The Sunday Oregonian., February 01, 1903, Page 4, Image 4

THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 1, 1903.
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PORTLAND, SUXDAT, FEnnOARV 1.
A WORD OX DEMOCRACY.
Mr. W. E. H. Lecky, the noted his
torian and philosophical writer, in his
book, "Democracy! and Liberty," takes
a view of democracy which Is too super
ficial and pessimistic to have come from
oce of go much celebrity as himself in
the literary world. "One of the great
divisions of politics in our day," he
says, "is coming to be whether in the
last resort the world shall be governed
by its ignorance or byi its intelligence.
According to one party, the preponder
ating power should be with education
and property; according to the other,
the ultimate source of power, the su
preme right of appeal and of control,
belongs legitimately to the majority of
the nation told by the head or, in
other words, to the"poorest, the most ig
norant, the most incapable, who are
necessarily the most numerous. It Is a
theory which assuredly reverses all the
past experience of mankind. In every
field of human enterprise, in oil the com
petitions of life, by the Inexorable law
of Nature, superiority lies with the few,
and cot with the many, and success can
only be attained by placing the guiding
power mainly In their handa"
This Is clearly and strongly stated.
Tet It Is superficial. No present govern
ment is the mere creature of today. It
is a vast framework of human experi
ence, based on historical development
lying behind and largely directing' pres
ent action. Democracy nowhere cer
tainly not since the French Revolution
breaks abruptly with the past. It acts
through representative Institutions,
holding strongly to the experience and
wisdom of the pact, yet working con
tinually In new directions and for new
or -additional objects. Therefore it can
not be colled the rule of the ignorance
of today, moved by its passion, and so
foreordained to failure. It is an active
tion, but regulated and guided by the
constitution, in which a vast sum of ex
perience is stored up, to be drawn upon
for corrective uses. Democracy as a
form of the state never can quite run
into democracy as a form- of govern
ment. The limitations established by
institutions are so many and strong that
it is impossible, and in them democracy
finds its own safety and preservation.
Professor Glddlngs, of Columbia Uni
versity, in his book on "Democracy and
Empire," makes it clear that the state
behind the constitution never can be ab
solutely democratic. For differences of
mental ability and moral power will al
ways exist among men; and by .a law
that Is as absolute in theTealm of mind
as the law of gravitation is In the phys
ical world, inferior men or average men
will continue to defer to their superiors,
to believe dicta instead of thinking
propositions, and .to imitate examples
Instead of orJfciting them. These
conditions wiMjHrer cease to operate
as checks upffiemocracy. Professor
Glddings therefore concludes that the
destinies of political democracy will
consequently be determined by the char
acter of this aristocracy, or whatever It
may be called, behind the constitution.
The ignorant masses of Mr. Lecky's
formula will not rule through their Ig
norance, but through their deference to
creat humbugs, great scoundrels, great
priests or great men. It will probably
be said that the unscrupulous "boss" is
the product of democracy; but there are
many .reasons for believing that the
order of cause and effect is inverted in
this assumption. The existence of the
"boss" Is probably lees due to the tol
lies and misdeeds of democracy than to
the fact that men of the so-called "bet
te'r class" have neglected their duty or
have for the time lost faith in the true
aristocracy of Intellect and conscience.
"It never Is so hopeless for democracy
as philosophers of the class of Mr. Lecky
fear. Herein Is the reason why democ
racy still exists, still makes progress.
still Justifies Itself to the world, against
the predictions of all gloomy prophets.
The big twenty-story steel building
at the southeast corner of Twenty-third
and Broadway, New Tork, known as the
Flatiron, is a wonder in its way. Its
architect was a genius of a peculiar
type, and his achievement Is peculiar in
more ways than one. He has succeeded
In the construction of a building the
like of which is found nowhere else In
all the world. But this is not all. He
has raised a veritable breeze that with
Its erratic currents and cross-currents
has played most unseemly pranks with
the clothing of women, the hats of men
and the umbrellas of all who ventured
within the wind of Its commotion.
Naturally, the comer is shunned by pe
destrians, and business in'the locality
laga Relations between the owners of
the Flatiron and other property-owners
affected have become strained, and ap-
peal has been made to the courts for re
lief. If the building is the public nuis
ance that It Is declared to be, and Is a
damage to adjacent property, as set
forth In the formidable complaint en
tered against It, there le but one source
of relief. If this is decreed, the razing
of the great steel and stone pile will be
even a greater undertaking than was Its
construction.
TAXATION OP conronATiosrs.
A nominal tax on incorporation papers
and a nominal annual tax on capital
stock, such as the House of Represen
tatives favors at Salem, may Justly be
Imposed on all corporations alike, as an
approximate return for various privi
leges enjoyed by corporations, chief of
which is the limited liability of share
holders. But any further application
of "taxes on corporations," if Just and
valid, must be guided by understanding
of the privileges received by various
classes of corporations from the locali
ties where they operate.
That Is to say, there are corporations
and corporations. "We have great corpo
rations in the enjoyment of public ease
ments, where the community gives to
them and protects them in a monopoly
of certain valuable rights, and where
a large part of their earning power con
sists In public streets used by the cor
poration as freely as if It owned them;
and, on the other hand, we have corpo
rations that are engaged In purely pri
vate enterprise, with no advantages,
given them by the public, over Individ
uals or partnerships In the same line
of business.
