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PORTLAND, SUNDAY, AUGUST 28.
THE LAW OF" CHANGE.
To most young persons no doubt It
eems as if they had been born into a
trorid of permanent conditions. It
takes observation, reflection and histor
ical study to dissipate the error. Many,
perhaps a majority, never escape from
it "Why, they ask, should a' language
Change? Why should social conditions
hot be permanent? It seems to many
that they must be so. Even Jefferson
appears to have believed that social, po
litical and industrial conditions that
existed In his own time were Ideal, and
could be continued in perpetuity. He
apoko against the growth of cities,
called them sorea on the body politic,
and held that the people ought to avoid
them and continue to live in primitive
rural felicity apparently unaware that
cities grow in accord with an irresist
ible law that presides over the whole
social organization.
All things in which men are con
cerned are in continued flux and this
"from the very necessities of human ex
istence. The life of men flows on like
a great river; nations come and go;
empires rise and fall. No government,
no species of government, can have
very long duration. Each and every
one is continually changing, though
many outward forms may long remain
unchanged.
Home holds the record as the known
empire of longest duration. Its twenty
two centuries make the record of most
others seem brief. But Rpme, during
this peilod, passed through nearly
every phase of social life and almost
every variety of experiment in govern
ment No modern empire has had long
continuance, for Britain's period of ter
ritorial greatness as yet scarcely
reaches two hundred and fifty years.
Spain, the power that in its best day
actually dominated the world, enjoyed
a reign of scarcely more than one hun
dred years. Yet in that time It had
ruled over Portugal, Holland, Belgium,
the greater part of Italy, part of Af
rica, all South America, North Amer
ica save the English and French pos
sessions and the. most valuable Islands
of both the Indies. This empire has
now disappeared from the map of the
world, and Spain herself seems to be in
the last state of decrepitude. Not all
nations, however, go to pieces -when
their empires pass from them. Sweden
had a gloriousv seventy years, during
which she owned a large part of the
Baltic coasts, and her invincible ar
mies directed the destinies of Germany.
The loss of her gallantly won conquests
only served to consolidate the Swedish
nation and character, and today the
Swedes' are among the most prosperous
and contented peoples of the -world.
Austria, torn now by Internal dissen
Bions, which point toward her breaking
tip some day, once threw so vast a
shadow that she kept many a states
man of Europe from sleeping in peace.
Her sun shone for two hundred years,
and then. If it did not quite set. It
dropped toward the horizon. In the
great affairs of the world Austria now
has no part. During four hundred
years the Turk was the bogy man of
Europe. Not only did this empire fling
Its net over Asia Minor. Egypt. India
and North Africa; It-controlled Greece,
Bulgaria, Servla. Bosnia and Hungary
and but for Sobleskl and his Poles
would have fastened itself permanently
in the heart of Europe. Before the rise
of Spain it was the chief power of the
World. "What it Is now -w e know.
These illustrations of the fleeting na
ture of the political greatness of " na
tions might "be pushed very far. The
present Idea Is .merely to fix the atten
tion for a moment on a phase of' his
tory which shows that our own Natipn
has no warrant of diuturnity. Every
ono sees that France, great as it has
been, is on the list of decadent nations.
"Warlike as France has been, it cannot
be said that she has had more than
one real empire, and that lasted only
through the heyday of .Napoleon's life
Bome fourteen years. Yet the Greek
Empire f Alexander was even shorter.
Such bubbles are scarcely to be called
empires. What are they in comparison
with old Rome's many centuries? Rus
sia already has enjoyed five hundred
years of constantly growing power;
what will the next century bring her?
She has not yet passed the stage of.
ciiiliz&tioB that would unfit her for
mighty conquest. But England has
passed it, and her scheme now is not
conquest, but preservation. Our own
courtry it seeks no conquests, and in
Its dealings with the results of Its re
cent war with Spain it is striving only
to meet the duties that have been
thrust upon it.
The late General Gustave P. Cluserel
was one jof General JohnC. Fremont's
"worthless foreign officers that he
brought to this country with him froml
France. He was another Fremont in
his peaoocl: vanity and military strut, j
but resigned in. March, 1S63. There
were others among these foreign officers
Imported by Fremont who were better
men than Ctuscret, but no less worth
loss as soldiers. Of the whole lot oi
educated foreign officers who eagerli
Bought places in our Army, none rosi
to any real distlnctlmi save iS&jor-Gen
era! Osierhaua, who -was an efficient
division commander under General
SheriSan.
THE BOOK OB" BOOKS.
ween the rescuing battalions had
entered the gates of Pekin and the cap
tives realized at length that their hour
of deliverance had come, the happy
missionaries could think of no words so
fittingly expressive of their gratitude
and joy as the seventh verse of psalm
exxiv:
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare
of the fowlers; the snare Is broken and we are
escaped.
It was the most natural thing in the
world that these Christian missionaries
should turn in thelf heart-throbs of joy
to the words of Holy "Writ., To one
familiar in youth with its precious
pages, the Bible is a never-falling
source of apt and eloquent expression.
