The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, September 21, 1902, PART FOUR, Page 32, Image 32

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    THE SUNDAY OEEGOrOAiy. PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 21, 1902.
32
A
ETH 1 C A L TAL KS BY clergy and the laity
A Glimpse at Mew LJork's Mendicant Poor
J. J. Montague Tells How He Made Himself Unpopular With East Side Youngters
SHALL SOCIETY SHARE IN TRUST BENEFITS?
BY F. M. TAYLOR, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TLE utterances of President Roose
velt regarding the trusts bring up
more emphatically than ever be
fore the question of whether or not their
permanence Is fully assured.
Does the trust promise to be a large
and permanent element In our Industrial
life, or Is It possible that It may prove
a failure economically?
What are the probabilities on this
feolnt?
In recent newspaper comment much
stress has been placed on the throwing
of people out of employment, which Is
an Incident to the organization of trusts,
frequently presented as an evil conse
quence ot trusts. It hardly need be said
that this Is one of their greatest advant
ages. Doubtless any industrial change
"which throws people out of employment
Is Immediately to them a loss. But at
the bottom, throwing people out of em
ployment by making their services un
necessary is merely insuring that the
pum total of our wants shall be satisfied
.t smaller cost. Temporarily particular
persons will suffer until they become re
adjusted to the new industrial machinery,
but ultimately all must profit.
Another evil generally charged to the
trust is the maintenance of outrageously
high prices. Unable to get our supplies
from any other source, we shall have to
pay the trusts prices, however oppres
sive. This picture, again, is doubtless
far too dark to correspond with the facts.
In the first place, we would probably be
able in most cases to take refuge in the'
use of substitutes: The gas monopoly,
the electric monopoly, find competitors in
each other, as well as in the new inven
tions like acetylene gas, or old friends
like kerosene.
Still further, any one trust, if it push
Its advantage too far. will inevitably
INFLUENCE OF COMMERCE ON PEACE
BY JOHN B. CLARK, LU PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, COLUMBUS UNIVERSITY
I HAVE heard with an amount of pleas
ure which I seldom experience a sug
gestion of Dr. Edward Everett Hale
that we endeavor to enlist In the cause
of international arbitration the influence
of commercial bodies boards of trade,
chambers of commerce, bankers' associa
tions, and the like. It was a worthy sug
gestion of him, who, in practical ways as
:well as by Idealistic inspiration, has al
ways proved himself the "guide, philoso
pher and friend" of every friend of peace.
"We shall find these bodies able to ac
complish much in the political as well as
the economic world. We shall also find
them willing. They are the great power
that is most willing to help in the effort
to avert wars.
There Is a common Impression that war
makes business productive and creates
profits for many people; and it was a
common saying during the Civil "War at
least In the North that we were getting
rich on the war. I well remember a cru
sade which Henry "Ward Beecher made at
that time for the accomplishment, in
deed, of many things, but Incidentally
with a view to overthrowing this fallacy.
The actual fact was that war was mak
ing ug poorer. Though a limited number
of people were accumulating wealth, this
was done at a terrible cost to the coun
try as a whole.
There are three economic classes that
control politics In the United States, as
elsewhere. They are the farmers, who
represent labor and capital, but not or
ganized labor and capital; the trade
unions, who represent consolidated labor;
end the class which represents consoli
dated capital. All three working together
for the same object would overbear every
IF YOU could be born again,. which sex
would you elect to belong to? Now
this Is a question which my readers
will find difficulty in answering, and even
In speaking about with authority, as each
of them has only had the experiences of
one sex.
Before answering it we must Indeed talk
It over with some very Intimate and trust
TTOrthy friends of the other sex. and com
pare their sentiments and sensations with
our own. We must recall to our minds
nil the observations which we have made
on tho lives of men and women whom we
nave known. Let us not follow the exam
ple of the woman who would be a man
"because men are free," and the man who
would be a woman "because women are
-admired," for the reason that all men are
;not free and women are far from all being
admired.
I have Interviewed on the subject many
Snen and many women, and I have found
an enormous majority of women who
LL the world has heard of J. Pler-
pont Morgan, the banker king, the
master of steamship lines and rail
roads, the organizer of the billion-dollar
trust.
And all the world feels a sort of pride in
the man who Is able to do'what Mr. Mor
gan has done. Ability of any sort, espe
cially if it happens to be supreme ability,
like that which made Napoleon on the one
hand and Jesus Christ on the other, is
adored of men.