The measure of a corporation's, as of
an individual's or a partnership's, debt
to the public la. the special advantage it
derives from the public If a corpora
tion runs a sawmlllL or a tannery, or a
flour mill. In direct competition with
other sawmills, tanneries or flour mills
that axe run by Individuals and part
nerships, there is no rule In Justice or
expediency by which the corporation
can be taxed invidiously as compared
with Its individual or partnership com
petitors. The mere fact that a corpora
tion is a corporation Is not enough. It
must be shown to have privileges that
call for unusual remuneration to the
community.
On the otfier hand, the enjoyment of
monopolistic advantages by Individuals
or partnerships entitles them to the
same treatment that we should accord
to the corporation In equivalent case. If
the Washington-street car line belonged
to one man and were run In his name,
his monopoly of that street for street
car purposes would demand as high
taxation as would the same monopoly
now enjoyed by the Portland Railway
corporation. If one man had the ex
clusive right to run a ferry at Stark
street, and no other ferry "were allowed
uron a mile of the water front, and
there were no bridges so it was
in former times then his taxes
should be Just what a corporation simi
larly circumstanced would have to pay.
If Fourth street Is given over to the ex
clusive use of one rallroadk It matters
nothing whether that road is.owned and
run by an Individual, a partnership or
a corporation.
The essential thing la that these great
benefits and resources, belonging to- the
public, tjut used by. private enterprise
as If it owned them, are part of the
property of the people as a whole and
must be made to yield a return to the
people as -a whole, as naturally and In
variably as rolling-stock, electric power,
light wires and telegraph poles, gas
mains and telephone equipments yield
a return to their owners.
This return must In all cases be Just
and fair to the taxed as well as to the
public, and should be carefully adjust
ed; but It is not nullified, or minimized
by any nominal corporation tax levied
by the state or any license on street
cars collected by, the city; and while
the state may very properly supple
ment the corporation tax with a cen
tralized arrangement for appralshigthe
value of railroad, telegraph and other
corporate property In the state, the
principal load of taxation for the cor
porations which enjoy the use of the
streets must arise from the local com
munity that extends these valuable con
cessions through its charters and fran
chises. VAGABONU MAX OF GEXIUS.
Mr. Sothern is now playing in New
Tork City the part of the fifteenth-cen
tury vagabond, poet and criminal, Fran
cols Villon, and there is small doubt that
it will prove a popular representation,
for Villon stood for- that rare and curi
ous mixture of wit, genius and- gross de
pravity that Is always a captivating
part upon the stage because of its vio
lent contrasts of Intellectual gifts and
moral barrenness. It. is this' contrast
that makes Sir Giles Overreach. Rich
ard, Falstaff, Iago, Louis XI of France
so effective dramatic figures. The mar
vel Is that the dramatic value of Villon
has not been appreciated long ago, for
he contained In him much of the violent
Intellectual and moral contrast that we
find In Falstaff. We can trace the in
spiration of Villon In the current of
Rabelais, and we can trace the influence
of Rabelais In Shakespeare's delineation
of Falstaff and his foul-tongued, ob
scene companions and followers.
Villon was born In troublous times.
when the hangman was constantly busy
swinging bandits from the Paris gib
bets. He was of low, mean extraction.
but became a student of the University
of Paris at 17, where he remained four
years and took his degree as master of
arts. He was always a truant student.
who rassed his nights In riot He ac
qulrednhe merest smattering of know
edge, ana was pre-eminent for early
Impiety and idleness. He. confesses that
with the connivance of his lady love- he
was unmercifully beaten, "like dirty
linen on a washboard," by his rival for
her affections, Villon was greedy of all
pleasures, had .little money and no dig
nity of character, and naturally became
first the Intimate of criminals and then
a criminal himself. He had a knack of
making ribald verse?, and accepted his
bread on disgraceful teims, as many
men of his evil passions, but destitute of
his genius, do today. At 24 he was tried
for murder, but was saved from the gal
lows by a pardon from the King. He
belonged to a band of thieves and house
breakers. "While he was absent in An
gers planning the robbery of his uncle.
who was a monk, three of Villon's fel
low-thieves were sent to the irallows.
and on his return he was arrested.' He
was "put to the question" by . water
until "his bowels were flooded and his
heart stood otllL" He was condemned
to be hanged, but his sentence was com
muted to banishment to Rousslllon by
the Parliament of Paris.
At 30 we find this student, poet and
housebreaker In a noisome pit, where be
was placed by order of the bishop of Or
leans as a punishment for his crimes.
Here he lay, gnawing hard crusts until
I his teeth were like the teeth of a rake.
and cursing the bishop walking in free
dom and blessing the people In the sun
light. Louis XI pardoned him on his
accession to the throne In 1461, and Vil
lon at last had light, freedom and leis
ure enough to write his' famous work.
