THE SUITOAY OKEGONIAtf, P0ETLA2O), JANUARY 26, 1902.
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I
PORTLAND, SUXDAY, JANUARY 20.
TEE ELECTRIC RAILROAD.
Those who are planning to build an
electric line of railroad up the Klickitat
River from the Columbia to Goldendale
have hit upon the best and surest means
for the giving of transportation facili
ties io what may be called the "side
districts" of Oregon and Washington.
It has been demonstrated that if regions
JIke the Klickitat Valley are to wait
upon the coming of standard lines of
railroad they must wait long. The cre
ation of suqh lines is a slow business.
Neither the enterprise nor the capital
for extensive railroad projects is easily
found, and their cost makes them, In
many Instances, Impracticable from a
business standpoint.
But the electric road is quite another
thing. It is lighter of construction, it
19 simpler and cheaper to operate, and
It is in all respects calculated to an
swer the requirements of districts whose
main necessity is to be brought into
connection with some through line of
railroad comparatively at hand, or
with one or another of our many nav
igable water courses. For the creation
of roads of this kind, Oregon and "Wash
ington have an especial advantage in
their almost universal resource of water
power. "We know of no district large
enough in its productive character to
make traffic for an electric line which
has not a water power available for its
operation. Power which elsewhere is a
costly thing is here very cheap, or may
be made so, for it now runs to waste
down every canyon and almost down,
every hillside.
The Klickitat Valley Is only one of
many similar districts which might be
brought into immediate connection with
general markets by the construction of
relatively cheap electric railroads. The
eastern part of Clackamas County, the
Nenalem country and other regions be
yond number which make little or no
progress under present conditions have
the means of development in their own
hands if they would strike for relief
through the relatively cheap electric
road, rather than hope against hope for
the standard road, which is wholly be
yond their reach -unless some great cor
poration may chance to look their way
in connection with larger projects. The
electric road is plainly the practical
thing for such communities, affording,
as it does, an absolutely efficient means
of transportation at relatively small
cost for construction and for operation.
There is no more Interesting phase
of secondary development In the older
sections of the United States than the
growth of electric railway lines. East
and "West, they are spreading every
where, and very commonly in districts
already occupied by lines of standard
road. With one break of less than
three miles, it is now possible to travel
all the way from New York to Boston
by trolley lines; and the Journey could
bo almost indefinitely extended in half
& dozen directions north from the last
named city. Right alongside of the
Erie Canal, and of the many lines of
standard railway which web over the
region of Central and Western New
.York, there are many local electric
lines, and all do a good business. The
relative cheapness of their construction
and operation makes them formidable
rivals of ftie standard roads at all
points where they come into competi
tion; and they are proving to be of lm-
mense advantage In the power which'
they exert to reduce and hold down
general transportation rates.
Chicago is coming to be a center of
electric railroads rivaled only In its
character as a center of standard rail
road lines. There is scarcely a village
anywhere within 25 miles of the city
which may not take Its choice of riding
by standard road or by trolley; and it
is to the facilities which the trolley
lines afford that many of the newer of
Chicago's suburbs owe their existence.
And something like the condition at
Chicago Is repeated In connection with
pretty much every enterprising city in
the West. At Milwaukee, Pittsburg,
Cleveland everywhere it is the same.
California, too, is doing a good deal
in the way of electric road building, in
spite of the disadvantage due to lack
of water power and to the high cost
of coal, which Is there the only availa
ble reservoir of motive power. Santa
.Monica and Sac Pedro are connected
with Los Angeles by electric roads,
which carry both freight and passen
gers, and there are similar connections
between Los Angeles and Pasadena and
other neighboring cities. Oakland has
long been connected with its suburb of
Haywards by electric road, and it has
been found so profitable that the line
Is being extended dowmnto the Santa
Clara Valley some 50 miles or more.
The electric road which connects San
Francisco with Millbrae Is also build
ing south to San Jose, where it Is
planned to make it the trunk line for a
web of ': electric feeders extending
throughout the country about the last
named town.
Everywhere the electric road la com
ing Into extensive use, not merely as a,
mcans'to overcome Isolation, but In dis
tricts already served by standard roads.
It thrives alongside the standard road
because It is able to do business at
lower rates, Its relative cheapness
makes it w.ithln limits, a far better
agency of v transportation for small dis
trlcts than the standard road, which
must earn Interest upon a large basis
of Invested capital. For reasons stated
ibove, and for many others, the elec
tric road Is especially suited to the ne
cessities of this country, and their mul
tiplication hereis only a matter of a
little time.
HIGHLY
BENEFICENT
TKJN."
"PROTEC
Relatively new countries like Oregon
and Washington, whose development Is
dependent largely upon the extension
of railroad lines, have just now an es
pecial grievance against the system
which holds the materials- of railroad
construction at abnormal and unreason
able prices. One condition, unquestion
ably, which holds back railroad enter
prise here is the high price of steel
rails, and for this the great steel trust
Is directly to blame. We say that the
steel trust is to blame because' In mak
ing a price upon rails of $2S it is charg
ing more than the legitimate value 'of
the product, and more than pioneer
railroad construction and all railroad
construction with us is as yet relatively
pioneer work can afford to pay.
