40
THE SUNDAY O REG ONI AN, PORTLAND, MAT 3, 1903.
HOW AND WHY I LEARNED THE GAME OF GOLF
"WINNERS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST CHAMPIONSHIP ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
THE GREATEST WORKINGMEN'S CLUB
RAILROADMEN'S Y..M. C A. .WHICH ENTERTAINED ROOSEVELT
To catch the measles is one of the easl- i
est things in the world; to catch golf
iever is just as easy. For the former
case, however, one may escape with a
light attack, but in the latter there is
small hope of lasting cure. Take, for in
stance, the case of Mrs. Frederick D.
Warner, who won the ladies' champion
ship of the Pacific Northwest in the re
cent tournament at Sellwood. Seven years
ago she took up the game with as light
a heart as one might have in embarking
upon the collection of postage stamps,
and today she is a champion. With golf
It is true that those who come to scoff
remain to play.
Mrs. Warner was asked by The Oregon
ian to tell how and why ehe learned to
play the game, and answered with a
smile: "Really, I am not an authority
on the game. I first played it about seven
years ago, because oh, just because it
was the fad then. Some Scotch people in
troduced golf into Norwich, when 1 lived
in Connecticut, and it suddenly hecame
the rage, as it did all over the country.
At ilrst I went in for the game with all
the ardor in the world, and as many begin
ners do, played rather well. After that
1 went 'off my game.' and since that
time I have not played very regularly,
which is, perhaps, the reason why I do not
play much in my game nowadays.
"No, I have had no especial training
in golf. We used to play lots of matches
at home between the different clubs and
towns there are so many more clubs
there, you know, 28 round Boston alone. I
did not play regularly; one year I didn't
play at all.
"Golf is very strong out here. I think;
the Scotch and English help to keep it
up. Now, at home, it Is dying out to some
extent and lawn tennis is beginning to re
assert Itself. In the East golf is played
omy in the Summer, and in that way it
comes into strong conflict with tennis.
I know most of my friends at home are
going back to tennis.
"Golf is all very well in some ways, and
It's nice to have a cup and all that, but
It's bothersome to have people showing
you the awful pictures the papers publish.
Why, even my laundryman brought round
a copy of The Oregonian to show me my
'llken-:ss.' "
Mrs. Warner has been in Portland a lit
tle over a year. At the last tournament
she won the championship, being defeated
In the first round the year before. Her
strong point is in playing the long game,
and she has a score of 53 for the upper
course of nine holes at Sellwood, the rec
ord being 4S, held by Miss King.
Roderick L. Macleay, who holds the men's
championship of the Pacific Northwest this
year, is another instance of the strength
of golfs grip, on those that come within
its reach. With the exception of a few
spasmodic games at Princeton, he did not
play until 1S96, when a club was estab- i
llshed in Portland, so that he is essen
tially an Oregon player.
"I took to he game because it seemed
to be in the air at the time," said Mr.
Macleay. "We got up a club and laid out
a nine-hole course at Waverly, after
wards increasing it to IS. I played pretty
regularly, and like all others, had my
share of luck at the beginning. Then I
went off for a while, but after some years
of play I find that I keep very much at
the eame average.
"We had frequent medal competitions on
the old course, and that keeps one in
practice. Finally, as we did not own the
land and houses began to encroach upon
it we decided to go to our present loca
tion, more especially as there was immi
nent danger of killing some of the child
ren that were continually gathering in
the way of a good drive at the old place.
There was more yelling F-O-R-E than
actual playing at the end of our time
theie.
"The present course at Sellwood is ad
mirably adapted to the needs of the club.
There are plenty of bunkers, both nat
ural and artificial, and the club owns the
ground as well as the clubhouse. We
aim at broadening its scope into that of
a country club as time goes on. We
have a mile of waterfront, and many of
the members own five-acre tracts in the
neighborhood. Houses will be built there
with the clubhouse as center and every
thing points to a successful future for
the Institution.
"To return to ' golf proper. I have not
followed any particular plan in playing.
To succeed one must, I consider, have a
certain natural aptitude for the game
that no amount of practice will make up
for the lack of just as In billiards some
people will never be able to play a good
game though they have the best of in
structors. Of course, practice has much
to do with keeping one in form. After
proficiency has been attained I do not
think that many lapses from a certain
standard of play will occur, a thing that
troubles beginners to a great extent. Take
such men as Travis, for instance, he
rarely varies more than a few strokes in
his game.