""The Large Testament," for this nota
ble criminal had an original and vigor
ous literary, genius, that has given him
a permanent niche of fame as the
founder of French literature. Its first ar
ticulate voice There Is an Recent of
Villon In Byron's Don Juan nrad. and
in the racy, humorous ballads oiBurna.
Like Burns, Villon had a singular power
of compression, homely vigor and ro
bust vivacity of epithet; he delighted In
local personalities, and was Intensely in
terested in low life. Villon's writing is
full of color. Is eloquent and pictur
esque. This extraordinarily gifted gallows
bird was the one great writer of his
age and country. Before 1542, In the very
dawn of printing, the works of Villon
ran through seven different editions. He
was the forerunner of those modern
Frenchmen whose callous way of look--ing
upon the sordid and ugly side of
life has become a specific feature in the
literature of France. The world which'
Villon describes Is Paris of the fifteenth
century full of famine, pharae, crime
and death. Wantons of both sexes
swagger half nude in the streets, and
the gibbets are crowded with decaying
forms. There Is nothing to be seen but
sordid misery and savagery among the
common people, and drunkenness and
feasting among the nobility and the
priests. Villon had a mind as subtle as
that of Falstaff, and as obscene. He
has been described as a man of rare
native genius for literary expression,
"whose eyes were sealed with his own
filth, who In the narrow dungeon of his
soul was always mumbling crusts and
picking vermin." His temper is always
evil. Ironical, Insincere; he whines pa
thetically one minute, and the next
makes Insulting grimaces at you from
his perch above the gallows. His social
philosophy Is that of the fellow In Burns'
"Jolly Beggars," who shouts: '
Courts are made for cowards.
Liberty's a glorious feast.
Like all men of supreme sensuality of
spirit, Villon was sincere In his pity and
horror of death. His finest ballads are
those which treat of death as the great
leveler; his highest poetic flight Is found
In his expression of terror and lamenta
tion about death. He Is an unrepentant
thief, with a lingering terror of an after
world. In a spirit of grim humor in
one of his poems Villon bequeaths his
spectacles to the Hospital for Blind
Paupers. Thus equipped, let the blind
paupers go and separate the good from
the bad In the Cemetery of the Inno
ce'nts. What does It matter that In life
some of the dead slept in state beds and
fed on cakes and cream? Here they all
He, trodden in -the mud, the large estate
and the small estate, sounding virtue
and adroit or powerful vice. In very
much the same condition a bishop not
to be distinguished from a lamplighter
with even the strongest spectacles.
Shakespeare makes Falstaff utter the
cynical philopophy of Villon qn ordinary
matters of life; but, like yillon. Falstaff
will not Jest about his own death, for
when he Is asked, "When wilt thou
begin to patch up thine old body lor
heaven?" he answers:
-Do not speak like a death's head;
Do not bid me remember mine end.
There have been many men of notable
literary genius who were stained by
vices, but Villon Is one of the vry few
whose whole life was a record of crime.
His philosophy logically implied disbe
lief in conscious life beyond the tomb,
for he had none of that fine spirit which
made modern agnostics, like Darwin
and .Huxley, say with Matthew Arnold,
"Hathimjtn no second life? Pitch this
one high."-
r ,AX OUTDATED THEATY.
By the treaty of Paris In 1856, which
ended the Crimean War, Russia was
forbidden to build a war navy In the
Black -Sea. This clause was definitely
repudiated by Russia as soon as the
Franco-Prussian War broke out In 1870.
Great Britain protested, but was not
ready to fight the Czar, and the Lon
don convention of 1871 recognized the
right of Russia to maintain a navy in
the Euxlne. At the same time it was
agreed that the Sultan thereafter should
have the right to open the Turkish
straits In time of peace to the war
ships of friendly powers. In order to se
cure the observance of the treaty of
1S56.I On this clause of the London
convention of 1871 .the Sultan claims the
legal right to allow the Russian war
ships to pan through the Dardanelles,
as they did the other day, in the ehape
of two unarmed Russian torpedo-boat
destroyers. Of course, this claim Is a
mere pretense. Inasmuch as the present
conditions were not contemplated by
the London proviso. It makes no prac
tical difference that the Russian vessels
were unarmed, for at Sebasfopol the
destroyers will receive their batteries
and become fighting craft.
With, the passage of these Russian
war vessels from the Dardanelles the
famous Paris treaty of 1S36 Is practical
ly swept away. " This treaty, under
which Austria. France and Great Brit
ain guaranteed the integrity and inde
pendence of the Ottoman Empire, fell
to the ground In 1877, when these gov
ernments failed to prevent Russia's mu
tilation of Turkey. Of course, if Rus
sian war vessels may pass in and out
of the Dardanelles with the approval
of the Sultan, there would seem to be
no good reason why a British war ves
sel might not pass the straits in time
of peace; and if a torpedo-boat destroy
er may pass the straits, why not a
battle-ship cr a whole fleet? Great
Britain's recent protest had no effect
upon the Sultan, because none of the
other powero signatory to the Paris
treaty of 1856 joined in the protest.
France Is the ally of Russia. The Em
plre of Germany had no existence In
1856; but today Germany interposes' no
objection on the ground that no Ger
men Interests are Involved. With
France and Germany silent, of course,
the Sultan granted the Russian demand
for the practical extinction of the hu
miliating treaty of lS56i which Russia
-was Jurtlfled In repudiating at her
earliest opportunity.