The conditions of the steel rail mar
ket in this country and on the other
side of the Atlantic are extremely sig
nificant In our Eastern markets, as
stated above, the current price approxi
mates $28, while the price of the same
rails in England, with freight paid, is
only $22 50 per ton. Ocean freight alone
Is $5 11 per ton; so that American rails
are being sold in England at $17 per ton
net. The power to thus discriminate
against home buyers and In favor of
foreign buyers rests, of course, upon the
leverage which the so-called protective
tariff puts Into Its hands. In this case,
as In some others, It does indeed "pro
tect," but the results of Its protection
are hardly of a kind to charm the
thoughtful student of public interests.
The New York World, from which we
take the figures above quoted, has still
further interesting Information illus
trating the "cinch" which the steel trust
holds upon the country, and its man
ner of malcing the most of it. It finds
that 2,000,000 tons of steel rails are con
sumed in this country annually, and
by multiplying this sum by the differ
ence between the English price and the
American price, it finds that the trust
is collecting from its American custom
ers $22,000,000 in excess of what it would
gladly accept from its foreign cus
tomers. It will, of course, be urged by those
who speak for the steel trust that It
could not profitably sell the whole of
Its product at the low price made to its
foreign customers. This may be so,
but even being so, it does not explain
or justify the wide difference of $11 per
ton between the domestic price and the
foreign price. There are, to be sure,
economies of production in manufacture
upon a scale which permits the sale of
the excess at a price yery far'below the
rate which would be profitable for the
whole product, but in this case the .ar
gument will not apply, for, while cater
ing to the foreign trade .ny making an
extremely low price, the trust has de
liberately established a domestic price
which prohibits railroad construction in
large sections of the United States, and
so limits its own home market Fur
thermore, we have in the public record
of the dividends paid by the trust to
Its own shareholders proof positive that
the business Is largely profitable, and
that It would still be profitable even if
the vast sum exacted from the Amer
ican market for steel rails in excess of
the price made for the -foreign trade
were eliminated from its receipts.
To be specific, at the last quarterly
meeting of the combine, held about two
weeks ago, it was announced that the
earnings for the preceding nine months
were $84,779,298, or a sum equivalent to
8 per cent per annum upon the cap
ital stock of the company. This would
not seem seriously unreasonable,
though it is a pretty good business
these days which will net this rate of
profit; but it becomes highly unreason
able when it is remembered that the
company is Itself a combination of
highly inflated small companies and its
"capitalization" probably represents
double or three times the money actual
ly employed in the business, and when
It is further remembered that great for
tunes are taken out of the earnings in
various forms before the dividend ac
count is made up.
MUST CUT THEIR HAIR AND SHED
THEIR BLANKETS.
Commissioner Jones, of the Indian
Bureau, has decided that If Indians are
to be civilized they must conform to
some of the more common rules of civ
ilized life in their dress and customs.
In this view an order has been Issued
to the noble red man to have his hair
shorn, to cease painting his face and to
refrain from Indulgence On the sacred
dances, the last of which unfit him for
the ordinary duties of even an Indian
camp. To accomplish the Intent of this
order agents are directed to employ all
the means at hand to suspend rations
and other supplies, to confine the
younger Indians who resist in the
guardhouse at hard labor, and by tact,
perseverance and firmness to Induce the
old men to relinquish customs that bind
them to barbarism and its traditions.
Furthermore, the blanket Is to give way
to the clothing of American civiliza
tion. Some of the morev tractable and
enlightened Indians have voluntarily
given up these adjuncts of nomadic life,
but by far the larger number cling to
the customs and costume of their race.
The wisdom of this order is apparent
The encumbering blanket and the long
hair of the Indian are not only insignia
of indolence, filth and savagery, but
they are the instruments thereof. Work
Is Impossible, self-respect is Impossible,
cleanliness is Impossible, as long as
these customs are adhered to; and
without work, self-restraint and a de
gree of cleanliness, civilization is Impos
sible. These indeed constitute Its al
phabet In its paternal dealings with
the Indian It Is surprising that the
Government has not long ago promul
gated and enforced these simple ele
mentary rules of civilization. A blanket
Indian is a blanket Indian; nothing
more until he sheds his blanket and
gets Into clothes, which, as he walks
abroad, at least proclaim; him to be a
human ' being with , an untrammeled
bpdy. Anticipating sullen refusal or
fiery remonstrance, the department
iejry
cautions agents against proceeding with
undue haste In carrying out this, order.
