It as the Pre
dominant Fault Today.
PORTLAND, Dec. 13. (To the Edi
tor.) What the Socialist asserts Is that
environment is a predominant innuendo.
The innate powers of tne vast ma
jority of the race were determined long
ago by the process of natural selec-.
tion. It is the social environment to
day which is at fault. Given two per
sons with essentially the same inborn
capacity, let one of them be placed in
the slums from early childhood ana
the other In a family ot means an in-
nronhet to
tell which will develop into the most
useful human Deing nm rases
ten.
The wrong in .nodern social environ
ment against which intelligent Social
ists direct their attacks is the fact that
we have vast social production with
-.kin rt tha mr-nnn and
private uwiinauii .
therefore private distribution of the
-.! . i nr.ntroi'T h f S
product. - J. nis euuiiumn- v ...
. rriuTino- pvMsi . that at bot-
torn constitute our present-day social
and labor problems. Whatever one
- . ,1 K1,tA-r.auu Snf-laliStS
may mm ol luc ..v-.o
display in carrying on their agitation,
they serve a useiui puipuoc
ting the self-satisfied and the com-
, . , thai wn hnvp slums and
piacent lUlftCl me.. -
industrial slavery on the one hantl.
and on the other a plutocracy of such
boundless wealth as the wor!d never
before dreamed, living in luxury of
which history affords no precedent.
Does any rational person claim that
this great wealth and extreme poverty
are unrelated? Further, will any think
ing person deny that we are today for
the first time in the world's history
living in what Professor ratten, of
the University of prnnsylvanii, calls
"r.n era of economic surplus." where
ther a--e actually enough of the neces
sities of life to sustain every perso"
in comfort? That being the cast,
poverty, ignorance and suffering Is In
the vast majority of instances due to
bad social arrangements- and not to
inferior heredity. '
It is rather to give heredity a chance
In modern society that Socialists very
nroperlv emphasize the great import
ance of environment. And by heredity
they mean the potential capacity ot
the whole race, not merely that of a
ma!l part of It which happens to be
buttressed by inheritable privilege and
property. II- c- u- f
Up to tbe Proposinc Point.
. Philadelphia Record.
Many a fellow who has been trying
to get his courage up to the proposing
point for two years is surprised when
the girl accepts him in two seconds.
A Flnnncial Moment.
Tonkers (N. Y.) Statesman:
Crimsonbeak Are you against
strikes?
Yeast I certainly am. But how
much were you going to ask me for?
The Early Shopper
By Dean Collins.
Roll on. thou flood of Christmas shop
purs, roll;
Safe in the haven of my happy home,
I'll let sweet peace pervade my quiet
soul.
And gentle thoughts play round with
in my dome;
Tour fevered rush tills week disturbs
me naught
For all my Christmas presents have
been bought.
Full'early In the month I woke to life.
And in the pawnshop hung my over
coat. For long htfore the wild late shopper's
strife,
I knew full well I was the Christmas
goat.
Now roll, thou flood of Christmas shop
pers, roll;
My task is clone: I've paid my Christ
mas toll.
While still the crowds were thin. I
made my dash.
Copping the cream from holiday dis
play. Now Is my booty safely in the cache.
And without fear I view the Christ
mas day;
While your mad tide about the coun
ter flows.
And million feet tread upon million
toes.
As Ajax the hot thunderbolt defied.
So do I scorn the crushing Christmas
mob.
And all Its heavy heels do I deride.
For I was early on the shopping Job.
Roll on thou roaring Christmas hurly
burly! I've fooled you for I did my shopping
early. ,
Portland, December 16.
From The Oregonlan of December 17. 1S62.
Washington. Dec. 6. Strenuous ef
forts are being made by parties from
Western Virginia for the passage of
the Senate bill by the House admitting
Western Virginia into the Union.
St. Louis. Dec. 9. A dispatch from
battlefield netir Fayetteville. Ark.,
says: General Herron's force en route
to re-enforce General Blunt met the
enemy yesterday at Prairie Grove and
won a decisive victory over them.
The examination of the classes in the
public schools commences this morn
ing at 9 o'clock. The patrons and
friends of the school are respectively
invited to attend.
If you love your country encourage
home production. Why will you send
abroad for wretchedly spurious arti
cles when you can have the good and
true and beautiful of Oregon material
and Oregon workmanship close at your
doors? Why impoverish your country
and its mechanics by the calculations
of prejudice or by parsimonious mis
direction? Horatio Cooke & Co.. corner
of Alder and Second streets, Portland,
Oregon.