"Golf is played to a greater degree in
America than in any other country. In
Oregon and the Pacific Northwest genor-
RESS dispatches have had consld-.
erable to say concerning the con
tlon of railroad men at Topeka, and
their guest of honor, the President of the
"United States. They have been silent,
however, on the real character and. work
of the organization, which holds the con
cluding sessions of Its conventions today.
"Yet the railroad department of the Young
Men's Christian Association deserves,
the name of the greatest club for work
Ingmen in tho world. In size, extent,
usefulness and importance it outranks
everything else of the same kind in ex
istence. More than 1000 of Its members have
gene from the four corners of the coun
try to attend the Topeka gathering', and
every mother's son of them has ridden
deadhead! The issuing of passes to all
the delegates is only one- sign of the
approval of tho railroad companies of
this work. Even the Pullman Company
makes special concessions to the dele
gates. These men are not from the general
offices of the railroad companies. They
are the engine drivers, the men who
shovel coal Into the furnaces, swing lan
terns on top of freight-cars, punch tick
ets, and even the men who do hostler
work for the steel steeds when they are
stabled In the roundhouses. No, this is
far from being a bolled-shlrt crowd. But It
is a company of men who do things; who
know all the perils of railroading; who
have nerve, courage, self-possession and
initiative the sort of men with whom
the President feels most at home.
President Roosevelt's admiration for
meetings, her two weeks' trip In her own
special train to Inspect the associations
of the country, and her personal work
fof the men. more than one of whom
cherishes a handsome little New Testa
ment containing a message in Miss
Gould's own handwriting. The deeds that
do not get into print for Miss Gould is
dead set against' press-agented philan
thropy, and one of her fellow-workers
makes public her good deeds at the peril
of losing her friendship are what makes
Miss Gould the most popular person at
a convention of railroad men.
Tke Bigness of the Work.
It is only within a dozen years that
this railroad department of the Y. M. C.
A. has been making such phenomenal
strides, although It Is about twice that
old. Today its membership of 50.000 men
is steadily Increasing, and a new building
is being put up and paid for every month
to add to the million of dollars' worth
of property already owned by the asso
ciation. Out In Topeka the delegates are
Inspecting a new J3O.00O building, toward
the erection of which the Santa Fe road
has given J2O.000, the men themselves
raising the other third. This Is about the
percentage that usually obtains. The
men pay one-third of the cost of a new
building and the roads the other two
thirds, the property at once passing Into
the control of the men.
The railroads figure that the money Is
well Invested on their part, for the work
has long since proved its direct and prac
tical value to the companies. Corpora
tions are not given to sentiment. They
must see a return for their investments
before they put up the cash. Here Is
the way the big railroad companies look
at the subject, to quote the words of Sec
ond -Vice-President Pugh, of the Pennsyl
vanla: "The Pennsylvania Railroad may
neer, who had at first resisted with more
MRS. FREDERICK D. WARNER
ally it Is gaining ground rapidly, chiefly I
because It Is a game that anyone, from
7 to TO, can play with enjoyment and
benefit. Here In Portland there are many
of our most enthusiastic players who at
first refused to treat the game as more
than a useless and passing craze. Once
they felt the enjoyment of the game,
however, they soon changed their ideas on
tho subject.
"We have a juvenile section of tho
golf club, but the game does not appear
to take very well among the younger
people, probably from a mistaken idea
that it is slow. Taking the club as a
whole. It is one of the strongest in the
state, having a large and influential
membership.
"So far as my personal game Is con
cerned, I believe In an effort to play
steadily as against any display of bril
liancy. In golf more than in most games
steady play tells more than anything
else."
Mr. Macleay was defeated for the cham
pionship of the Northwest last year- at
the last hole after an exciting game. For
the last two years he has been champion
of Oregon, and the first prize he won in
competition was at Tacoma in 199, when
he tood third place in the handicap. His
play Ls distinguished by all-round ability,
and he Is equally good from the tee and
at the hole. His best score for the Port
land course is S2. two better than bogey,
the professional record being 77 by Aleck
Smith, and the amateur 79, by Mr. Gilford.