They are to rely upon tact rather than
foxce, .and in no case to use harsh
means ,untll milder measures have been
exhausted. Political history does not
support the Idea that the Indian agent
is a tactful person, hence If dark threats,
of "Indian uprisings" are heard as con
sequent upon this order, it may be taken
for granted that "Poor Do" has not been
tactfully dealt with In the- attempt to
make him cut his hair, wash the paint
off his face and shed his blanket, In the
Interest of; civilization.
aiATHEMATICS IN WAR,
President Roosevelt, in his "message,
referring to West Point education; said:
Too much stress should not be laid, on math
ematics, nor should proficiency therein bo held;
to establish the right of entry to a corps
d'elltc. Tho typical American officer of the
best kind need not bo a good mathematician:
but ho must bo able to control himself, to
control others, and to show boldness and fer
tility of resource in every emergency.
Admiral Melville, in the current num
ber of the Forum, under the title of
"The Military Duty of Engineering In
stitutions," shows clearly that what Is
most needed In both the Army and the
Navy are plenty of officers who are
trained engineers. The working of a
fleet of modern battle-ships has become
largely a matter of steam engineering,
so that Admiral Melville's views con
cerning his own branch of the service
will hardly be contradicted, but It Is
also true of land warfare when con
ducted against a highly civilized enemy
armed with modern artillery and small
arms. The engineer will be the great
factor In modern warfare whether 'waged
by land or sea. The engineering or
mathematical mind has always been
conspicuous among great commanders,
who have employed it for the accom
plishment of strategic and tactical
movements. It was the salient quality
of Napoleon, who was distinguished for
skill as an artillerist, for his eye for the
strength or weakness of a position and
for his laborious calculations resting
on his topographical knowledge of the
enemy's field of operations. General
Scot$ confessed that he owed his vic
tories In Mexico to the engineering skill
and ability of Lee, Beauregard and
Isaac I. Stevens.
The ablest officers of the Confederate
army, Lee and Joe Johnston, were en
gineer Generals. Grant, who on the
general course stood about the middle
of his class, ranked as the finest mathe
matician In his class. Professor Davles,
a famous mathematician, said Grant
was so fine a mathematilcanthat his
real ambition on leaving West Point
was to resign in a few years and be
come a professor of mathematics In
some college of repute. General Sher
man was distinguished for his mathe
matical ability and knowledge of mili
tary engineering. General McPherson
and General Schofield, Sherman's ablest
subordinates, were distinguished for
their mathematical scholarships. The
war found Schofield professor of mathe
matics at St. Louis. General Humph
reys, who succeeded Hancock in com
mand of the Second Corps of the Army,
of the Potomac; General Warren, who
commanded the Fifth Corps, and Gen
eral Wright, who led the Sixth Corps,
were all distinguished for their knowl
edge of military engineering, and so,
too, were Generals Meade, Pope, Frank
lin, W. F. Smith, Porter, I. I. Stevens,
Rosecrans, Slocum, Getty and Couch,
Other things being equal, the soldier
who is-an accomplished military engi
neer win beat the General who Id noth
ing but a master of Infantry tactics,
but of course other things are not al
ways equal, so we sometimes find men
like Hancock, Longstreet and Sheridan,
not conspicuous for their scholarship
in military engineering, who proved
brilliantly successful commanders.
But since the days of our Civil War
the Introduction of Improved rifles and
cannon has so completely revolutionized
modern war that a knowledge of mili
tary mathematics is far more important
and essential to an Army officer than it
was thirty years ago. President Roose
velt admits that the future naval offi
cer "must be a fighting engineer." It
Is equally true of the Army officer who
assumes to conduct operations of any
importance against a civilized foe. Of
course,- If the American soldier was
never confronted with any more for
midable enemy than a Filipino or a
Chinaman, he would need nothing be
yond discipline and ability to use his
rifle, but if we ever meet a highly civ
ilized foe. we shall badly need the ser
vices of the officer of mathematical
training, the skilled artillerist and the
fighting engineer, which is exactly what
General Kitchener has to be today in
South Africa. It took 10,000 American
regulars nearly all day to overcome the
resistance of 1200 Spanish regulars on
San Juan Hill, at a cost to us of nearly
1800 killed and wounded. Suppose the
100,000 "Spanish regulars fighting behind
the splendidly fortified lines of Havana
had obliged us to lay siege to that city,
we should have soon found out that the
modern 'Army officer needs above all
things to be "a fighting engineer.
Granting that the Spanish garrison
could have secured ample supply of
food, Havana might have proved as
costly a nut to crack as Sebastopol.
Defended by modem rifles and artillery,
Sebastopol would be impregnable today.
The French storming column that
with difficulty took the Malakoft in 1S56
could not possibly have succeeded
against riflemen who could make their
fire very deadly at half a mile and coulS
be effective at even a much longer dis
tance. The capacity to measure the
strength and weakness of a position;
the capacity to construct field defenses
and shelters from the enemy's fire; the
capacity to protect your own men while
circumventing the enemy, is the prob
lem before the modern military com
mander, and he cannot solve It success
fully unless he Is an accomplished ar
tillerist and a skillful military engineer.