It seems as if the whole gamut of
human experiences had been sounded
by Its various writers. Out of their
manifold experience and out of the
vehement elemental passions of the
Oriental mind, sterling coins of, utter
ance were struck off, which the agi
tated soul In all time is fain to make
its own. '2 cried unto the Liord, and
he heard me," we can imagine these J
UUUIMOU UUC3 A t V & iAMJ' 3 J . A.
Lord shall preserve thee from all evil;
he shall , preserve thy soul. The Lord
shall preserve thy going out and thy
coming in from this time forth and
even for evermore."
It is on evidence of the hold of these
Scripture passages upon the mind that
outward circumstances exert little or
no effect upon the Impression of their
accuracy and serviceability. All through
these trying, times In China the mis
sionary. has lifted tip his soul in fer
vent hope and trust that he would be
saved. He had the promises, and he
rested In them. In his deliverance he
recognizes their fulfillment; but he "will.
be unaffected by the cases of scores
who rose to the same exalted faith,
who pleaded the same promises, but
whom some dastardly Chinese mis
creant overpowered on a day and ran
through with the sword.
And this Is well. There are songs for
the lost as well as the saved.-.The
psalmist's heart was often, jubilant, but
it was sometimes cast down to the
depths. The inspiring visions of Isaiah
are there for the hour of hope, and the
plaintive sadness of Eccleslastes for the
disconsolate, the grim philosophy of Job
for the despairing, the multiform coun
sels of Proverbs for the meditative, the
speculations of Paul for the casuist, the
stern mandates of James for the mor
alist, the Johannlne dreams for the
mystic, the visions of the apocalypse
for the ecstatic, the sweet messages of
Jesus for the pure in heart.
The Bible is still, as for a thousand
years of history, the most wonderful
of books. Age cannot wither, or cus
tom stale, its infinite variety. For
-every feeling, every hope, every de
spair, it hath Its word of sympathetic
companionship. No one need fall of
fellowship in its pages, least of all the
misanthrope who feels "There is none
that doeth good, no not one"; least of
all the fatalist, remembering St. Paul's
simile of the potter and the clay; least
of all the persecutor, who can. say with
David, "I h.ate them with perfect, hat
red"; least of all the infidel, whom Job
advises. "As the cloud Is consumed and
vanlsheth away, so he that gpeth down
to the grave shall come- up no more."
Somp have attemnted to exDlaln. the
power of .the Scriptures by ascribing It'
to the hold they have upon the mind
through the training of infancy and
the persistent force of early associatlonr
But they are wrong. Men who have
met these Hebrew writings for the
first time In later life have confessed
their irresistible charm and moving
power equally with the child of the de
vout and godly. Training and associa
tion do not explain them. Their power
is all their own, and rests upon the fact
that these fervid words of hope and
fear, love, longing and despair, were
bo'rn out of the fierce throes of actual
human experience. They are the lava
streams from deep und burning cores
of life, lived at white heat of suffer
ing and of ecstasy. In that early day
the distractions of the modern world,
with its absorbing artifices and Its com
plex intellectual pursuits, were absent.
The elemental passions had full sway.
They took these forms, and the univer
sal 'heart when, moved by extremes,, ofi
feeling is likely never to find a more
accurate interpreter. The golden age of
feeling, from which the Bible came, can
never be duplicated.
A GREAT RESOURCE SACRIFICED.
From the showing made by the 'record
of the disposition of Oregon school land
base it Is impossible to escape the con
viction that somebody high in author
ity has been Instrumental in cheating
the state school fund In the interest of
timber speculators. "While the record
brings strong presumptive proof of
wholesale perjury and fraud, it also
lifts from the shoulders of the State
Land Board a heavy load of suspicion
and points clearly to "Washington rather
than Salem as the seat of the difficulty.
It must be admitted that the Oregon
school lana office has little to be proud
Of in this connectjon, for It seems .to
have had the power to prevent much
Of .the evil by giving publicity to the
notoriously suspicious transactions.
But the "fine work." the creation of the
opportunity for the abuse, the founda
tions for the fraud, manifestly were the
work of persons influential at "Wash
ington. No petty state ring accom
plished this. This school land or tim
ber land ring had a wider sweep.
Nothing need be added to the "state
ment printed yesterday to make plain
the fact that the state school fund has
been defrauded of Important resources.
J.t is to be regretted that the attorneys
who figured so prominently In this rep
rehensible business do not also appear
of record. They too'k the assignments
In the names" of their principals, who
afterward got the, deeds. It cannot be
doubted that in many .rases- they pro-
cured'the applicants anu" suborned them
.tocperjury. The.'evldence. is too strong,
t.ne circumstances roroia reconciling
uie transaction wiin nonest or. honor
able intent By keeping out of the
record,' by dividing responsibility, by
modostly, taking the part of agents
when ac a matter of fact they create
aiid,Inglnecr tiie whole shameless busi
ness and take the chief profit from It,
these men elude accountability and
make It difficult to pursue them for
their Illegal and criminal practices. But
lor the conscienceless go-between,
whose business and profession it is tc
slide-men through the law that is in
tended to be and Is to common honesty
an efficient barrier, the land-fraud
business -would soon languish. Tfc
"penitentiaries yawn for these perjurers
and suborners of perjury.