The man who can do something great,
whether it be along the line of Industrial
J combination or in the way of ethical and
spiritual uplift, whether a Morgan or a
Jesus of Nazireth, is sure to command
the world's attention and the world's ad
miration. Mr. Morgan lias accomplished great
things; not the greatest, but great, very
great, and If he should die tomorrow he
would go down Into history as an extraor
dinary man, a man of initiation, of gen
ius as great, in his way, as Napoleon, as
Phidias, as Darwin.
But while this is the truth, it is not
the whole truth. Mr. Morgan has often
been tried and has never been found
wanting, but now he must be tried again,
and if he falls in this la3t, final test, he
will go down Into history with his coun
try's malediction upon his head.
To end the coal strike would "be a grand
er work than any that has ever yet been
achieved by Mr. Morgan,- and If the or
stimulate competition of allied trusts. If
It becomes too greedy, demands such a
high price that, even under the more ex
pensive conditions of small production,
there is profit to be made at this price,
then competition inevitably spring up.
That is, the existence of the trust -depends
on Its not- exacting from the public the
highest price which could be paid.
Let us turn to the other side of the
case, to the advantage arising from the
trust. It must be admitted by its most
antagonistic enemy that, like any other
improvement in Industrial organization,
the trust leads to a vast saving in human
effort This gives rise to one of the pop
ular objections to the trust. Truly it
throws people out of employment. But it
does this, not because there is any less
accomplished, but because "improved
methods lead to the accomplishment of
the same results with smaller expendi
ture. In like manner the great consolidation
saves a vast amount in the utilization of
materials. The great factory has so
much waste of particular sorts that it
pays to establish by-Industries in order to
utilize the waste. Again, it carries out
in the completest way the principle of
geographical specialization. The school
furniture trust, for example, will not call
upon the Boston factory to furnish a
school building in Omaha, but will give
the order to the particular plant that lies
nearest to the point, thus insuring a sav
ing in transportation. Of course, all this
will be of no advantagp to society unless
persons interested in the exploiting of
the trust in some way share with con
sumers the galrf due to diminished ex
penditure. That they are compelled to
do this in some measure we have already
seen. That they ought to do It more,
and perhaps win be compelled to, by
trace of opposition, and two of them
working together would, probably gain
their end. What is available as a polit
ical force to be enlisted In the service of
peace Is one of these classes that we can
thoroughly count on, and another that wo
can count on conditionally.
The laboring classes have declared
themselves over and over again in favor
of arbitration. They have done this offi
cially through their organized bodies. Be
fore the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian
War there was a unanimous demand from
the labor unions of France and Germany
for a prevention of the war; and before
every war tnat has recently occurred, in
which civilized nations have been en
gaged, something of that kind has taken
place. When the Venezuelan trouble
threatened to embroil us with England
there were protests by the labor unions
of the United States, Canada and Great
Britain against any course that could
precipitate such a conflict.
The reason for this attitude on the
part of laborers is exceptional. It Is not
because they have a. markedly clearer In
sight Into the economic effects of war
thah have other classes. What they are
keenly alive to Is the fact that the labor
movement Is international; that it Is an
all-around movement embracing many
countries. It aims to emancipate the
workmen of the world, and the partici
pants do not want to be diverted from
that purpose.
How is it with the commercial classes,
upo'n whom at once the burdens of war
precipitate themselves? Except in the
case of a favored few, the effects of war
show themselves In the shape of shrunken
profits or closed avenues for enterprise.
WHAT SEX WOULD YOU BE?
BY MAX 0RELL (PAUL BLOUET)
would elect to be men, and only a very
small minority of men who would elect
to be women. Conclusion: Most people
would elect to be men.
I am a man, and If I were to be born
again and asked to make a choice I would
elect to be a man, but the reason may be
that I possess many fallings of which I
am aware, and also a few qualities which
the most imperfect of us must necessarily
possess who are not absolute objects of
perdition.
For let us say at once that sex suits
character.
I love freedom and hate conventionali
ties; I am a man of action and must al
ways be upland doing. I do not believe
that I am In any way tyrannical, yet I
like to lead and have my own way. If
the position ot first fiddle is engaged, I
decline to form part of the orchestra.
Most of these characteristics are fallings,
perhaps even faults, but I possess them,
and I cannot help possssslng them, and
MR. MORGAN'S OPPORTUNITY
BY REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY
ganizer of the blllionrdollar trust will
now step in and end the agony down In
Pennsylvania and West Virginia he will
convince his coutrymen that his heart Is
as noble as his head io able, and posterity
will look back to him as having been a
man who was philanthropic as well as
politic, a lover of his kind as well as a
lover of the great game of fortune-building.