Thirty years ago large masses of men
could sometimes carry a line of In
trenchments, but today this is out of
the question. The more men in the col
umn of assault the greater the loss to
the attacking party, because the mod
ern rifle is not only of increased range,
but is a repeating gun. The modern
Army officer must be a .man who knows
how and where to plant his field artil
lery, and must be an adept in his
knowledge of the construction and de
fense of all forms of field intrench
ments. Thfe bulk of the modern Army
will be mounted riflemen, supported by
trained field artillery, and defended,
.when necessary, by extemporized field
defenses, whoso lines will need to be
quickly and skillfully established. No
man can be quickly made an accom
plished artillery officer or military en
gineer. Therefore, for modern warfare
there Is need to 'lay special stress upon
the military student becoming profi
cient in military mathematics as ap
plied to artillery, fortification and nalll-
tary engineering generally. The able
Army commander will have to be &
fighting engineer.
LIQUOR LEGISLATION.
Bishop Potter, of New York, in a re
cent address before the Church Club of
that city, declared that "wherever pro
nlbition has triumphed It has educated
a race of frauds and hypocrites. Prohi
bition Is an impudent fraud; ltjs an
Impudent failure; It permits the sale of
sarsaparilla with 17 per cent of alcohol
in it and prohibits the sale of claret
with only 10 per cent of alcohol In It"
Answer to- Bishop Potter is made by
William W. Smith, once Prohibitionist
candidate for Governor of New York,
who sys: "I would like to stick both
my. fists in Bishop Potter's face and
eyes for" what he has said against the
W. C. T. U. and prohibition. I would
like to be locked In a room with him
and have it out I would take both him
and Ralnsford, but not at once, as they
might get the best of me." x
Mrs. Clara Hoffman says of Bishop
Potter: "When he opposes prohibition
he takes the part of the rumseller and
places himself on a level with the people
of the saloon, which he champions."
The intemperate abuse would appear to
be with the prohibitionists, while the
facts and the argument which rests on
the facts would seem to be with Bishop
Potter. Prohibition has been tried In
all the leading states of the Union dur
ing the last fifty years. It has broken
down in Massachusetts and Iowa, The
only states In which it nominally pre
vails today are Maine, New Hamp
shire, Vermont, Kansas and North Da
kota. In nearly all the other states
local option generally prevails. The
license fee is large in moat of the states.
The Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott supports
Bishop Potter's view that prohibition
as a means to the end of abating the
drink evil is a hideous failure. Perhaps
Bishop Potter was too sweeping In his
denunclatlouof prohibition as a "breeder
of hypocrites"; it la rather a breeder of
people puffed up with that kind of self
righteousness which vents Itself In
senseless vituperation of everybody who
Is not a prohibitionist as a "rummy."
When the United States battle-ship Mis
souri was launched at Newport News
on December 2S Miss Marlon Cockrell,
daughter of United States Senator
Cockrell, christened the ship. Miss
Cockrell just before the launching re
ceived this telegram:
Kansas City. Mo., Dec. 2S. 1001. Miss Ma
rlon Cockrell, Newport News, Va.: We appeal
to you In the names of Christian men and
women to use this God-given opportunity to
redeem the namo of poor old Bourbon-soaked
Missouri by using water Instead of wine for
christening the battle-ship Missouri, Yours in
Christ's kingdom.
FANNIE J. HENRY. M. D.
This kind of Invocation of Jesus, who
both made wine and drank It, smacks of
stupidity or sanctimoniousness, and is
probably the kind of stuff that has the
note of hypocrisy in it referred to by
Bishop Potter. The truth is that the
world will not deal with the drink habit
through sentimental legislation. It
will '.test all legislation looking to the
abatement of the drink evil by a com
parison of results. Tested by experi
ments prohibition is thoroughly discred
ited in nearly all thestates of the Union.
It is not discredited because the people
drink more than
ago, for there nev
ey did fifty years
was a time when
, politics and the
the leaders "in soc,
church were m
abstemious; there
never was a t
when there was a
strongeV publl
opinion against latem-
peraace. At
Cubs there Is far less
drinking of arden spirits than formerly.
Wines are sparingly used at dinner,
and visible excess) Is sternly frowned
upon as a violation of social decency
and propriety. 'And this change ha3
taken place in twenty years in New
York State,, where prohibition has never
prevailed. It Is due to enlightened pub
lic opinion. On the otherhand, in
Maine, whenever there Is a .transient
crusade- of law enforcement, the only
result Is that much larger quantities of
liquor are received in express packages
for private persons from outside the
state than before, and that the sales
at the city liquor agency have been
trebled.