News of the part played at Washing
ton will come as a revelation to many.
Without going into the merits of either
decision of the Interior Department, one
can but regard It as significant that
certain proceedings In Oregon so ex
actly fitted certain other proceedings
at the National capital. In the face of
the well-settled rule of law that a
grantor cannot grant what he does not
possess, it is not a little strange that
there should have been such a rush for
worthless land, land that nobody want
ed previously when at least It was not
loaded with, special disabilities. And
still stranger is it that when all this
worthless land had been disposed of a
ruling should be .made that instantly
'doubled Its price. It could not have
worked more accurately if some one
had known in advance that events
wouldr take place just as they did.' It
might be unjust to point out that some
Oregon statesmen, a very few, had
affiliations that would have made them
useful in promoting such an enterprise.
It Is clear that the public at large did
not discover the peculiar value of 'these
cull school lands.. With very few: ex
ceptions such discovery was limited to
people who shotildfimmediately transfer
their rights; not to speculation, of
course, certainly not by reason of any
prior agreement, express or implied,
for theyhad" taken their Bolemn oaths
that that was not their purpose. It all
came about easily and naturally, with
the most charming disregard of penal
statutes and moral W. But the net
result Is that the school fund of the.
State of Oregon, has been ruthlessly
despoiled, and sharks and confidence
men of various names and breeds, as
well as the capitalists who got the land,
are the gainers. It may not yet be too
late to locate the responsibility.
The Oregonlan ,has gathered these
facts, through the' persistent labors oi
Its- Salem correspondent, and it N now
offers them in evidence. Does not a
duty of explanation He upon Commis
sioner Hermann? Does not a duty of
investigation He upon the Oregon Leg
islature? REFORM OF THE DRI7TK HABIT.
Alcohol in Its various forms is not
seldom the anesthetic of the wretched
the sentimental, the sorrowful, the neu
rotic, and the favorite stimulus of the
healthy, sluggish animal man who 'de
liberately wallows In the mire of pleas
ure with no more 'Sensibility of con
science to his degraded situation than
swine who grunt and sleep and sleep
and grunt their lives away in a noi
some sty. Men who shrink from -abrupt
suicide easily drift to death
through the drink habit, which is not
only blended with the legitimate social
nature and gregarious habit of mankind,
but coincides with the self-indulgent'
habit of many men. The intemperate are
found chiefly at the top and bottom
of society. The Idle, purposeless rich
and the abject, hopeless poor, contrib
ute most to the ranks of drunkards.
Tlie idle, the unhappy, the unhealthy
minded drink whether they are rich
or poor, learned or illiterate. Porson,
the greatest Greek scholar and critic
of his day, was a drunkard. Probably
few, men of Intelligence persist in the
drinking habit after the careless hours
of youth are over through love of al
cohol or because what was once only
Impulsive and imitative conviviality
has become the immovable fetters ,of
the drink habit.
In a broad, way It Is safe to say that
busy men seldom drink intemperately,
while idle men areprone to Intemper
ance, because they are really one class
of unhappy men, since idleness to any
but the most abject animal man Is al
ways a state of unrest. The busy man
who becomes broken, the hopeless pau
per at the bottom" of society, the Idle,
purposeless prince at the top, all really
stand for various' phases of pain, un
rest, disappointment, discontent and de
spair, and the ' drift of such" men Is
toward drink. Humanity hates pain
and Beeks to escape it, even for a few
hours, and mental ormoral pain Is
weakly dodged by the. drink habit. Ii
men were merely animals, they would
not drink any more than animals, but
because man Is a more sensitive creat
ure, since he has a mind and soul to
suffer pain, he drifts from despondency
easily toward drink. A man commits
suicide, an animal never; and the
nearer ,a map Js to a savage animal the
less likely he Is to commit suicide or
become Insane.When hope' Is but a dim
star, the discouraged man steers the
bark of his life either, negligently or
sometimes with desperate recklessness
straight for the rocks. Purely animal
drinkers there are among mankind, but
the vast mass -of intemperance, outside
the purposeless. Idle, 'listless rich, and
the abject, hopeless poor. Is made up
of the world's crippled, wounded and
beaten.
The busy, the happy, the hopeful, the
successful man, seldom drinks Intem
perately, but let the same man become'
Idle, unhappy, hopeless, and he not sel
dom drifts into drink, even If his time
of temptation and torture does not
come to him until middle life. This if
not said in extenuation of intemper
ance;, It is not said at all in maudlin
compassion for men who become weak
because they are wretched. It is only
said In exposition of the soundness of
the view that we must look deeper thar
the purely piggish passion for guzzling
alcohol and the animal relish for the
fuddle for adequate explanation oi
much of the world'3 - drunkenness.
Thousands without a spark of genius
have drifted down to drink and death
from the same causes of mental suffer
ing and despair that have made more
than one child of genius the tenant oi
an untimely grave, but the sorrows, the
weakness and miserable fate of medl
ocrlty get little sympathy. And yet
probably the drunken stevedore out of
work In hard times probably 'carries his
cross quite as gallantly for his statior
and his light as did the most gifted"
man of genius that ever weakly drlf tec
through despondency to drink and
from drink to an early grave.