It is the opportunity of a lifetime, and
it Is to-be hoped- that Mr. Morgan will
make the most of It. '
The distinguished gentleman is report
ed to hive declared that he would do
I nothing about the strike; that neither by
word or deed would he take any steps
toward ending the long and terrible bat
tle between the masters of the coal fields
and their employes; but even though the
report be true.it is never too late to re
consider a resolution.
The sober second thought is always In
order, and millions of Americans are hop
ing that Mr. Morgan will think again be
fore finally and Irrevocably deciding that
he will not use his influence to make
peace In the coal regions.
Mr. Morgan is no longer a young man.
It is years -since he "reached the summit
of the hill of life. Hd Is going down the
hill now, and in a little while, as the
years of 'man's life go, he will be lace
to face with the one event that happens
to all. In a word, the great financier and
multimillionaire wjll find himself on his
some modification of existing laws, is
not unlikely.
Another advantage which the friends of
the trusts have promised with some show
of .reason Is a greater freedom from In
dustrial storms, panics and depressions.
Unrestricted competition is not only
wasteful, but it is dangerous 'to quiet,
orderly progress. In a crisis there is ho
unity of action. It is "each man for
himself," without regard for the conse
quences of the public at large. Gigantic
combinations naturally enough move on
more steadily. Competition is shut out
It is, therefore, pretty certain that the
industrial cyclone would be much less
likely in an industrial society that was
largely adminlsterd by trusts.
An Industrial manifestation of so not
able a sort as the trust Is bound to bring
forward the question, what should be
done about it? Some people do not hes
itate to say that nothing need be done
about it, that the trust will take care of
itself. This conclusion is natural enough
for those who look on Industrial consol
idation as a purely temporary phenome
non growing out of temporary conditions
and destiried "to pass away, as have so
many others before it. This position i3
perhaps equally natural to those who be
lieve that trusts are on the whole benefi
cent, and that such abuses as appear
in their earlier history will gradually
right themselves.
A different class of persons reach much
the same conclusion, though from quite
different premises. Thorough-going so
cialists naturally welcome the process of
consolidation among warring industries
as a step towards their Utopia. One
after another, they say, the industries of
the country will be organized into trusts
and these trusts In turn will consolidate,
until all industrial activity is united in
The direct costs of the war are so colos
sal that they cannot for a moment be dis
regarded, but they are tine least of tho
wastes that war entails. The trouble that
war occasions in the commercial world
is expressed, in the phrase, "Tho disrup
tion of an economic organism..' If I
were to go Into details, on the significance
of this phrase, readers would think that
the subject is dry enough. Some things,
however, are obvious. If two men were
living in an iiolated way, each produc
ing every commodity that he used, they
might declare war on each other with
out entailing posts, except the direct ones
that the fighting would occasion. If,
however, the two men constituted a mi
croscopic community, and if they had de
veloped such a division of labor that one
produced the food for both, while tho
other produced, the clothing, then a. vio
lent feud would mean not only direct
costs but a paralysis of production. If
the connection haB become still more in
timate, 'so that tho men were not only
each other's customers, but each other's
partners, a break between them would be
more disastrous still.
I want to say Just a word about the
marked distinction between the relations
which highly civilized countries, the great
powers of the world, occupy to each
other, and the relation which this circle
of nations occupies to the inferior and
less civilized portion of the world. I am
as far as possible from feeling the slight
est discouragement I rather think I feel
a sense of strong encouragement, as far
as the ultimate success of our movement
is concerned by reason of the fact that
a number of minor wars have been going
on, and that since the creation of The
they naturally Induce me to prefer being
a man.
I have made my confession; let my
readers make theirs, Instead of taking
me to task. I hate to feel .protected, to
be petted, but I would love to protect
and pet a beloved one, whom I would
thlnk weaker than myself. I am a born
fighter, and I don't care for smooth paths,
unless I can make them smooth myself
for xny own use and also for the use of
those who walk through life by my side.
But, leaving aside personal character
istics, which would lead me to elect to
bo a man, there are many reasons which
would cause me to make that choice quite
independent of my character. Nature has
given woman beauty of face and figure,
but there she stopped, and to make her
pay for that gift she has handicapped her
in every possible way.
And when I consider that there are In
this world more ugly women than beau
tiful ones, and that an ugly woman is an
deathbed. And will it not be good for him
to be able to reflect at that time that in
this year of grace 1902 he did what he
could to promote the cause of peace on
earth; that to the best of his knowledge
and ability he used his great power and
Influence at this time to end the ugliest
and most cruel warfare ever seen In the
economic annals- of his country?