The Interstate business Is done legally
under the Interstate commerce law, and
"the original packages" decision of the
United States Supreme Court makes it
easy to obtain a supply of liquor amply
sufficient to irrigate the arid stomachs
of the State of Maine. The conclusion
of the whole matter Is that the princi
ple of prohibition as expressed In
sumptuary laws Is a survival of New
England Puritanism; it was a failure
even under the spiritual terrors of a
theocratic government; It was a failure
under the ablest, sternest and most des
potic of the warrior Plantagenet Kings
of England. It Is a failure today, and
always will be a failure, because its
creed is that "clubs are always trumps,"
when, as a matter of fact. In a country
of absolutely free Institutions clubs are
never trumps; that Is, when a Jaw has
no public sentiment of self-interest be
hind It, that law is sure to be nullified
and become essentially obsolete. You
can gradually educate the people up to
the level of abstemiousness, but you
cannot legislate them into a state of en
forced total abstinence. A number of
eminent clergymen have at last found
out that the best remedy for the drink
evil is not enacted Idealities, sermons
cast into statutes; it is the best working
law that the greatest number of people
will fairly support The public opinion
incarnated by the saints forms but a
small part of the ruling forces of soci
ety; and this fact must not be forgot
ten when liquor laws are made.
ARID IAND FILINGS.
It Is the opinion of Hon. Ethan Allen
Hitchcock, Secretary of the Interior,
that there Is no one question nbw be
fore the American people of greater
Importance than the conservation of the
water supply looking to the reclama
tion of the arid lands of the West and
their settlement by men who will actu
ally build homes thereon and create
communities.
The question, as thus stated. Is a com
pound one, the value of Its solution de
pending upon the extent to which its
latter clause is carried out Applica
tions covering nearly 200.000 acres of
arid lands in the eastern section of our
state haye lately been filed at Salem
under the Carey act, the purpose of
which is to insure the settlement of
reclaimed lands through terms and
guarantees that will make such settle
ment possible and profitable to home
seekers. Homeless areas, though yellow with
wheat at the harvest season, or dotted
with flocks and herds, "do not fulfill the
dream of occupation which has long
hovered over these lands. Homes and
families, schoolhouses and churches,
neighborhood .amenities and festivities
these,. -fulfill the Ideas of occupancy
conceived by "th first explorers who
made their way in the early years of
the past century over the beautiful wil
derness to the Pacific Ocean then, but
for the Indian and buffalo trails, a
trackless waste.
If, under the Carey act, these ideas
may be realized, we should welcome the
perfection, not only of eight, but of any
number of applications for arid land
at our state capital. Individual settlers
cannot reclaim this land, for reasons
thato are obvious. Capital Is required,
ana system which Involves competent
engineering and a greatXamount of la
bor. Private corporations cannot be
trusted to defend at all points the set
tler's Tights against their own all-absorbing
interests. To meet these diffi
culties, which have made the occu
pancy. In the sense of home-building, of
these vast arid lands impossible, the
Carey act was framed. Closely scanned,
It became a law, and Its operations so
far as tested have justified the Intent
of Its author and sponsors.
With applications covering many
thousand acres in sections of our
state, easily accessible and of proven
fertility, our people will in a few years
witness a practical and conclusive test
of the efficiency or Inadequacy of this
law.
A very cheap little parasitical paper
printed In Portland says: "Mr. Scott,
as a candidate for Mr. Simon's seat in
the United States Senate, is not an im
partial Judge of Mr. Simon's acts." In
the first place, It Is not Mr. Simon's
seat, but a seat belonging to the State
of Oregon, which the people of Oregon
will have opportunity to fill soon, as
they may think fit In the next place,
Mr. Scott Is not a candidate. actual
or possible, for It Finally, The Ore
gonlan Will exercise Its right of judging
as to public men and public measures
without asking the consent of any poli
tician or boss, or of the little organs
that may be hired for any paltry serv
ice. As for Mr. Simon, .if the people of
Oregon want to return him to the Sen
ate, they will have full opportunity to
do so. He now puts himself directly
before them as a candidate for that po
sition, and asks that a Legislature be
elected on that Issue. He never has
done this before. All his efforts In that
behalf hitherto have been made by In
direction. It is to be a plain, straight
issue now; and The Oregonlan thinks
the people of Oregon have a right to
all Information about It. If, upon full
consideration. It shall appear that they
desire Mr. Simon's election for another
term, he will be entitled to it But let
us have things done in the open.
Habitual drunkenness Is a direct
cause for divorce In 33 states of the
Union. It could be extended to the re
mainder with great justice to women
who occupy the unfortunate and hope
less position of the drunkard's wife.
The Supreme Court of West Virginia
recently decided a case of this kind
In favor of the wife, the deciding Jus
tice saying: "No woman Is compelled
to live with that worst of all brutes
a drunken brute to the peril of her
health and life." While this provision
In any state will not effect the release
of martyr wives who reject all relief
that cornea through the divorce chan
nel, It opens the door of escape to suf
fering women who have a sense of the
dignity and Individual responsibility of
true womanhood that will not permit
them to sink their own and their chil
dren's happiness In another's uncon
trolled appetite for strong drink. What
ever may be said of the scriptural
ground for divorce. It falls far below
In capacity to inflict degradation and
suffering upon wives and homes, the
condition known as "habitual drunk
enness." One point made' In yesterday's edi
torial on the Lockwood primary law
was Incorrect, In so far as based upon
the Idea that the several factions of a
party are to have separate ballot boxes.