Both Mr. Warner and Mr. Macleay con
sider the game of golf as one of the best
for everybody. It ls adapted to the
abilities of both sexes and all ages, and
the person who goes round in 234 has as
much interest in his performance as has
the man that does it below the record.
The amount of walking entailed, the
healthy surroundings, and the general ex
ercise combine to render It one of the
be3t tonics for old and young. Out here
golf is. played all the year round, and It
is probable that from the West will come
some of the future champions, for the
long seasons will tell, as they have al
ready done In California so far as lawn
tennis Is concerned.
QUESTIONS AMD AWSWERS
Tyto Ivimls of Knockcrn.
Can you tell me through the columns of
your paper the length of life of a wood
pecker? I know that one can live four
years, because every Spring for that length
of time the same woodpecker has perched
on the roof of my house mornings about
4 o'clock and pounded on a spot directly
over my bedroom. You need not trouble
to tell me any other Information about
this bird excepting his length of life, be
cause I have learned a few of his charac
teristics and all that I caro for. I know
he has untiring industry, the habit of
early rising, ease of bearing with human
"beings, whom he considers his equals,
and perfect fearlessness. But if you could
tell the writer of any simple thing (not
contained In a bedroom) that would make
a pecker on an inaccessible length of roof
feel nervous or diffident, you would great
ly oblige one of your constant readers.
Nothing in the line of sheets or white
undergarments or rocks need be men
tioned, neither will the suggestion of wild
leans from the inside, followed by shrieks
and bad language, be of any avail. These
have been tried. In case the average
length does not exceed four years, what
is the maximum limit of his earthly ex
istence? A FORMER LATE SLEEPER.
Reliable mortality statistics for wood
peckers are not to be obtained, largely
owing to the rock habit to which many
persons. Including A Former Late Sleeper,
are victims.
Cure "by kindness, you who love long
slumber. Because your little visitor
knocks, there Is no reason why you
should do so; and will you allow a wood
pecker to be more of a bird than you?
The woodpecker Is merely announcing
his joy in the Springtime. Meet him half
way; be up and dressed by 3:30 and wel
come him with kind words. The bird
pines for sympathy, and what If you do
lose a few hours' sleep? You will have
the proud consciousness of having cheered
the monotonous existence of a flicker.
Desert Claims.
(1) Can both a man and his wife take
homestead claims?
(2) Can they both take desert claims?
(3) If a married man takes a desert
claim, can he afterward take a home
stead? (4) If his wife should take a desert
claim, can he afterward take a home
stead? (5) If heshould take a desort clnlm.
can she take a homestead? P.
1- No.
2. Yes.
3. He can If not owner of over 160 acres
in any state or territory of the Union.
4-5. A married woman cannot make a
homestead entry.
Ao Redress.
What recourse has a person in Oregon
when his property Is taxed a great deal
more than what It ought to be and he
does not "find out what his taxes are until
time for payment? M. S.
If he fails to appear before the Board of
Equalization, he must thereafter forever
hold his peace. There is no redress.
RiKht to Prove Up.
A man took up 1C0 acres under the
homestead law. His wife refused to go
on the property to live. The man fenced
the property, put In crops and worked the
soil every available year. Has he a right
to prove up on claim? t SUBSCRIBER.
The question Involved Is, did he reside
on the land? If he resided thereon and
can show that his family would not and
could not live"" on the land he would be
entitled to the land.
Government Reserves.
In the recent enlargement of the United
States Cascade forest reserve were, town
ships 9 and 10 north, range 5 east "of the
Willamette Meridian included In said en
largement? What settlement does the Government
usually make with homesteaders (or
squatters) on unsurveyed lands who had
settled prior to the establishment of for
est reserves when Included In the same?
M. M-
1. Address the Surveyor-General of the
State of Washington at Olympia.
2. Address the register of the land of
fice of the district In which you reside.
These questions are regulated by orders
from the United States Land Department.
Xo.
Can one take up a homestead of, -say, 120
acres, and.prove up on the same and sell
It, and then take up the remaining 60
acrea in another county or state.
G. U. P.
profanity than politeness all attempts to
get him to visit the association.- Finally,
after a distinct understanding that there
would be no attempt to ' make a Christian
of him." he went. Inspected the building-, .
spent an hour smoking and talking with"
friends, and left well pleased. A little
later he got some of his cronie3 together
at his home, over a sociable bottle, and
proceeded to show them, emphasizing his
points with much picturesque profanity,
that this association was "a good thing."
and that they should 'push It along."