High and low, the victims of the
drink habit we shall always have with
us until absolute self-restraint becomes
the every-aay practice of mankind
through the bitter teachings of experi
ence and the promptings of the Instinct
of self-preservation and self-interest
Whether any temperance evangelist
can do much for mature men who- are
deaf to the appeal of self-interest, self
respect and family affection is a prob
lem. Men as far gone as this are proper
subjects for the doctors and the hos
pital, but something of good may be
wrought by Francis Murphy's plea, not
for prohibition, but for the practice of
total abstinence by the young, growing
generation. The rise of alcoholism is
the peculiar vice of northern dimes and
northern races. The people, of Egypt,
Italy, Spain, Mexico, Southern France,
are so temperate that drunkenness Is
almost unknown. In, Porto Bico every
body drinks something In the way of
wine or liquor, men, women and chil
dren, and rum, which is very cheap,
is the great drink of the poor, but the
natives are so weddeel to moderation
from youth up that they do not under
stand and do not like to have dealings
with Americans, who drink 'more rum
in an hour or two than a native would
drink in three or four days. In out
American climate and With the highly
nervous American temperament, the
total abstinence preached by Francis
Murphy Is probably "the most prudent
rule of conduct for most persons, as it
undoubtedly Is an Indispensable rule of
life for many persons, a rule recognized
by many men of strong intellect and
character, like the ,great Dr. Samuel
Johnson, who said: 'I can abstain, bul
I cannot be moderate." For many whe
have this temperament Francis Mur
phy's gospel of total -abstinence Is
sound education.
f Mr. 5ates, of Hillsborq, in his re
marks at the soldiers' reunion, among
other things said:
Even Colonel Jackson has stated that It was
luck that won In the Spanish war. I want to
say that It was not luck. It was preparedness.
"We started right. It was IntelllGrenoe and
preparation that won. nnd riot luck.
Our "preparedness" consisted In hav
ing but 17,000 men in the Santiago ex
pedition armed with modern rifles and
ammunition. Two volunteer regiments
were retired from the, firing line be
cause their black powder smoke gave
the enemy the range. Twelve hundreS
Spaniards armed with modern rifles
stood off our 17,000 regulars and in
flicted severe loss because we were
without the necessary artillery. Our
victory was so hardly won and so
doubtful that the majority of General
Shatter's subordinates urged him to re
treat, and he would have done so If the
news of the destruction of Cervera'E
squadron had not changed his resolve.
Colonel Jackson is right' We won at
Santiago, not because of our "prepared
ness," for we were not prepared, but
because we found the Spaniards more
utterly unprepared than we were. If
the.Spanlsh General had not been short
of food, he could have stood off our
Army until it was utterly prostrated
with-malaria. There were nearly 100,
000 Spanish soldiers in Havana. It was
admirably fortified and provisioned
With but 25,000 regulars' armed with
modern rifles' and ammunition, what
sort.of a fight would we have made had
we ever besieged Havana?! Spain was
too poor at home to fight. She was
threatened 'with our navy, which was
preparing to cross the ocean, and bom
bard her ports, so poor, sick, penniless
Spain hastened to make peace when she
lost nCervera's squadron. -v'W'e were not
fit to fight any foe that was decently
prepared, but we caught Spain without
any money In her purse, any adequate
supplies of food and munitions of war
In Santiago, and even then we won by
a scratch. We certainly did not win
because of our "preparedness." We
won at Santiago and we won at Manila
because we found the Spaniards utterlj
unprepared.
The determination of Great Britain
to protect her present and prospective
commercial1 interests in the Yang'tse
Valley Is natural, for this valley com
prises a region containing 120,000,000 of
people, about one-third of the popula
tion of China, and at least one-third
of the magnificent resources of the em
pire. The people of -this region are as
a rule prosperous and Industrious. The
Yangtse River, whose magnificent
waterway bisects ths valley, is about
3500 miles long, and is navigable for
steamers for 1000 mites from Its mouth,
while after a break "of several hundred
miles It is again navlgablefor between
500 and 600,mlles, or an entire navigable
length of 1500 to 1600. Allies. Ocean
going steamers ply to Hankow, nearly
700 miles from the sea. Here goods are
trans-shlpped to a smaller class of
steamers, and are carried as far as
T.chang, some 400 miles from Hankow.
From this point large'iunks go as far
up as Chun Klang, the chief town of
the Province of SzecKuan. Eighteen
large steamers ply between Shanghai
and Hankow, and b'etween that place
and Tchang four steamers of lighter
draught. Shanghai " Is the great em
porium for the Yangtse, and its trade
amounts to some 580,000,000 per annum,
oyer 60 per cent of this being British.
The trade of Hankow is over 535,000,000,
of which two-thirds is B'rltlsh. The
trade of Chin Klang is about 518,000,000,
of which five-sevenths is British. The
total Interest of Great Britain in Chi
nese trade is over 5215,000,000 annually.