There Is only one ballot box for each
party, and only one official ballot for
each. When the voter calls for a Re
publican ticket, he gets an official Re
publican ballot, which contains all the
various regular and independent tick
ets that have been properly accredited
with the County Clerk. This fact mod
ifies In an Important degree what was
said yesterday about the Lockwood law
putting it in the power of the judges
to destroy the secrecy of the ballot.
The voter must declare his party open
ly, and to that extent he Is denied the
secrecy afforded by the Australian bal
lot at general elections. But he Is per
fectly free to exercise his secret choice
among the various lists of delegates.
This Is a good provision. It Is in the
interests of purer politics and larger
participation in the primarlea
Seth Low has been Mayor of New
York for more than half a month, and
yet he has not purified the city. Dr.
Parkhurst Is both indignant and impa
tient at this unseemly delay in effecting
municipal reform, and advises the
Mayor in an open letter that "there
Is not much to choose between .a Tam
many administration that has bad prin
ciples and a reform administration that
has good principles, but Is afraid to use
them." This rebuke Is Intended fd bring
about municipal reform while you wait,
but it can hardly fail to give cheer tq!
the defeated Tammanyltes, who will see"
in it the entering wedge of discord In
the ranks of reformers that, driven
home, will make a gap through which
Tammany will return to power.
There Is said to be a "pickle famine"
impending, the plckle-produclng area of
the United States having suffered from
drouth last season, rendering the crop
short. One might as well speak of pov
erty in connection with a serious falling
off in the output of diamond mines as
of famine In connection with a shortage
In the pickle crop. There are some
things In general supply and use that
people can do without and still not feel
the pangs of hunge or the sharp pinch
of cold.
Farmers of Eastern Oregon, miners of
Southern Oregon and fruitgrowers of
the Willamette Valley are rejoicing in
a fall of snow of from two to 10 Inches,
accompanied by a 'temperature below
the freezing point In the city the
voice of the plumber and the fuel ven
der Is added to the chorus of rejoicing.
The weather is seasonable. Even the
anxious householder admits this, while
be struggles with the waterpipes and
looks apprehensively at the vanishing
woodpile.
At last the Danish West Indies may
be said to belong to the United States.
Denmark had no use whatever for the
islands, and they will be valuable to
us as coaling and other supply stations.
The price paid for them has not been
made public, but no doubt it ,was all
they were worth.
n IDOLS IN ECLIPSE.
Two Idols are entering eclipse. They
are the grammar and the diction-try. And
the sacerdotal caste of pedmts and pro
fessors finds Its authority on the wane.
We have reeked with the sweet smoke
of rhetoric for a- long time. The world
haa been the vassal of martinets for gen
erations. This is the reversion that follows everj
crystallzed religion. The grammar and
the dictionary were once deml-gods. be
cause In them were the rules of good
usage. Whatever was In the grammar or
the dictionary the high priests pro
claimed as absolute. The question no
longer was "Whence cometh wisdom and
where is the place of understanding?"
The martinets answered It. Therefore,
when we see an apostate like Professor
Sheldon, of Harvard, it Is delightful. He
declares the dictionary is not infallible.
Here indeed is temerity, which will have
to brave the thunders of a sicerdotal
caste.
If Noah Webster knew how his suc
cessors have used him, he would turn
over In his grave. It Is absurd to regard
a dictionary of a living language perfect.
Speech Is a living organism, the standard
of which Is usage. A dictionary is but
as a photograph, and no photograph is
perfect except for the Instant it Is taken.
A pedant, ossified in rule, of course can
not admit this. He has a religion of cere
mony and ritual. A violation of gram
mar or of pronunciation, or a use of a
word contrary to the code of his morals,
is a breach of the peace. With him, the
rules of grammar and the laws of pro
nunciation are the shibboleth of Intel
lect. Solecisms and Improprieties are his
food.
It has come to such a pass that each
succeeding dictionary makes Its predeces
sors antiquated. The assiduity of profess
ors is so great that our vocabulary num
bers, we are told, over 200,000 words, and
Is still spawning with frightful rapidity.
Tho latest dictionary contains thousands
of words not in any preceding book. The
dictionary Is thus becoming more and
more a museum for curios and freaks.
Words and definitions are multiplied to
lengthen the catalogue. They troop after
each other not in squads nor close array
but In Indian style, so as to impress
with their numbers. For example, in the
latest Webster's dictionary, although the
verb "run" Is the first that children use,
it is mystified by a catalogue of about
60 different Intransltivo meanings, all
martialed one after the other, and about
30 transitive. Such stupendous research
as this should put even Coleridge to
shame, who, when he visited Cologne,
counted two-and-seventy stenches, all
well defined, and several stinks.