Mr. Morgan is a devout churchman. A
member of the Episcopal Church, he Is,
we believe, a regular attendant upon its
noble services and a generous contributor
to the maintenance of the same; and would
it not be well .for the distinguished gentle
man to remember that the great and good
man In whose name his church stands was
noted for, his practical phllanthrophy and
for the deathless love he felt for the whole
human race?
Why a Black Man Is Black.
It Is not an accident that the skin of the
African is black, but a provision of nhture
to fit him for his surroundings, for a
black skin can withstand tne sun's rays
better than a white one. It might be
thought, perhaps that as black absorbs
the rays and white reflects them It would
have been better for nature to give him a
white skin; that he would have been more
comfortable so, but he would not.
The reason Is this: A whito skin
scorches and blisters under a hot sun, but
a black skin does not, for it absorbs the
rays and carries the heat beneath. So far
as bodily comfort la concerned, there la
one universal monopoly, whereupon the
state will take possession of this single
trust and the socialistic goal will have
been attained.
The prescription, then, of those who
favor letting the trust movement entirely
alone Is probably not likely to be ac
cepted. At the opposite extreme jure
those -who desire by severely prohibitive
processes absolutely to destroy the trust.
This remtdy, how,ever. Is probably
chimerical.- The movement toward con
solidation is a rational one. It has be
hind it the elemental forces of nature.
It Is bound to triumph over artificial re
strictionIn one way or another to evade
any prohibitions which may be- put Up
on It.
Thus the do-nothing policy and the do
everythlng policy are alike shut out The
other alternative 13 to recognize the legit
imacy of the trust and gradually work
out a system of regulation which shall
Insure the sharing of the b'eneflts incident
to its institution among the general pub
lic. That such regulation Is inevitable
hardly needs argument. Doubtless
there will always be some protest from
the classes Interfered with, some appeal
to the tlmeworn pica of liberty and the
right of each man to do what he will
with his own. But none of these have
availed In the past and none of these will
avail In the future.
Just what form of regulation the trust
will take it is hard to predict. It is
probable that, first, a fairly sharp distinc
tion will be made between those Indus
trial institutions which may be left to
the ordinary forces of competition and
those which need regulation. These latter,
again, will likely fall into two classes. A
few thoroughly consolidated Industrial
interests will probably be brought under
the direct control of the public Just as
the postoffice Is now. The remainder
will then be left in the hands of private
Individuals, but will be subjected to sharp
regulation under the administration of
commissions, with such degree of pub
licity In accounting as shall Insure, the
safeguarding of the rights and Interests
of the public.
Hague tribunal the world has not lapsed
instantly Into a state of peace. These
minor wars what are they? They are the
unhappy attendant Incidents of the eco
nomic annexation of uncivilized portions
of the world to the civilized portion; they
are causing that great circle of nations
within which war is soon to be prevented
by economic causes to grow larger and
larger. -A zone that was outside of the
Influence of high civilization Is Included
within it; the process involves awar, un
fortunately. Do you think that. In the
end, it makes war? On the contrary,
It continually extends the area within
which forces that we did not originate,
but forces that wo gladly and confidently
appeal toA are In process of establishing
perpetual peace.
I recall well the feeling that we used
to have when the phrase that is so at
tractive "The parliament of man, the
federation of the world" was used in lit
erature and in conferences for the pro
motion of arbitration. It had a political
sound. To use the words of one speaker,
we thought of those who were working
for It as
Rowing hard against the stream,
and we took courage from .the fact that
in the operation they
Saw distant gates ot Eden gleam.
But it is more than the gates of Eden,
since it is nothing distant and is not of
the nature of a paradise that we can
reach only by passing through and be
yond the tangible present world. It is as
substantial as anything earthly, and is
more like the rock of a mountain than
like tho mist that floats over it. What it
is exactly is rock In the process of mak
ing and well advanced in the process. It
is coming into existence through the ac
tion of coumic force. Economic laws are
resistlessly working to bring the world
into a federation. To us it is even given
to do something to make them work more
efficiently.
abomination of desolation, an anomaly, a
freak, I altogether fail.to see why 90 wom
en out of a hundred should return thanks
for being women. I have no hesitation In
saying that the woman who is not beauti
ful has, no ralson d'etre, and that only
few beautiful women are happy to be
alive after they are 40.
Wctnen have terrible grievances, many
of which society and legislation (that Is io
say, In the second case, men), ought to
redress. But the greatest- grievances of
women are, to my mind, against 'nature,
most especially In their tender relations
with men.- These grievances cannot and
will never be" redressed.
In love woman has an unfair position;
she gets old when 2 man of the same
age remains young; in every race she Is
handicapped out of any chance of winning
or even getting a dead heat. For these,
reasons especially I should elect to be a"
man.