The treaty of 1S5C Is really obsolete
from a diplomatic standpoint, because
it rests upon conditions that have not
endured and cannot endure. Russia is
a powerful nation of 120,000.000 people
she 4s seeking to expand as a naval and
commercial power. Her, Baltic ports are
Ice-locked in Winter, and she Is entitled
to Ingress and egress through the Turk
lsh straits for her Black Sea harbors.
To expect to bottle up Rureia In the
Black Sea Is vain. She Is sure to seek
unrestrained passage for her Black Sea
fleets to the outside world, for with.
out this freedom she cannot fully enjoy
national life. She will not stay bottled
I ui in me i.axxe any more tnan we
lwould consent, except by the pressure
of superior force, to be bottled up In
the waters of a river like the Missis
sippi and never suffered to become a
part of the world's great deep-sja ma
rine. In the last century the so-called
Eastern question was a vital part of
the political policy of Great Britain.
Great Britain sought to checkmate Rus
sia's every advance on Constantinople
and up to 1870 was successful In her
efforts to prevent the access of Rus
sian sea power to the Mediterranean.
It was a mean policy, and it has final
ly collapsed; for Great Britain Is not
prepared today to go to war. as she was
In 1854 and in 187S, to circumvent the
natural and reasonable efforts of Rus
sia to obtain searoom for her increas
ing sea power in the Mediterranean.
Russia's grasp on Turkey was broken
In 1S29, and again in 1854. and the treaty
of Berlin In 1878 robbed Russia of all
the fruits of her victorious campaign of
1S77.
Great Britain Is face to face with new
conditions since she occupied Egypt and
obtained control of the Suez Canat It
Is clear that while the British govern
ment protested against the passage of
the Turkish straits by the1 Russian de
stroyers, there is no probability that
her ministry will .proceed further in the
matter. Today the Czar and the Kaiser
rather than Great Britain dominate the
Sultan at Constantinople. The Kaiser
and Czar suffered the Sultan to worry
Greece to death when she Interfered in
behalf of V:rete, and the Sultan knows
that the Czar Is under strong pressure
to Join with Austria to put an end Jo
disorder In Macedonia and Albania. J"
Russia Is reluctant to resort to arms
and is trying to Induce the Sultan In
his own Interest to reform abuses In
Macedonia. The Sultan felt It was not
a good time to cross the Czar, so he
yielded to his demand for the passage of'
Russian war vessels from the Mediter
ranean to the Black Sea. It was a Just
and reasonable demand; but the Sultan
would probably not have granted It If
there had been a united protest from
Great Britain and Germany, or Great
Britain and France: but Great Britain
made the only protest, and the Sultan
cast his lot with the strongest It Is
no longer 1S5S. France, which was Eng
land's ally then. Is the ally of Russia,
and Germany says with Bismarck on a
former occasion that the whole business
Is not worth to Germany "the bones of
asinglej omcranlan grenadier."
"CHILDREN OF THE COAL SHADOW"
Under the above head appears In the
current number of McClure's Magazine
a vivid and most searching contribution
to what may be called the literature of
the coal strike. Not only the coal strike
that lately threatened to paralyze the
Industries of a wide section, caused a
coal famine In the great cities of the
East and Middle West, sent the poor by
thousands shivering to their beds and
by hundreds to the hosoltals. but the
coal strikes of half a generation, this
article explains by its simple present
ment of the child life of the "nine hard-
coal counties of Pennsylvania." The
writer, Francis H. Nichols, lately made
a complete tour of the. region designated
by Its Inhabitants as "anthracite," and
his findings are embodied In statements
that the civilized world should read,
and, reading, ponder thoughtfully.
Mr. Nichols begins with the statement
as deduced from personal observation
that practically the whole population of
the mine counties is discontented. Let
us imagine, if we can, a community
thronged with laborers, nearly every
man of whom has a grievance and lives
In a state of protest. In which protesting
state wives and mothers join, sharing
with their husbands and sons a deep
sense of wrong and Injustice, and we
can perhaps dimly comprehend the at
mosphere and life into which the "child
.of the coal shadow" is born. Think of a
childhood the first recollections of which
are of the mother's complaints at the
exorbitant prlcest charged at the "com
pany store," the' father's curses at the
Injustice of some "docking bosa," or a
sister's sobs when a 10 per cent reduc
tlon has been declared at the knitting
mill! Encompassed thus early by the
coal shadow, the child learns to grapple
with its grimy phantoms, and from the
first, fiercely. All too soon they become
the realities of his existence, and his
whole life Is one sullen conflict with
them. Every "child of Anthracite who 'Is
10 years old has passed through at least
two great strikes, and his vocabulary is
formed of their mutterlngs, before and
after. Idle men talk of the "rights of
labor" and the "wickedness of riches";
deputies armed with rifles guard the
company's property; a detachment of
militia Is encamped at the foot of the
street; the mother goes once a week to
the "district local" to receive her dole
of relief funds; the father at night at
tends secret meetings of the union; the
word "scab" stands for the worst crime
a man can commit, and the goal of the
child's ambition boy or girl Is to "Join
the union."