And the servile Intricacies which dic
tionaries attempt to reach, so as to make
their learning as imposing as possible, are
set forth In menial fashion. It Is an in
sult to an average person's understand
ing to have his eye afflicted by such a
mass of superfluity and iteration. Com
pilers go Into etymology with pompous
ado. Eut Inasmuch as etymology never
did anything but substitute one word for
another, our scholars seem to be unmuz
zling their wisdom to poor advantage.
When we were children In school an
error In definition, pronunciation or ety
mology sent us bounding to the dictionary.
Since we have grown older, we have'
learned that, although the freight of tho
dictionary is heavy. It Is outweighed by
usage. The laws of usage are more per
fect than those of pedantry. But for the
former, all understanding would be Impos
sible. Human intercourse is based on tac
itly accepted laws. One set of them has
made development of speech possible.
This set Is classed under the head of
usage. Usage Is Infallible, not the dic
tionary.
As to grammar, any one who Is ac
quainted with other languages knows that
English is pre-eminently grammarless.
The classic tongues had an elaborate
grammar. We have no Inflections, no
conjugations, no declensions and no gen
ders of nouns. However, to satisfy our
pedants, we have all these. And pedants
lament that they .cannot make English
more accord with the classic models,
whereas they well know that the English,
a grammarless tongue, is more supple and
plastic than any language dead or living.
We are taught by our martinets that a
verb agrees with its subject in number, in
person; that pronouns agree with their
antecedents in gender, number and per
son: that prepositions take the objective
or accusative case; that one verb gov
erns another In the Infinitive mood, and
many other things obviously untrue. Eng
lish relies on sequence and arrangement,
and on inflections almost not at all. This
Is what makes English so simple. The
Greek verb has between CC0 and TOO forms.
The English has less than l-100th as many.
Example: Make, makes, made, making.
As children, we were put through the
throes of parsing. This is as absurd for
English as for Chinook,jargon. Our wise
acre teachers fastened upon our memories
nominative, genitive and accusative cases
and active and passive voices. But inas
much as our language also conveys tho
meaning of the dative, vocative and ab
lative, and also the middle voice, why do
we not load up our language with mora
"grammar"? If "I am washed" Is pas
sive, why Ja not "I wash myself the mid
dle voice? If "Harry strikes Bob" and
"Bob strikes Harry," of course it la all
"very fine to get the young mind tangled
up by teaching that In one case "Bob"'
la nominative, and In the other accusa
tive, even though there Is no visible dis
tinction. As to our ambitious teachers,
even although their wisdom is superior
to that of their pupils only liV- their abil
ity to handy with awful grammatical
terms, let us, pamper their vanity. "Ah,
It's me," saldMr. Squeers, "and me's the
first person singular, nominative case.
agreeing with tHk verb it's, and governed
by Squeerg understood as a acorn, a hour;
but when the 'h resounded the 'a only
Is to be used, as a amj. a 'art, a "Jghway."
And we may flatter our teachers who used
to fret our juvenile "uas with the mys
teries of English grammar that they know
fully as much about it as' Mr. Squeers.
Pedants will not get nearer, happy ex
pression by encrusting themselves in a
petty theory. If speech were ah!lolog
Ical plaything, it might be different; but
it is an instrument. Reason is the rule
of the English tongue. Ahd'ecause xhls
is pre-enfinently so, our language has dis
carded grammar. But for a few excep
tions our words have only one form.
Complicated grammar Is not an accom
paniment of civilization or of literary
skill, because grammar has ajways been
growing more simpler The deeper we go
into history, the more elaborate grow the
forms of words and sentences. The human
mind has learned to express Itself with
out grammar, so called. John Bunyan
knew no grammar at all. This Is the
great triumph of English speech. It is
analogous to the triumph of the alpha,
bet over the idlograms and phonograms
of thfl ancients. Onp of nnr children !
D years old can read ag well as a Chinese
who has spent his whole lifetime learning
J the Chinese characters.
, SLINGS AND ARROWS.
The Glorious Fifth. Act.
Behold the "poor inventor, of whose genius
there's no doubt.
But who has not the common sense; to take a.
patent out;
For yeara and years he wean bum clothes, but
never makes a. moan
Or howl because chill penury has marked blm
for her own.
Meanwhile the villain's drawing down the
caln3 from the device
Which said inventor worked upon with toll and
sacrifice.
It looks as If against him all the deck was
smoothly stacked.
But wait and sec him triumph In the glorious
firth act.
Observe the smooth young fellow who's a con
fidential clerk.
"Who's caught his old employer la some rather
shady work.
He takes the center of tho stage to brazenly
demand
From that same scared employer his most love
ly daughter's hand
The daughter speaks to him as "Sir!" with
scorn In her dark eye.