DEATH PENALTY AS DETERRENT
If "Barbarism' Protects Innocent Let
Vs Have More of It, Says Writer.
PORTLAND. Dec. 16. (To the Ed
itor.) To my mind the arguments
against capital punishment contala
more of the element of sentimentalism
than of sound wisdom. Those who
look upon the death penalty as a de
sign on the part of the law to wreak a
bloodthirsty vengeance on some one
misunderstand the object of the law
providing the death penalty for the
one who wantonly takes the life of the
Innocent. The true object sought in
the death penalty has been stated so
often, and Is so clearly the only logi
cal and effective manner of dealing
with capital crime, that it seems un
necessary to repeat here that the death
penalty, "or in fact punishment for any
sort of crime, is designed to serve as
a deterrent to the criminally inclined
to commit crime.
That the thought of punishment will
deter one from carrying out an in
clination to commit a wrong act, or,
in other words, a crime, no one who
has been brought up under strict
parental guidance can deny. That the
thought or fear of being launched Into
the great unknown eternity has more
terrors for the criminally Inclined than
the thought of life imprisonment, with
its hope of commutation of sentence or
perhaps pardont Is evidenced in the .
almost universal practice of asking a
commutation of the death penalty to
imprisonment for life.
Opponents ot capital punishment are
wont to call the death penalty "a.
r'lir of barbarism." Which is the most
barbarous, putting the red-handed
murderer of the innocent where there
can be no possible danger of his ever
again repeating his crime and en
dangering the lives of the Innocent, or,
by sentimental sympathy and the lib
eral treatment of such characters make
them an example of encouragement to
others who would gratify a propensity
for taking life? If so-called barbar
ism affords the innocent and the law
abiding better protection from the
depredations of the lawless than our
so-called advanced state of civilization
affords us, let us have more of the
relic of barbarism, and have it quickly,
for the situation is becoming des
perate. '
Accordine to statistics given In an
editorial in the Kansas City Journal
some time ago, crime has increased In
the United States 700 per rent since
the year 18S6. If the said statistics
are true, there must be some influenc
ing cause for tills appii'.ling tncreasu
in crime. It certainly cannot be the
severity of our laws dealing with
criminals which prompts men to com
mit crime. If it is, let us wipe our
laws dealing with crlmlrals off our
statutes and have the millennium it
once. W. H. WARD.
TRADES SCHOOL BLOCK FOR SITE
Its'Advanfairrs as Auditorium Location
Are I'olntrd Out.
PORTLAND, Dec. IS. (To the Ed
tor.) Relative to the matter of select
ng a suitable site for our auditorium,
tvhv won M nnt the Atkinson School or
School of Trades block be more sult-
ible than the mnrKft square or any or
Lhe sites so much discussed? Its situa
tion between Couch and Davis, Eleventh
ind Twelfth streets is most convi nient
o carllnes. The Portland Hallway,
.lght & Poww Company cars on Wash
nxton, Burnslde-and Flanders streets
ire but from one to thrite blocks from
; at present; the United Railway now
asses by on Twelfth street, while tiio
regon Ei(-ctnc cars are wfti'.in on-s
:wk on Tnnrb stroll. T mltrllt also
oint out that if the francliixf Is klvcn
r a carline on Sevenrli street the
W'ooi'.lawn. liroadwav. Vancouver and
St. Jchns or Uroadwny bridge cars
would pass but three blocks away.
No other site mentioned has so many
si'vautages in this respect. I believe
this location would fit in with the
Greater Portland plan also, and no
doubt the School Roanl would be rea
sonable in transferring the property for
this purpose. If overflow mettlngs
were necessary, or If more tlan fine
big affair was held on the same night
or day, the Armor, Just across the
street, would, no doubt, liolp out, and.
If additional property was required. the
adjoining lots am not expensively
built up and could be secured at a
minimum cost. MISS SPECHT.
832 Gladstone avenue.
Dr. Gibson's Address.
SALEM. Or., Dec. 16. (To the Edi
tor.) Can you tell me where I might
Sot the pamphlet, "On Diet." written
by Dr. Kmil Axel Gibson, and other
.vorks of his? , WILLIAM BROWN.
Write to Dr. Gibson at Beaumont.
CaL
I Half a Century Ago