Ah, what a pity we cannot decide out
fato in every phase of life. In which
case I would elect to bo a beautiful woman
from 20 to 20, a brilliant officer from 30 to
10, a celebrated painter from 40 to 50, a
famous poet or novelist from 50 to CO;
Prime Minister of England or President
of the United States from 60 to 70, and
a cardinal for the rest of my life.
(Copyright, 1902. W. R. Hearst.)
all the difference In the world between a
scorched skin and one that Is not scorched,
and, therefore, the black man Is better
fitted to withstand the equatorial heat.
If you will bear this in mind until next
Summer you may make a simple test of
the matter. Put a white glove on one
hand and a. black glove on the other and
expose them both to the sun. You will
find that the hand with the black glove on
feels hotter than the one with the white
glove on, but It will not scorch and burn
like the latter.
In fact, you may test the matter in Win
ter, too. Lay a piece of black cloth on the
snow and a piece of the same size and
texture, but white, by the side of it. Make
your experiment on a day when the sun
is hot enough to make a thaw, and you
will find; after awhile, that the snow
under the black cloth has melted more
than that under the white cloth, which
shows that the heat Is absorbed by the
black cloth and carried beneath it
.
The Abbey's Funeral-Roll.
St James's Gazette.
Some notable names have been added to
the roll-call of the Abbey under Dean
Bradley. Charles Darwin.. Archbishop
French himself once dean of Westmin
sterRobert Browning, Alfred Tennyson,
and William Ewart Gladstone are among
the names that have been added to the
burial-roll of the Abbey under Dean
Bradley's supervision, and nobody will
quarrel with them. It will surprise many
people, perhaps, to know that only 10
persons have been burled In the Abbey
in the last 20 years, and that only two
of these were women Lady Louisa Prcy,
and Mrs. Gladstone. These, with two
poets, two architects, an archbishop, a
scientist a Queen's printer, and a states
man, complete the roll of the great dead
who have been buried In Westminster
Abbey since Dr. Bradley became dean.
NEW YORK. Sept 13. (Special corre
spondence.) The wind Is beginning
to blow the soft' coal smoke down
the canyons whose preclpitolis sides have
windows in them, and are called sky
scrapers. People who have lived in more
favored spots are longing for home. New
Yorkers insist that time was when the
city was good to look at, but that was
the time when anthracite coal could be
bought for something less than 25 cents
per coal. As It is now, every one burns
the bituminous variety,, and the city is as
dirty as Seattle.
Just what the people who live down on
the East Side are going to do this Winter
with fuel at the present price Is not very
clear. And tt Is still more of a problem
how the poor devils that spend their after
noons looking for work and their even
ings on the benches lri the squares are
going to get along. There are jn good
many of these, several million, apparent
ly, and It will be no eisy matter for
them to find warmth and shelter when
the frost Is on the pumpkin, or would be
If the pumpkin was not kept In a glass
case In the vegetable market.
At Broadway and Tenth streets there"
Is a large bakery and restaurant, which
every night gives away all the bread left
over, together with a cup of coffee for
every consumer of bread. Along about 10
o'clock at night a line of men begins to
form on Tenth street By 11 It has reached
to Broadway, where a gap is made by a
policeman, and the line reforms In front
of a street lamp-post on Broadway, where
It grows and grows, until at 12, when the
giving out of , the loaves begins, it is
nearly a block long, and Includes over 200
men. The fact that these poor fellows are
willing to stand In line for two hours for
a loaf of bread1 and a cup of coffee indi
cates that they are needy. Any one of
them, taken out of the, line and made to
tell his story, could bring tears to the
eyes of a graven image. It is not a spec
tacle calculated to Inspire the youth of
the country with an ardent desire to; .come
INTERNATIONAL
First Volumes of a
AN event of much interest to both the
scientific and literary world has
Just occurred in the appearance of
the two first volumes -of the long-hoped-for
and much-discussed "International
Catalogue of Scientific Literature." In
these days, when so much thought and
labor are being expended upon scientific
work, It la natural that the literature on
any one of tho many sciences should bo
not only great In extent, but very much
scattered, appearing, as it does, in all
quarters of the globe. A specialist in
any one of the branches of science feels
tho. need of some aid in keeping In touch
with other workers on similar lines
through the published records of their
works, but In most cases this Is found to
be a matter of much difficulty, owing to
the lack of complete Index or bibliography
of current scientific literature.
Movement Began in 1855.