No wonder Great Britain lands troops
at Shanghai. No wonder Great Britain
feels deeply interested, in the fate pf
China. .
Since universities .for natives were
established in India, more than forty
years ago, several generations of edu
cated men have grown -up, who forrnJ
the backbone of thfi British Govern
ment of that country. One of these ed
ucated Hindoos became senior wrangler
at Cambridge, and several of them
have taken the highest places In the
civil service competitions In London.
These educated Hindoos know that the
only choice of India is between England
and Russia, and they have no wish tc
exchange the rule of "a progressive,
freedom-loving natlonv-for that of one
which represents repression and reac
tion. From enlightened -self-Interest the
educated classes of India are friends ol
British rule, and upon them England
relies as her best advisers and support
ers. There Is no danger of another In
dian mutiny like that of"1857, for the
people of India haveoutgrown their Ig
norance. N
It Is sad to contemplate the failure
of the Akron journal that, printed the
exclusive information in an extra that
Peck was coming back to town. If the
police hadn't interfered, the enterpris
ing paper might have made another
riot through its own unaided and ex-
nliiclvix affriTa Thuo 'on fho nims of
'yeliow journalism, baffled and the con
sent of the governed ruthlessly over
ridden. ,
Samoans who resent German rule as
too harsh have need to study up In
Bryanic political philosophy. As they
are under an empire, brute force and.
oppression constitute the correct pro
gramme. The torpedo-boat turned out at Wll
mlncton falls to develop contract speed.
Why doesn't the Government have these
boats made at Portland,and get a good
job?
SAONTERINGS IK HOME FIELDS.
This season all the wild things of
earth, air and sky seem to feel th thrill
of extraordinary energy. The other day
I stumbled upon a stalk of golden-rod
rally eight feet high, and. I am inclined
to believe Its equal cannot be found in
any other state of the' Union. It was
growing In a secluded nook among' the
hazel of the river bank, with apparently
no proapect of ever beholding the face
of the sun. Plainly, it was meant for
no higher-destiny than merely to go to
leaf. But this was not to its mind. So
it bravely and defiantly put forth all Its
strength into one mighty effort to top
the smothering thicket of hazel into
which It had been horn, and catch for
its own some of the glinting splendor of
sunlight going to waste. And now Its
proud crest of tufted gold is the glory of
the river bank.
The dogwood also seems, to be bent
upon breaking: all previous records, and
in a whimsical spirit of contradiction,
shows ripened berries and blossoms grow
ing at one and the same time on the
tree. An" old Oregon farmer once told
me that whenever there was rain In Au
gust the dogwood was sure to bloom a
second time. But this year the tree has
been in blossom most of the Summer.
At almost any turn of the road Just now
one la. likely tb come upon It. shedding
a soft radiance from its starry, big-pet-aled
flowers like a benediction upon every
passer-by. The early Spring, combined
with a beneficent mixture of rain, wind
and sun. have entirely upset all the learn
ed calculations of the botanists. That
stalk of golden-rod should properly havo
grown only four feet high, and the dog
wood should have blossomed only once in
the season. But nature Is as full of sur
prises as a woman, and flowers some
times refuse to "bloom according to rule.
The glowing magenta-plnk flowers of
the flreweed have been disputing the
right of the yellow composltae for the
L possession of the land. The surprising
consistency this plant maintains through
all the various changes it undergoes mu3t
be a perpetual source of wonder to all
who study It Wherever forest fires have
swept over the hills, there its flame-like
flowers are sure to be found, as though
the lapping tongues of fire had taken
root and sprung Into new Ufe. No soon
er do the flowers wither on their stalk
than the lower leaves turn to a warm
crimson, like burning embers, quickly dy
ing 'down to an ashen hue, and just above
them, where the flowers have given place
to the wide-opened pods, are tier upon
tier of downy, Bilk-winged seeds, that
curl up Into the air like smoke.
Dame Nature is full of her Jokes to
those who know, her well. A few weeks
ago I was lazily sauntering through the
woods, watching the swift-bumping, yellow-tufted
.bees hunt thrir way through
the sunlight into the heart of their fa
vorite flowers, the flreweed, and trying
idly the while to distinguish the tired
bees (according to Sir John Lubbock,
those that hummed on E) from the fresh
and lively bees (those that hummed on
A), when suddenly I became aware of a
curious noise a low, crackling, snapping
sound. Was it the warning rattle of dry
twigs under the foot of some approach
ing enemy 7 Was it the clattering rain
of fairy bullets? Or was it a sudden ex
plosion of American patriotism on the
part of Dame Nature, a sort of belated
Fourth of July Jollification? Pop! pop!
pop! came the sounds. It was impossible
for me to locate them; they came fitful
ly, but unceasingly, from the air, from
the earth, from every point of the com
pass around me. My curiosity was
piqued. At the same time, to remove a
slight tremor of alarm that I felt I bold
ly took a step forward, rustling the
branches as I did so. Immediately a
sharp rattle In my ear made me. recoil.