The nurseries of the boys of the coal
shadow are the company's breakers'; the
nurseries of the girls are the mill or fac
tory that has come to Anthracite be
cause here "girl labor is plentiful and
cheap." The duties of the boys consist
In picking the slatefrom the coal as,
having been crushed. It passes the work
ers In chutea Their labor day Is ten
hours long eleven hours when the col
liery Is running under "full-capacity or
ders": the average wage is 70 cents a
day, and is no greater for eleven than
for ten hours. There are between 20.000
and 25,000 of theses Juvenile coalworkers
who wlthtstooped shoulders, finger nails
worn down to the quick, and fingers
sometimes bleeding from the chafing of
the coal, toil year in and year out In
the "breakers," with bitterness in their
hearts against their employers. Later
they swell the membership of the union,
recruit the ranks of the strikers, make
war upon "scabs" and look upon wealth
as the accumulation of systematic rob.
bery.
The parents of these children are Ig
norant and vengeful; their employers
have stifled humane Instincts In busi
ness Interests, and -In the conflict that
Is engendered between need and greed.
between Ignorance and power, the chll
dren of the coal shadow are ground as
between tho upper and the nether mill
stone. As Mr. Nichols puts It, "their
parents, driven by what they think 13
necessity, forswear them Into bondage
In flagrant violation of the child-labor
law of the state; their employers, com
pelled by what they regard as economic
forces, grind them to hatred; the state,
ruled by Influences, refrains from Inter
meddling; the rest of the world doesn't
care."
So the shadow .of the coal heap lies
dark upon the children as they grow up
to be men and women. Within a few-
years the breaker boy -will be a miner;
It Is the only trade with which he Is
familiar, and his lack of education
makes .commercial life or Industrial
growth impossible to him. He will
have to live In Anthracite, because It is
'the only place in whleh a hard-coal
miner can follow his .trade. The ralll
glrl will marry early In life; her hus
band will Be a miner. They will both
be American citizens he-a voter, she a
discontented mother of voters and they
will remain In the coal shadow.
Manifestly, this is a condition that no
coal commission can reach that no
spirit of conciliation or inquiry as ap
plied to its present status can abrogate.
Contradictory evidence will be elicited
plenty of it since all depends upon the
point of view, which In this Instance Is
so widely divergent that to bring It to
the same focus is impossible. Will It be
surprising, therefore, if the eminent
men who have patiently given ear for
many weeks to the testimony of the con
flicting elements In Anthracite should
fall to effect a reconciliation of their
differences?
DEATH. IX THE LAST DITCH.
All the world loves the lover no more
than it loves the man who nails his
colors to the mast and goes down shout
ing defiance to his foe. A few of this
Irreconcilable type of fighters voted for
Harold Preston on the last deciding bal
lot of the Senatorial contest at Olympla
last week. Much as we may rejoice In
the result they strove to avert, much
as we may deplore the political Judg
ment which barred them from the fruits
of victory, we can but admire their
steadfastness. They are descendants of
the Old Guard of Emperor Napoleon,
and of Grant's 306 at Chicago.
Political life is dominated by expedi
ence a maxim of Burke that Is as
sound in philosophy as it is-shrewd In
practice. There are In politics no fixed
principles, no axioms as of the exact
sciences. In geometry the shortest dis
tance between two points Is always and
easily the straight line, but In human
affairs the longest way round Is often
the shortest way home. Statesmanship
is a record of compromises, and as an
Is the gift of finding the resultant
of complex and apparently Irreconcil
able forces. The Ideal In politics Is al
most uniformly the unattainable. The
best that can be done Is usually far
short of the best .that might be done.
But coexistent with this enthronement
of tho practical which aims at results
goes along that "propensity of human
nature which prizes fidelity above suc
cess, and prefers defeat to a victory
gained by a change of programme.
Some men are so constituted that they
cannot, like the wise General, remodel
tne plan of campaign In the very stress
of battle. Unable like the willow to
bow before the storm, they cheerfully
submit to be broken like the stubborn
pine The end they have Immediately
In view absorbs their attention and en
lists their loyalty so that It becomes to
them the sole desideratum, to abandon
which would seem to them treachery.
The car of progress Is often halted.
therefore, by the loyalty of men to
principles, to country, to leaders. Prln
clplcs we have put first, because in, the
last analysis conscience will stand su
perior to law. The executioner has led
to the block as lofty souls as stood with"
Leonldas at Thermopylae, and so Ireland
and Poland and Montenegro attest the
elemental dignity of soul-that may
withhold as It may yield adherence to
the prevailing ruler, while such careers
as Galileo, Columbus and Luther snow
how powerless outer .forms of organ
ized society are to hold the man of high
soul and irrefragable resolve.