Indexes to some of the sciences are from
time to time published, but, excepting In
a few cases, are neither complete nor up
to date. It is intended that the "Inter
national Catalogue of Scientific Litera
ture" shall fill In this gap by publishing
each year a complete Index to all the
literature of all the sciences for the year.
This Is a big undertaking, and its fulfill
ment has been attended with much diffi
culty, as will be seen by a short outline
of Its history. In 1S55 Professor - Joseph
Henry, first secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, with whom, the Idea of an In
ternational scientific catalogue originated,
brought the matter to the attention of the
Britsh Association for the Advancement
of Science at the Glasgow meeting of 'that
year. International co-operation could not
then be arranged, but Professor Henry's
Idea was not lost, for in 1S67 the Royal So
ciety of London began to Issue its now
classic catalogue of scientific papers. Al
though this was a step in advance, it by
no means carried out all of Professor
Henry's plan as this catalogue was re
stricted to the serial publications of sci
entific societies and was indexed only by
author names. Beyond the occasional
publication of volumes of this catalogue
little .more was done In the matter until
1S94, when the Royal Society issued a cir
cular addressed to the learned societies
of the world calling attention to the need
of International co-operation in indexing
scientific literature. In response to this
circular the societies advised that an In
ternational conference be held in London
to further consider the subject Acting on
this advee the Royal Society, through the
British Foreign Office, requested the Gov
ernments of the world to send representa
tives to a conference to be held in London
In 1S9G, to decide on the value and possi
bility of establishing international co-operation
leading to the productlqn of an In
ternational catalogue of scientific litera
ture. Delegates from most of the princi
pal countries of the world attended this
conference, two having been sent by the
United States.
System of Classification.
The delegates decided that the several
countries should co-operate In the pro
duction of a current Index of all scientific
literature and that this Index should not
LETTERS asking for general Informa
tion will be answered In these col
umns. Letters should be written on
one side of the paper, and must be ac
companied by the name and address of
the writer not for publication, however.
All letters without the name ofthe writer
go to the waste-basket.
"Standard" Dictionaries.
Kindly Inform me through the columns
of your paper If Webster's Dictionary
was ever the "standard" dictionary of
the United States; if so, upon what or
whose authority was It adopted as such?
Also please state the present standard,
when and by what authority adopted.
A. C. J.
For many years Webster's was the best
dictionary In the United States that Is to
say. It was so regarded by the scholars
of the country and by the masses. In a
broad sense It was and still Is a stand
ard. No educational, political or legal au
thority exists In this country for fixing
standards In literature. Only opinion
governs. If you depend on the Century
or the Standard for your words, you have
an authority that cannot be nullified.
We have no present standard dictionary,
and no -power to create one. Suppose Con
gress should appoint a commission to
compile a dictionary. Could the public
schools be compelled to adopt It? At tho
National capital there Is a commission on
geographical names. It decided on "Skag
way" as. the official spelling of the name
of the Alaska town, and this was adopted
by the postofflce and other departments
of the Government But the Government
cannot declare the orthography and
meaning pf every word in the English
-1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
to New York and make their way.
Down on the East Side, where there are
so many children that you can't see the
street most of the time, foolish persons
are sometimes tempted to yield to their
clamor to "Throw a penny." I was one
of them. I thought it would be fine
sport to see a crowd of Utile chaps scram
bling for coppers, and so let three or
four, of them fly mto the center of the
street
Before I could see. them coming. Imag
ine where they came from or believe so
many children possible in one place, thefre
were something like 10CO of them in my
wake
"Throw U3 some more pennies," said
they.
I replied, like Simple Simon, "Indeed, I
haven't any," but it wouldn't do. They
followed me up one street and down an
other, for about two miles. Men came
running out of shops to see what was
going on, women screamed after me to
send their children home, nolicempn hur
ried from back streets to see what I had
stolen, and all the while the mob of little
wretches howled and jeered, and accused
me of favoritism and stinginess. I finally
dodged Into a restaurant and a pretty
hard-looking restaurant It was and after
a while they left off their execrations and
went home.
I have not done any more sightseeing
on the East Side. I am afraid that If I
should go down there Ave years from now
that crowd of youngsters would recognize
me as the chap that was so miserly with
his pennies. I expect It would take about
51.000.000.CCO in pennies to supply the de
mand there long enough to permit an
amateur philanthropist to make his es
cape. The same kind of a crowd collects along
the line of the Long Island Railroad, in
the outskirts of Brooklyn, when the
crowd comes up from Sheepshead Bay or
Gravesend race tracks. They are gen
erally successful there, for the people on
the train who have played the races suc
CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
Stupendous Work Completed HT Its World-Wide Scope.
only be arranged according to authors'
names but should be also a minutely
subdivided subject index.