And thon, mockingly, right under my
nose, a little brown podburst asunder,
shooting Its seeds elfishly into my face,
and straightway curled up Into a queer
little withered spiral, - as of one whoso
mission on earth is finished. So the mys
tery was explained. I had stumbled upon
a thicket of Scotch broom, which grows
so abundantly on the East Side, where
it has become naturalized from seeds
brought presumably by the Hudson Bay
Company. The slightest jar of one of
these dry, unopened pods produces a
sound similar to that of a rattlesnake.
And In bright sunshine the splitting of
the pods and discharge of the seeds is
quite like a mimic volley of musketry.
The jubilant energy of the sparrows
just now Is well worth noting. It Is easy
to see that they Intend spcinstaEr a. sur
prise upon the world In the shape of an
exceptionally largo progeny of blrdllngs
this year. Such commotion, made up cf
fuss and feathers and excited twitterings,
over the fat, frightened caterpillars cer
tainly ought to end In seven broods of
young instead of six. Most of the other
birds are In hiding, for It is the begin
ning of the moulting season, and the decorous-minded
among them seem to be
fully aware that even a sense of extreme
courtesy on our part cannot disguise the
fact that they present a. very shabby ap
pearance, with faded feathers all awry,
voices that croak and quaver in uncertain
fashion, a weak and awkward flight, and.
sorriest of all, no tails to speak of.
Most of us do not take any pains to
igmke friends with our blithe neighbors
or me tree lops, me mras. xnat area
pessimist, Schopenhauer, says somewhere
In his writings that Brahminlsm has this
element of superiority to Christianity It
Inculcates love and protection for ani
mals; whereas among Christian nations
laws have to be made and humane so
cieties organized to ensure their safety
and well-being. Among the Hindus such
a thing Is unheard of; It is partiof their
religion. The Christian, when he wishes
to show his gratitude for some special
blessing from Heaven, sings a Te Deum;
but the OElndu goes to the market-place,
buys a cage of birds and sets them free.
This stern indictment of our vaunted
Christian humanltarlanlsm is at least
worthy of investigation.
GERTRUDE METCALFE.
Plain Truth Here.
Aurora Borealls.
This "antl-lmperlallsm" cry Is not sole
ly to appease Democrats opposed to the
free coinage of silver at the ratio of
16 to 1, but to elude the argument of good
times. Had free sllyer been hoisted as
the paramount issue Bryan and his fol
lowers would naturally have been called
upon to explain why prophecies of 3896
have not been fulfilled. With "anti-im-perlallsm"
they have a theoretical char
lot that can travel on prosperity's road.
"Good" Editors.
Arlington Independent
It is somewhat amusing to observe the
posing being done by the country ed
itors during" the grist of the "Gallery of
Oregon Newspapermen." Perhaps it may
be said to have a good Influence upon
the above-named population. Many of
these editors are becoming "good" and
are actually missing their semi-annual
spree.
SLINGS AND ARROWS-
The time-honored ratio Is laid away
"With the faXes o -other days.
And the "tree silver Issue Is zone to star
"With the shade of the greenback erase.
Time was when the raw free colnaga AH
Could sometimes bo made to so.
And that was the tune when our little boy BUI
Shouted It high and low.
"Away with the Nation's debts." he said,
"Lot's make our money cheap.
And we'll knock the corporate creed In the
head '
And put the trusts to sleep."
But while he was howltn an ontl's spiel
HornswoTCled our little boy BUI.
And they shuffled the deck for a different deal
"While they bid his rich voice be stilt
But the time-honored ratio patiently waits
For our little boy Bill's return.
For the voice onco mora' to Invoke the fates
To give us all money to burn.
And It wonders as waiting: neslected till
Election, day draws nleh.
"What has become of our little boy Bill
Since he bade them a lonjr good-bye.
A Baclc 5nmbtA
"I'm out of it" said the bathlnc suit.
"What's the matter?" Inquired the towel,
dryly.
"Oh. nothlnc. only I arrived hero this year
Just In time to set a rorseous view ot my
finish. I used regularly to succeed the opera
gowns In the columns of the funny papers as
a synonym for nothingness, but these rainy
day costumes have got me going in the be
ginning ot the first round."
My wish.
X want to be the Ice man
And on a wagon stand
And hold & ten-pound chunk of loe
Inclosed In my right hand.
XVTxT She Fell Dead.
"Sapphlra," said the apostle, "we Just man
aged to get a straight tip out of Ananias on
the figure be sold that three-acre tract for."
"You don't mean to tell me he actually told
yea the price?" Inquired the lady.
"That's right." said the apostle, "14 shekels
per."
As this was the real figure. Sapphlra fell
dead. "What else could one expect ot her under
the circumstances?
Plenty of. Time.
O noble Herr von TValdersee.
"When you've had time to tell
Tour friends and relatives good-bya
And bid Klnr Bill farewelU
The trouble you were going to.
Of course will be no more.
But then by that time there perhaps
"Will be another war.
Not Classified.
"Here Is & lady who wants "Red Pottage,' "
said the salesman.
"Well," Inquired the head ot the depart
ment, "why don't you get It for her?"