That is hot the method of winning re
cruits which the- officers advise or ap
prove, but this time it worked. The engi
neer, himself ls now an active Christian
A certain conductor was fined 30 days
for being drunk. After the penalty had
been paid. " the superintendent told hftn
that he could come back to work only on
5 condition that he join the Y. M. C. A. and
maxe it his headquarters at tnat end ox
his run. He did so, and promptly took his
brakeman along with him, declaring that
he had "found a gold mine."
Down In Cleburne, Texas, there is a lit
tle railroad town- which had, at last re
port, In the neighborhood of 1376 men in
its population, with two saloons to keep
them from getting dry. A Young Men's
Christian Association was started there,
and In short order it had 10S4 members, or
79 per cent of the available men In town.
As a natural consequence, the next time a
drummer came along selling saloon fix
tures he found both saloons out of busi
ness. In Pocatello, Idaho, the association had
611 members. Of this number only 21 were
rrofcsslng Christians when reports were
made up. But 109 were Roman Catholics,
133 were Mormons and 348 were "Maver
icks," as they were called locally, after
the unbranded cattle of the ranges.
So It 13 apparent that this organization
Is not always churchly In its character!
Nevertheless, Its alms are distinctively
Christian workers. It pays more atten
tion, as a rule, to the pronouncedly relig
ious aspects of Its work than to the purely
social or educational. It holds weekly
religious meetings, the one in the Penn
sylvania Railroad Branch, Philadelphia,
being. It ls said, the largest and most
successful meeting for men that has been
sustained for a number of years any
where in the country. Bible classes are
held In the association rooms, and In tho
railroad shops and roundhouses. Prayer
meetings are held in the cabooses at the
tall ends of flying freight trains 'and in
many other unlikely places. As a conse
quence of this aggressive religious work,
the men who go Into the association for
its material advantages soon come to
realize Its religious character, and through
its" membership thousands have been re
cruited for the churches.
The high grade of the association bullds
ings that are scattered all over the coun
try usually surprises the person not fa
miliar with the work. They are first
class chubhouses, with libraries, reading
rooms, baths, sleeping apartments and
restaurants. Here man finds a comfort
able home at the end of his "run," with
varied opportunities for diversion. Here
he may meet his fellows for a social hour,
he may write his report or attend to his
correspondence. Here is the dally pa
per, with a wide range of periodical lit
erature besides, to say nothing of books.
If he please, he may" Join one of the edu
cational classes for self-Improvement in
railroading or to fit himself for other
work. The gymnasium attracts the
younger men, while the older ones prefer
a quiet game of some sort with their
cronies. Best of all. the privileges that
the association offers to railroad men is
the fellowship of a fraternity as wide as
the Nation, so that a railroad man may
go where he pleases in this country and
he will find congenial 'friends ot his own
crait to give mm a welcome and- a jtrt
toward a new Job.
STORY OF A PARIS THIEF
RODERICK L. MACLEAY
road all Winter, and where he wants to
put It, have to climb a hill both ways,
and it will be muddy in Winter. Can
they shut it up and not let any one go
through? H. C.
Not without the permission and' author
ity of the. County Court.
Changing: n. Road.
I write to ask you if any one Individual
can change a road running through his
place after they have been allowed to do
county work on It for over 20 years. The
road runs along the river, and is a good
Nicaragua Canal.
(1) What country has control of the
present-site of the Nicaragua Canal?
(2) How will they receive their supply
of water?
(3) What will be the size of the canal 7
(4) Will Ita navigation be free?
C. H. M.
1. Nicaragua.
2. The course of the proposed canal
lies through a river and a lake.
3. Total length 170 miles, of which 27
will be excavated.
4. Tolls would undoubtedly be charged.
Baslncss Fallsres.
Please state what percentage of people
engaged In business are compelled at
some time In their career to suspend on
account of Inability, to liquidate their
debts. L.