The subject index proposed was to be
so arranged that any one whose Interest
centered in a special subject could by ref-"
erence to the yearly volumes at once find
a record of all the writings on a subject
for an entire year.
This plan necessitated a veay elaborate
system of classification in each of the sci
ences, and Ic was not until a third confer
ence had been held in London in 1C00 that
the various details of the plan, of publi
cation could be fully decided upon. The
preparation of schedules classifying the
sciences entailed great labor and occa
sioned much difference of opinion, but af
ter a series of compromises, a set of
schedules embracing all sciences was
agreed upon and the work was begun.
The catalogue is to be published in 17 an
nual volumes, beginning wth the literature
of 1901 and Is to Include classified refer
ences to all published original contribu
tions to the following named sciences to
each of which one volume a year will be
devoted. Mathematics, Mechanics, Phys
ics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Meteorology
(including terrestrial magnetism), Min
eralogy (Including Petrology and Crystal
lography), Geology. Geography (Mathe
matical and Physical), Paleontology, Gen
eral Biology Botany, Zoology,' Human
Anatomy, Physical Anthropology, Physi
ology (Including Experimental Psychology,
Pharmacology and Experimental Pathol
ogy), and Bacteriology.
Division and Redtvlslon.
The schedule adopted in classifying each
of these sciences divides and redlvides the
general subject to such an extent that, as
finally published, a reference on any sub
ject will find it3 place in one or more of
the volumes associated with other refer
ences on the same subject A student will
thus be enabled to find In a moment the
titles of" all of the year's literature on a
special subject, together with exact refer
ences to the books, pamphlets or period
icals containing the writings referred to.
Any one who has tried to find any par
ticular needle in the haystack of scientific
literaturo will appreciate fully the aid this
catalogue will be, not only to the scien
tific specialist, but to the general reading
public, there being few Individuals who do
not wish at times to look up subjects In
some one of the many far-reaching
branches of science. An example may
bettTT explain the practical value of the
system of classification and the method of
making use of It
Much Interest Is now centered In the
study of malaria and its causes.
In the volume on bacteriology, the al
phabetical index of subjects will, after
malarial diseases,, give the number 4040,
which Is one of the many arbitrary num
bers used in representing the subdivi
sions of the catalogue. This number 4040
will be found In the proper numerical
position In the corner of a page where
the page number usually appears and on
that page or on those Immediately fol
lowing will be found references to all
the articles on malaria for a particular
year. In many cases a single article or
book will deal with several branches of
science, as, for example, a paper on ma
laria, may be of Interest to the entomolo
gist studying mosquitoes. In this caso
language. We can have good, better and
best dictionaries, according to the views
of Individuals, not by statute or official
edict
Soldiers' License. ,
Will you please give me Information re
garding "soldiers license" for peddling.
I have heard that an honorably discharged
soldier could secure a license from the
Government which Is good In any state
and which could be used without fear of
collision with local ordinances. C. E.
There is no such law that we know or.
The regulation . of peddling Is essentially
a local or state matter, and some of the
local regulations have favored honorably
discharged soldiers, particularly those who
may have suffered injury In the military
service. This was quite common in the
East in the years immediately succeeding
the close of the Civil War.
Oregon Forest Reserve.
I am informed that a portion of the Ore
gon forest' reserve Is soon to be restored
to- the public domain. If so, would you
kindly give me whatever information you
can on It. H. C.
It Is not publicly known that any part
of any Oregon forest reserve Is to be re
stored to the public domain.
220-Yard Record.
Please state the world's record for the
220-yard dash. A. B.
Professional. H. Hutchens, 21 4-5 sec
onds; amateur, B. J. Wefers, 211-5 sec
onds. Mexican .War Pension.
My father was a teamster1 in the Mex
cessfully are careless with their win
nings. Sometimes they line the track for over a
mile, and as the train, pulls slowly past
them, shout:
"Please, a penny, Mister."
The little girls hold out their aprons,
and the boys catch the money that is
thrown to them, or fight for It if it filLr-'
to the ground. One foolish sport on the
train the other day held out a list full of
bills, and shook It over the crowd. It was
an expensive bluff. A lithe little chp
under his window Jumped up, seized the
roll and whisked it out of his hand before
Its astonished owner could say Jack Rob
inson, or anything else.
"There's about $20 gone to the devil,"
he said ruefully, as he saw the small boy
disappear in the crowd. "Well, I'll just
charge it up to profit and loss, and let it
go at that"
The theatrical season has been a disap
pointment to the first-nighters so far.