"Because," said the salesman. "I've looked
through all the cook books and we haven't
got It"
Pleaaant All the "While.
Pleasant In the meadows
When the sun Is shlnln' bright
"When the skies Is warm an" cheertn
An' the clouds Is out o sight
Pleasant In the meadows
When the rain beats on the grass.
And the gray clouds roll an tumble.
In their frollo as they pass.
Pleasant In the meadows
If the heavens frown or smile.
In the sunshine or the shadows.
Pleasant all the while.
J. J. MOOTAOUB.
SONGBURSTS OF SWEET SINGERS
HYMW.
At morn, at noon, at twilight dim,
Maria, thou hast heard my hymn.
In Joy or woe. In good or 111.
Mother ot God. be with me atllli
When the hours flew brightly by.
And not a cloud obscured the sky.
My soul. lest It should truant be.
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee.
Now, when storms of life o'ercast
Darkly my present and my past
Bid my future radiant shine.
"With sweet thoughts of thee and thlnet
At morn, at noon, at twilight dim,
Maria, thon hast heard my hymn.
In Joy or woe. In good or 111,
Mother of God, be with me still t
"Edgar Allan Poe.
TWILIGHT.
It Is the hour when from the boughs.
The nightingale's high note Is heard.
It Is the hour when lovers' vows
Am iweet In every whispered wrd.
And gentle winds and waters near
Mako muslo to the lonely ear.
Each flower the dews have lightly wet
And In the sky the stars are met
And on the wave a deeper blue.
And on the leaf a browner hue, '
And in the heaven that clear obscure.
So softly dark and darkly pure.
That follows the decline of day,
"When twilight melts beneath the moon away.
Lord Byron.
- THE RECONCILIATION.
As thro' the land at eve we went
And plucked the ripened ears.
We foil out my wife and I,
Oh, we fell out, I know not why.
And kissed again with tear-!.
For when we came in here lies the child
Wo lost In other years,
Thore above the little grave.
Oh. there above the little grave.
Wo kissed .again with tears.
Alfred Tennyson.
NEAHING THE END.
A little older every day,
A little nearer to the close.
Nearer the ending of the fray.
Nearer the long repose.
Nearer the time when o'er our heads.
Shall spring the blossom and the grass.
And friends shall murmur. He Is dead,
As by our tomb they pass.
Oh, how the years go rolling on.
How short the steps to manhood's prime.
How soon the gold of life Is gone.
Into the vaults of time!
H Father Ryan.
THE DEATH BED.
We watched her breathing thro the night
Her breathing, soft and low.
As In her breast the wae of Ufa.
Kept heaving to and fro.
But when the morn came, dim and sad.
And chill, with early showers.
Her quiet eyelids closed she had
Another morn than ours.
Thomas Hood.
HOSE AVLMER.
Ah, what availed the sceptered race.
Ah, what the form divine.
What every virtue, eery grace?
Rose Aylmer, all were thine.
Rose Aylmer, whom these wakeful eyes
May weep, but never see,
A n'ght of memories and of sighs,
I consecrate to theel
Walter Savage Landor.
SEA DIRGE. .
Full fathom five thy father Ilea
Of his bones are coral made.
Nothing of him that doth fads
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something new and strange.
Sea nymphs hourfy ring his knell;
Hark, now I hear them! Ding, dong, bell.
William Shakespeare.
VANISHED DELIGHTS.
If I walk In Autumn's even.
When the dead leaves pass.
If I gazo on Spring's soft heaven.
Something- Is not there that -was.
Winter's wondrous frost and snow,
Summer's cloud where are they now?
' Percy Bysshe Shelley, I
MASTERPIECES OF LITERATURE,
xxvin.
Daniel Webster's Reply to HayneSpeech i
In tho United States Senate.
January 26 1830.
But sir, -what is this danger, and -what :
are the grounds ot it? Let it be re
membered that the Constitution of the
United States 13 not unalterable. It la
to continue in its present form nc longer I
than the people -who established it shall
choose to continue It it they shall be
come convinced that they have made an
injudicious or inexpedient partition and
distribution of po-wer between the stats
governments and the general Government,
they can alter that distribution at -will.
If anything is found in the National
Constitution, either by original provis
ion or subsequent interpretation, -which
ought not to be in it the people know
how to get rid of It It any construction,
unacceptable to them, be established,
so as to become practically a part of the
Constitution, they will amend it. at their
own sovereign pleasure. But -while th
people choose to maintain it as it la,
while thay are satlsned with It and re
fuse to change it who has given. o
who can give, to the state Legislatures
a right to alter it either by interference,
construction or otherwise? Gentlemen
do. not seem to recollect that the people
have any power to do anything for them
selves. They imagine there is no safety
for them, any longer than they are un
der the close guardianship of the stata
Legislatures. Sir, the people have not
trusted their safety, in regard to tha
general Constitution, to these hands. They
havo required other security and taken
other bonds. They have chosen to trust
themselves, first, to the plain words of
thgr instrument, and to such construction
as the Government themselves. In doubt
ful cases, should put on their own pow
ers, under their oaths of office, and sub
ject to their responsibility to them; Just
as tho people of a state trust their own
state governments with a similar power.