Men are secondary to principles; and
yet there Is no more lovable trait than
personal loyalty to a leader. In loss or
triumph. The irreconcllables of relig
ion, war, diplomacy and politics have
left a prouder memory to their descend
ants than they who left the falling
standards of a falling chief to rally
round the coming hero. Dramatic sto
ries have been built around devoted
bands that adhered in moments of ap
parent fall to Robert Bruce, to Rlche
Ueu, to Washington. Nor do they excel
In compelling power the fidelity of other
valiant ones to the Lost Cause in all
history tho Royalists in the French
Revolution, Tell of Switzerland, Mary
at the cross, Thaddeus of Warsaw, Em
melt of Ireland, and the leaders of our
own Confederacy.
The substance of the matter is that
different ends appeal to different minds
with variant force. To some men It is
the summum bonum to be found at
every battle's end on tho winning side,
Success to some means the usufruct of
victory, and to others the sturdy main
tenance of a cause or a personal adher
ence, no matter how deep the oblivion
or how sharp the pangs of defeat. To
go down with colors flying and like Cy
rano, with no etaln of weakening cn his
proud white plume. Is dearer., to some
hearts than to win a kingdom with the
cunning arts of opportunism. Complex as
human life is, these antagonistic Ideals
are often blended In practice; but exi
gencies are pretty sure to arise with
every cause and with every man when
the support he needs Is not that of the
band-wagon variety, but that which will
die in the last ditch.
Oh! such a friend be Is Indeed,
Whate'er his lot may be.
A rainbow on the storm of life.
An anchor on its sea-
It has. been suggested that the inltia
tlve and referendum amendment may
have produced yet another uncertainty
In addition to the numerous progeny al
ready in evidence, and that Is the pos
sibility of enacting laws by joint resolu
tion as is done In Congress. The section
of tho state constitution amended origt
nally provided "and no law shall be en
acted except by bill." In drawing up
tho amended form of the action, this
clause was omitted. The matter seems
largely an academic question, however.
as all proposed enactments so far are by
bill anyhow
The Crown Prince of Saxony, because
of his inability, due to his rank, to chal
lecge Professor Glron to mortal com
bat, has renounced his succession to the
throne In favor of his young son. Truly
this royal pair of Saxony has made
mess of It. The world looks on unsym
pathlzlngly, tired of the story of social
Indecency and marital Infidelity to
which their actions and wrangllngs
have given tongue.
Representative Adams, from the hos
pital at Walla Walla, rises to remark
in a manner not solacing to.certain am
bitions. But Mr. Adams is privileged.
A member of the Legislature cannot be
questioned for words spoken in debate.
Elect Senators by the people. It Is
tdle to pretend that legislators can do
their duty by the state when they are
laboring In the stress of Senatorial con
tests like that now .on at Salem and the
one just concluded at Olympla.
The gold standard, weare Informed,
has raised prices until It costs too much
to live. It was also the. gold standard,
remember, that depressed prices so ruin
ously a few years aso. i
FIVE-MINUTE BOOK TALKS.
Xo.
lj Works of Jean
Itonsseau.
Jacques
The morbid egotism and sentimental sen
suality of Jean Jacques Roueseau are not
as remarkable as his eloquence and wealth
of philosophic thought. Of his own show
ing he was weak, depraved and suspicious.
but his pen had been described, without
question by those who know tha whole
range of his productions and are not con
tent to read him only as far as his un
wholesome autobiographical revelations
can take them as the greatest literary
force of modern times. It hco served
largely to mold political thought and theo
ries and systems of education, and has
given the world a deep insight into the
passionate recesses of the human heart.
In Rousseau perhaps nowhere else to the
same degree Is shown, as one observes
tbo effect of nature oo the feelings and
of the feelings on the aspects of nature."
Where can be found a writer more lm-
presd with the beauty and splendor or
natural objects? He has been described
as a sentimental Deist, but surely he wca
more than this who wrote one of tho
pasages I have selected for quotation.
ana part oi wnicn wiu De round below.
Minute and paltrv and sometimes o;an
dalous gorslp of which he has sadly too
much for the reader who is not making
a study of an extraoralnary character,
presents a striking contrast with his sub
lime and devout parages. The man of
unclean Imagination alo? finds a congenial
comparison In an author at whose feet
sit statesmen, poets, historians, philoso
phers and divines.
His unamlable peculiarities of character
are attributed to insanity, to the at timcn
seriously disordered condition of mighty
faculties of mind and soul. In many re
spects his life was unfortunate, "wretcn
even then, Hfe'a Journey Just begun'
hlii mother, the daughter of a 'minister.
dying at the time of his birth. Ills father.
a watchmaker of Geneva, saw little of
him after he was 10 years old. when his
mother's relations assumed care of the
singular child. By various means he ac
quired what may be called a liberal edu
cation, for It comprised a knowledge of
the learned languages, and gave hid genius
abounding case and force In the use oi
his pen. He solaced the divers perplex!
ties of his life with music. In which he
manifested excellent taste both as a per
former and composer, although he never
reached the heights of great achieve
ment In the knowledge of that art. He
received much kindness wherever he lived
but seems to have been an unamlable man.
Incurring dislike unnecessarily and ever
ready to believe that his best friends were
treacherous; as one has written, "he
shrieked at his enemies and suspected his
friends." There Is 'nothing surprising.
however much to be regretted. In the fact
that he incurred persecution, living at a
period when departures from conventional
opinion were not regarded as charitably
or negligently as they are In these days.