Willie Collier Is little better than fair aa
a vaudevillian, John Drew's new play,
"The Mummy and the Hummingbird," is
a weak Imitation of "The Tyranny of
Tears," and Jeff De Angells is woefully
out of place in "The Emerald Isle." Web
er & Fields opened Thursday night with
Collier as the top-liner, and seats sold at
about $25 per. Naturally among those
present were only millionaires and dead
heads. The show cost about $75,000 to pro
duce, and It Isn't worth it
Dave Campbell, Portland's Fire Chief,
is in New York, attending the session
of the National Fire Chiefs' Convention,
and Incidentally picking up points on
equipment He thinks the buildings in
New York are not so well equipped with
fire-escapes and standpi'pes as those In
Portland, but is lost In admiration of the
apparatus and quarters here. He has
already attended several fires, but mere
ly as a visitor. He says the impulse to
get in and do things now and then Is
pretty strong, but he hopes to bo able to
resist it successfully. J. J. M.
the volume on zoology would also con
tain references to the paper both under
the author's name and under the order
and family to which .the mosquito be
longs, as Is the custom in all zoological
classification.
The Grent Cost.
The cost of producing the catalogue is
necessarily great, as all of the current
publications of the world, In which sci
entific writings appear, have to be re
viewed by experts, to whom is intrustcJ
the work of selecting the matter coming
within the scope of the catalogue, pre
paring the proper references and assign
ing them to their proper places in the
catalogue by adding arbitrary numbers
as called for by the classification sched
ules. This work Is done by what is known as
regional bureaus, which have been csirb
lished in the several countries taking
part In the work. '
When the references are completed by
the regional bureaus they are forwarded
to the central bureau In London, to be
there assembled and published yearly in
book form and delivered to the various
subscribers through the regional bureaus.
It is estimated that each complete yearly
catalogue will contain about 200,000 ref
erences. The United States Government
has not yet officially taken part In the
work by supplying funds for the support
of a regional bureau. However, the sec
retary of the Smithsonian Institution, see
ing that if the United States was not
represented in the work the whole under
taking would fail, and feeling that as the
original Idea was conceived years ago by
the then head of the Institution, every
effort should be male by the Institution
to aid in the work, decided to draw on
the slender funds available to provision
ally carry on the work In this country.
Tills Country Lend In Subscribers.
The Smithsonian Institution was thus
living up to Its motto "For the Increase
and Diffusion of Knowledge Among Men,"
and to Its custom as established by prec
edent of fostering needy and worthy sci
entific enterprises.
The cost of the catalogue to subscrib
ers is $S5 per year, and it is gratifying
to know that at present the United States
heads tho list in the number of sub
scriptions. A majority of the large libraries and
Institutions of learning throughout the
country have subscribed to all or part
of the catalogue, as have also several
private Individuals.
The two volumes that havo just been
delivered to the American subscribers aro
part 1, of Chemistry, and part 1, of Bot
any, of 1901.
Owing to the delay, unavoidable. In the
beginning of a great enterprise, it was
found necessary to publish these first vol
umes in parts, as all of the references to
the literature of 1901 could not bo col
lected in time to publish them together
In one volume without unduly delaying
the whole work. It Is expected that as
soon as the system Is fairly under way
the volumes will appear at regular Inter
vals, and as each volume appears, it will
not only cover a whole year's literature,
but will bring the subject dealt with
practically up to the date of going to
press. LEONARD C. GUNNELL.
Smithsonian Institution.
ican War. was employed by the United
States Government, and he got a land
warrant In 1S62. Is he entitled to a pen-
- f o
S1UI1 UJ IlUUi 1
Only regularly enlisted men are entitled
to pensions.
Two Theories.
(1) What Is the theory as to how Crater
Lake was supplied with water?
(2) Why is it that in cold weather the
moon Is high In the heavens, and In hot
weather is low in the South? I. R.
(1) Crater Lake Is supplied with water
by melting snows and from springs, much
as other lakes are supplied.
(2) This question assumes as a fact
what Is not true; therefore there is no
reason for It
Salem's Population.
Will you please state In your columns
the population of Salem, Or., at the lest
census? C. C. W.
According to the census of 1900. Salem's
population was 423S. However, these fig
ures Include only those who lived in the
corporate limits. The actual population
of Salem proper is about twice as largo
as thf Federal census made It
Ella Wlieeler Wilcox, Probably.
Who was the author of "Laugh and tho
world laughs with you"? A. C.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox seems to havo
the best claim to it to date, though there
are other claimants.
o.
Was Dr. Parkman- killed by Professor
Webster, of Harvard College, the author
of "The Oregon Trail"? F. M.