But still it looks as It the clerk would .land
her by and by.
But let the audionce not bank upon that seem
ing fact.
Just wait and see his finish in the glorious fifth
act.
Now look upon the lady with swell dresses and
a cast.
At whose expensive wardrobe all the women
stand aghast:
She comes to warn the hero's young and sim
ply trusting wife.
That she should have some pointers of her hus
band's early life.
And Intimates that, though he draws but 14 30
per.
He once blew barrels full of coin on necklaces
for her.
She manages to raise a row with admlrablo
tact.
But gets a fatal knock-out In the glorious fifth
act.
Behold tho low comedian, who frequently Is
short
Of funds, and has no visible employment or
support.
Who tells gray-bearded Jokes as If he really
thought them new,
And neier fails o flash coin when the hero's
note 13 due.
Whose faculty for helping folks Is by the vil
lain cursed:
Who always happens to float In Just when he's
needed worst:
He's making love to the soubrette, and though
ou think he's sacked.
Just wait and aee her squeeze him In the glo
rious fifth act.
Tou often think the dramatist has got tho
plot so mixed
That not a man upon this earth could ever get
things fixed.
The hero languishes in Jail, his wife Is lured
away.
His property is all burned down, his daugh
ters go astray:
The villain wears the gladdest clothes and
smokes the best cigara.
And everything upon the stage goes wrong to
beat the cars.
But don't believe, whate'er betide, the drama
tist has lacked
Tho means to make all happy In the glorious
fifth act.
Trouble of the Drama.
PADUCAH, Ky Jan. 25 The citizens
of this place are highly indignant be
cause a traveling company has insulted
the South by playing "Uncle Tom's Cab
In." The revolver market has jumped
several points in the last six hours, and
Is still soaring.
NEW YORK, Jan. 23. The cable trusts
are much Incensed at the authorities for
permitting the performance of "A Mess
age from Mars," which, they say, is an
Infringement on their privileges.
CHICAGO. Jan. 25. The people of Chi
cago have decided not to allow another
production of "Hamlet" In this city, on
the ground that the title of the play Is a
covert allusion to the sire of the town.
SANTA FE. N. M., Jan. 23. It has been
learned that "Arizona" is soon to bo
presented here, and measures will be tak
en to keep it out of the Town Hall. New
Mexico Is a far better state than Arizona,
and a play that is not good enough to be
named after It I3 not good enough to1, be
presented here.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 2a. The major
ity of the patrons of the local theaters
have consented to bring a restraining In
junction against the next manager wno
undertakes to. give "Ten Nights In a Bar
room" In this city. The residents of San
Francisco reserve the right to do as they
please, without belng lectured by tem
perance plays.
TACOMA. Jan. 25. The forthcoming pre
sentation of "A Hole in the Ground," by
a bunch of bum hams from Seattle, will
not be staged here. No Insults to Mount
Tacoma of that character will be tol
erated by our patriotic citizens.
TUe 6oll Wave Flnpr.
Tou may call the weather prophet
Names that are both hard and long.
You may say that his predictions
Are Invariably wrong,
Hli blue flasr. you're fond of telling.
Shows the weather will be fair,
But ou shudder at the banner
With
the
biff
black
square.
t
Though at every other forecast
You are always wont to scoff:
You will hasten home at sunset
And you'll turn the water on.
You will order loads of fuel.
And for Winter you'll prepare.
When you see the flag Is flying
With
tho
big
black
tquare.
There is something In that signal
That betokens certain fate,
You can read In its dark features
"Dangerous. Immediate,"
And although It's mild as noonday,
And no frost Is in the air.
You don't liko to see that banner
With
the
big
black
square.
-J. J. MONTAGUE,
''
Blindfolded and Alone, I Stand.
Helen Hunt Jackson.
Blindfolded and alone I stand
With unknown thresholds on each hand;
The darkness deepens a3 I grope.
Afraid to fear, afraid to hope;
Yet this one thing I learn to know
Each day more surely as I go,
That doors are opened, ways are mad,
Burdens are lifted or are laid.
By pome great law unseen and still,
Unfathomed purpose to fulfill,
"Not a3 I will."
Blindfolded and alone I wait;
L033 seems too bitter, gain too latoj
Too heavy burdens In the load
And too few helpers on the road;
And Joy Is weak and grief Is strong.
And years and days so long, so long.
Ye,t thU one thing I learn to know
Each day more surely as I go.
That I am glad the good and 111
By changeless law are ordered still,
"Not as I will."
"Not as I. will;" the sound grows sweet
Each time mj lips the words repeat.
isot as 1 wui-" the darkness feels
More safe than light when this thought steals
i.iKe wmspered Aae to calm and bless
All unrest and all loneliness.
"Not aa I will," because the one
Who loved us first and iest Is gone
Before ua on the road, aid still
For ua must all his love fulfill.
iot as wa wUL."