His residences were In several countries
besides his native Switzerland, including
a period in England, where ho was hospi
tably received by David Hume and other
eminent persons. The troubled life of
Jean Jacques Rousseau ended In 177S, when
he was C6 years of age. Portraits of. the
philosopher suggest the etudlousness and
hunted diversity of his career. Of much
that ha3 been written of Rousseau the
best io.o. work by John ilorley.
Tho principal works of the Genevan phi
losopher are the "Nouvelle Helolsc," the
Contrat Social" and "Emlle," which ircajr
be described generally as respectively em
bodying his principles of morality, politics
and education. All three created a pro
found Impression. A brief summary ot
his teaching must be Inadequate; he taught
the sufficiency of nature as a guide, the
human being having a sense of right and
wrong and a preference for the good, and
these are antldotca to selfishness and Im
morality; regarding all men as born free,
he taught the sovereignty ot the people
as tho basis of his political creed; educa
tion Is the development of the Individual
character, and tho child should be tha
pupil of nature rather than of the school
master, satisfied with little and therefore
mindful of the rights of others as of his
own. That eminent educator Pestalozzl
was Indebted to Rousseau fqr principles
embodied In his humane and successful
system. How far the political thought
and .events of the latter part of the 18th
century were created and influenced by
Rousseau needs no Illustration. The world
owes him an Incalculable debt of gratitude.
Ills weaker and vIcIouh peculiarities of
character and hla whims and absurdities
and occasional rash and egotistical impie
ty of expression aro the baser elements
In an alloy containing not a little pure
gold.
It Is time to quote much lees than Is
"desirable. Here Is a charactertic bit of
Introspective writing from his account or
the performance of his "Devln du village"
at Fontalnebleau, before the King:
I was on that day In the same carders un
dress as usual; with a long- beard and wlr
badly combed. Considering this want of de
cency as an act of courage I entered tha
theater wherein the Kins. Queen, the royal
family and the whole court wre to enter Im
mediately after. I was conducted to a box by
M. de Cury. and which belonged to him. It
was very spacious, upon the stage and oddo
site to a leaser, but more elevated one. In
which the Klnc aat with Madame de Pompa
dour. As I was surrounded by women, and
the only man In front of tho box. I had no
doubt of my having been placed there pur
posely to be exposed to view. As soon as the
theater was, lighted up, finding I was In the
midst of people all .extremely well dressed. I
began to be less at my ease, and asked myself
If I was In my place? Whether or not I was
properly dre5sed? After a few minutes of In
quietude: Tes, replied I. with an Intrepidity
which perhaps proceeded more from the lm
poretblllty of retracting, than the force of all
my reasoning, I am In my place, because 1
am going to ee my own piece performed, to
which I have bon Invited, for which naron
only I came here; and after all. no person has
a creater right than I have to reap the fruit
of my labor and talents. I am dressed as
usuil. neither better nor worse; and If I once
begin to subject myself to public oolnlon. I
shall shortly become a slave to It In every
thing. To be always consistent with myself,
I ought not to blush. In any place whatever,
at belnc dressed In a manner suitable to the
state I have chosen. My exterior appearance
Is simple, but neither dirty nor slovenly: nor
Is a beard either of these In Itself, because It
Is siren us by Nature, and according to time,
place and custom Is sometimes an ornament.
People think I am ridiculous, nay even absurd;
but what sUmlfies this to met I ought to
know how to bear censure and ridicule, pro
vided I do not deserve them.
j Rouleau writes grandly of the gospel.
which fie calls mis uivine book, me amy
one necessary for a Christian, and the
most useful of all to every one. everi
though not a Christian." 'Tis here that
he says, "If chc life and death of Socratd
aro thoso ot a philosopher, the life and
death of Jesus are those of a cod." "The
majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me;
the holfnee) of the gospel speaks to my
heart."
I lay down my pen with a quotation
which the young theologian would do wise
ly to commit to memory:
Cod Is an intelligent being; but. In what
manner la he so? Man Is IntelUzent wen he
reasons, but the Supreme Intelligence has no
need of reasonlnc; for1 that being there are
neither premises, coneequences nor even propo
sitions: It Is purely Intuitive. It sees equally
what It Is. and whatever It can be. All truths
are to this Being as one Idea only, as all
places are one single nolnt. 'and all eternity
nee moment,
HENRY G. TAYLOR.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Such a sidewalks!
Isn't It about time the camphor balls
were put in thit Texas dress-suit Joke?
Tho higher the fence the lower tha
opinion the families on eaca side of it
entertain for each other.
The air of Palermo has done Mr. Schwab a
great deal of good. Foreign news dispatch.
Not too hot just comfortably winn.
The kind that meets the American mil
lionaire in all the European watering-
places.
It Is a newt philosophy which makes
a ball given by church members on Sun
day non-sacrilegious because the pro
ceeds don't go for the benefit of tha
church.
Al.isk.t Is unquestionably entitled to
a delegate in Congress, now aer pro
posed railroad lines and her proposed oil
discoveries are controlled by proposed
trusts.