Secondly, they have reposed their trust
In the efficacy ot frequent elections, and
in their own power to remove their own
servants and agents whenever they see;
cause. Thirdly, they have reposed trust
in the Judicial power, which. In order that
it might be trustworthy, they have made
as respectable, as disinterested, and
as Independent as was practicable.
Fourthly, they have seen fit to
rely, in case of necessity, or high
expediency, on their known and
admitted power to alter or amend the
Constitution, peaceably and quietly, when
ever experience shall point out defects
or Imperfections. And, finally, tho peo
ple of the United States have at no time.
In no way. directly or Indirectly, author
ized any state Legislature to construe
or Interpret their high Instrument of
government; much less, to Interfere, by
their own powers, to arrest its course and
operation.
If, sir, the people In thesa respects had
done otherwise than they hava done, their
Constitution could neither have been pre
served, nor would It have been worth
preserving. And it It3 plain provisions
shalt now be disregarded, and these
new doctrines Interpolated In it it will
become as feeble and helpless a being
as its enemies, whether early or more
recent, could possibly desire. It will
exist In every state but as a poor de
pendent on state permission. It must
borrow leave to be; and will be, "no
longer than state pleasure, or state dis
cretion, sees fit to grant the indulgence,
and to prolong Its poor existence.
But, Sir, although there are feai
there are hopes also. The people have
preserved this, their own chosen Consti
tution, for 40 years, and have seen their
happiness, prosperity, and renown grow
with Its growth, and strengthen with
its strength. They are now, generally,
strongly attached to it Overthrown by
direct assault it cannot be; evaded,
undermined", nullified, it will not be If
we, and those who shall succeed ua
here, as agents and representatives of
the people, shall conscientiously and
vigilantly discharge the two great
branches of our public trust, faithfully
to preserve, and wisely to administer
it
Mr. President, I havo thus stated tho
reasons of my dissent to the doctrines
which have been advanced and main
tained. I am conscious of having de
tained you and the Senate much too
long. I was drawn Into the debate with
no previous deliberation, such as Is
suited to the discussion of so gravo
and Important a subject But It is a
subject of which my heart Is full, and
I have not been willing to suppress the
utterance of Its spontaneous sentiments.
I cannot even now, persuade myself
to relinquish It, without expressing onco
more my deep conviction, that, since
It respects nothing less than tho Union
of the States, it is of most vital and
essential Importance to the public hap-
plness. I profess. Sir, in my career
hitherto, to have kept steadily In view
the prosperity and honor of the whole
country, and the preservation oC our
Federal Union. It Is to that Union wa
owe our safety at home, and our con
sideration and dignity abroad. It is to
that Union that we are chiefly indebted
for whatever makes us most proud of
our country. That Union jwe reached
only by the discipline of our virtues In
the severe school ot adversity. It had
Its origin in the necessities of disordered
flnanco, prostrate commerce, and ruined
credit Under lt3 benign Influences
these great interests immediately awoke,
as from tho dead, and sprang forth with
newness of life. Every year of its dura
tion has teemed with , fresh proofs ot
Its utility and Its blessings; and al
though our territory has stretched out
wider and wider, and our population
spread farther and farther, they have
not outrun its protection or Its benefits.
It has been to us all a copious fountain
of National, social, and personal happi
ness. I have not allowed myself. Sir, to
look beyond the Union, to see what
might lie hidden in the dark recess
behind. I have not coolly weighed the
chances of preserving liberty when the
bonds that unite us together shall be
brokon asunder. I have not accus
tomed myself to hang over the preci
pice of disunion, to see whether, with
my shqrt sight, I can fathom the
depth of the abyss below; nor could I
regard him as a safe counselor In the
affairs of this Government whmo
thoughts should be mainly bent on con
sidering, not how the Union may be
best preserved, but how tolerable might
be the condition of the people when it
should bo broken up and destroyed.
"While the Union lasts, we have high,
exciting:, eratlfylns prospects spread
out before us, for us and our children.
Beyond that I seek not to penetrate
the velL God grant that In my day,
at least, that curtain may not risel
God grant that on my vision never may
be opened what lies- behind! When my
eyes shall be turned to behold foe the
last time the sun in heaven, may I not
see him shining on tho broken and dis
honored fragments of a once glorious
Union; or states, dissevered, discordant
belligerent: on a land rent with civil
feuds, or drenched, it may be, in frater
nal blood! Let their last feeble and
lingering glance rather behold the gor
geous ensign of the Republic, now
known and honored throughout the
earth, still full high advanced, it3 arms
and trophies streaming In their original
luster, not a stripe erased or polluted,
nor a single star obscured, bearing for
Its motto, no such miserable lnterroga.
tory a3 "What, Is all this worth7" nor
those other words of delusion and folly,
"Liberty first and Union afterwards";
but everywhere, spread all over in
characters of living light, blazing on
all its ample fold's, as they float over
the sea. and over the land, and In every
wind under the whole heavens, that
other sentiment dear to every true
American heart, Liberty and Union,
now and forever, one and Inseparable!