The Chinese cooks and waiters will lay
aside their pipes and their holiday cos
tumes and go back to work this morn
ing, to find that they have a labor fight
on their hands. Heap bid joss! What
for so much punk?
Speculation as to who shall succeed Sen
ator Burton In 1W7 Is idle for the reason.
observes the Kansas City Star, that a
Kentucky evangelist has given notice
that the world will come to an end Feb
ruary 1, 1SE.
Let It be remembered that It Is the
Minnesota Legislature and not the
Minnesota girl that Is clamoring for the
enactment of an antl-kissing law. To ui
It seems ODnosed to the nrevnlllntr errowth
of reciprocal relations, for nobody Is
likely to want to kiss the Legislature.
Portland physicians want to have tha
next annual convention of the American
Laryngological, Rhinologicil and Otolog
lcal Society held here. So do we. There
is something about the name of the or
ganization which leads us to the belief
that the Portland climate would suit it.
Our talented dramatic critic says that
"Carmen" is an4ppera, "alluring and
pathetic," but tiyifttherc "is little humor
In it." This Is perhaps why the opera
compiny, wfilch went Into the perform
ance on an empty stomach after an all
day Journey, sang so sympathetically.
Bobble Bums, was praised before the
Clan Macleay Friday night because ho
had mide tho Scotch dialect immortal.
Everybody would applaud the sentiment
if there had been a dynasty of Bobble
Burnses to keep It alive, but we suspect
that a goodly minority of those who read
the magazines would have preferred to
sec it die with Bobble. Then it would
have been Immortal.
Congressman Littlefleld of Maine was
assuring some Washington correspond
ents that journalistic talent is not con
fined to the National capital. "Why, I
know of a reporter," he said, "who was
describing the wreck ot a vessel on the
Maine coast. This was one of his sen
tences: 'At tho moment a giant wave
swept over the doomed craft, and six
poor sailors bit the dust.' "
A Los Angeles paper, speaking of tha
Valdcs & Yukon Railroads, ssysr Part
of the plan of the promoters is to ulti
mately make In Valdes a sort of second
Monto Carlo, which will be tho gaming
center on a grand scale of the American
mining population of the greit district,
where gold Is plenty and the gambling
spirit Is rife. In Canadian territory gam
bling is suppressed and saloons regulated
to a degree that make the mining pop
ulation continually chafe, and one of tho
missions of the railroad will be to draw
the miners with thelc gold to the Vildes
Monte Carlo.
Mayor Evan P. Howell, of Atlanta. Go.,
told a good story the other d&y in giving
an official welcome to a convention of
physicians held in that city.
"Shortly after the war," he said, "an
old negro who was sick called In a doctor.
After a diagnosis of the case the physi
cian told tho negro that ho had dyspepsia.
No negro oyer had this complaint before
the war and the patient did not. know
what It meant. When asked as to his
diet, he said: I cats cabbage, pels and
bacon.' 'I would advise you,' said tha
physician, 'to cat only animal food for
a while." Several weeks later the doc
tor called on the negro and asked as to
his condition. 'I can stan' do cone an'
oats,' said tho patient, 'but blame If I'sa
able to go de hay.' "
John Mitchell told a story recently In
the Clover Club of Philadelphia which
was of a certain grim humor. Mr.
Mitchell was In his first suit of evening
dress. Ho was talking about the serious
ness of Hfe7 and his story bore out his
view. He said there were two sisters,
seamstresses, who lived In a little room
and earned their bread by sewing. They
were young and rjretty, but they seldom
laughed; they never wore comely
clothes: they did nothing but sit In a
stooped attitude, sewing all day and a
good part of the evening. One night,
when she was quite worn out with labor,
the younger said to the older sister: "Oh,
deir! I wish we were 'both dead!" Tha
older sister's mouth took on a grim smlla
as she returned: "Be still and work hard.
Business before pleasure."
The poet of tho Pittsburg Dispatch puts
it this way:
Now the mills of legislation.
Here and there throughout the Nation,
Are all running to the limit o tbilr speed;
Long and steady Is the grinding.
For tha statesmen keep on finding
Plies of grist to Jam In hoppers that they feed.
With an earnestness surprising
Everything they're ccrutinlzlng.
Framing bills lor which there seems to be no
cause;
Water, earth and sky they're scanning
In the vigor of their planning
Anything will suit In grinding out more laws.
Though each state, as well as, Nation,
Gags on too much legislation.
And has laws for which there's not the slight
est need.
Still the number keeps on growing.
And the statesmen keep on throwing
Grist and push the mills to limit of their speed.
Often there Is sore vexation.
And at times there's Indignation,
But at last we to these laws may gladly turn;
For when scarcer grows tho fuel.
And men feel the pinch that's cruel.
They'll be thankful they have tons' of laws to
burn.
Practice That Involves Danger,
Rochester (X. Y.) Herald.
Kimball and Rose, the New York bank
ers, who certified checks for millions
against wind, have pleaded guilty to a
technical violation of the National bank
ing act. Th? excuse thut It is done in New
York by the various banks every day
would seem to point to a source of finan
cial danger which ought to be controlled
by the enforcement of the law. It would
probably put T.n end to a good deal of
recklpKa speculation.
i
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