There are no statistics available to show
the percentage of business people that
suspend1 on account of debt, but accord
ing to the statement of a reliable life in
surance company 97 out of every 100 fall
to succeed from, various causes.
railroad men Is well known. Not so well
known Is his admiration for those repre
sentatives of his own favorite type of
Christianity, the Young Men's Christian
Associations. When a company of offi
cers representing the general movement
called upon him at the White House a
few months ago, he said, In the course of
a conversation upon the association: "The
direct, sensible way in which you go
about your work appeals to me. I have
known of It through personal observation
In the Army, among college men. rail
road men and in the city. I drew some
excellent men for the New York police
force from the gymnasium of your In
stitute on the Bowery, while Police Com
missioner of New Yo'rk City."
A Woman With 50,000 Admirers.
There is only one person living who ls
a bigger man with the railroad men of
the country than the President, and that
Is a woman. Miss Helen M. Gould has the
devoted allegiance of every last man of
the 50,000 railroaders who are to be found
In the membership of the Railroad Young
Men's Christian Association. She, in turn,
gives to this organization, an Interest, an
enthusiasm and a practical service that
13 on!r equaled by her devo'tion to the
boys of the Army and Navy T. M. C. A.
It Is not alone the money that Miss Gould
has given for new buildings, and for the
extension of the association, that wins
the men's hearts, for, great as these gifts
are, they are one of the least of her
services; it Is her presence at their con
ventions, her visits to their headquar
ters, her attendance upon their gospel
be considered generous in the support it
has given financially to the Railroad
Young Men's Christian Association. That
institution, In return, should be looked
upon as one of Its wisest investments
paying Interest dally in the Improved
physical, mental and moral natures of
the men."
This explains why the association Is to
be found on 79 per cent of the total mile
age of the railroads of the country. The
big systems are all well organized, the
Morgan-Hill lines, the Gould-Rockefeller
lines, the Vanderbllt lines, the Harrlman-Kuhn-Loeb
lines, the Pennsylvania line
and all the leading Independent lines, a
list of which would look like a block cut
from the column of stock market re
ports. The importance that It attached to this
phase of work among the largest indus
trial .class In the country may be Inferred
from the fact that the Russian Govern
ment sent an emissary to the previous
convention of the association, in Phila
delphia, and now is undertaking similar
work In St. Petersburg. There were also
present at that gathering representatives
from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
and Germany. One of the men of the
United States Industrial Commission was
also on hand, to study the work and
make a report on the social condition of
the railroad men.
RecrHltlnsr Over a Bottle.
Concerning the magnitude of this organ
ization, it may be said that, like Topsy,
it "Just growed," or, in later phrase, that
it has been "advertised by lts loving
friends." One of the latter was an engf-
THERE ls nothing new about making a
a living by shaving people. To that
many a barber can testify. But It Is not
so common to make a living by getting
shaved. This was tried by a man named
Cuissard. in Paris. And this was his way
of doing it:
He would go to a barber shop, get a
shave for 3 sou3 (3 cents), and when no
one was looking he would take a towel
worth 2 francs, and so be something
ahead. But unfortunately, a man can get
shaved but once a day, and a second
hand towel cannot be sold for the same
price as If It were new, and thus our hero
would not have made a very good living
unless he had succeeded now and. then in
stealing a razor, a brush or a cake of
soap. When caught there was found in
his room enough of these articles with
"which to start a store.
This man was arrested In a very odd
.way by a puny, little Frenchman whom
he could have flattened out with his two
fingers. If he had not been held at bay by
a ruse.
"This was the fourth time that he was
robbing me," said the barber to the court.
"I rather suspected him, but I wasn't
quite sure. So I said to myself: 'Every
time this fellow comes to my shop some
thing disappears. Then I know by his
ragged and soiled linen that this chap 1
not a rich man, who could afford to get
shaved, every day.'
"The .whole thing looked queer to me
and I Just thought I had better keep my
eyes on him. So, when he came again to
my shop I recognized him at once, but
didn't let him know that I had ever seen
him before. When his turn came, I said:
'You are next, sir! and while he was
hanging his overcoat on the rack and get
ting ready for his shave i stroppea my
razor and kept an eye on him. Presently
I saw him cram a towel into his overcoat
pocket. Then he got into the chair and
began to tell about business in the East."
"What has this got to do with the
case?" demanded the court. "Did you
have him arrested?"
" was able to catch him In the act," re
plied the barber, "but he Is such a terri
bly strong man that I was afraid he might
knock me senseless, as I was alone In tho
shop, I being a widower myself, Ybur
Honor, and my assistant was In the city
shaving a man who was the bridegroom of
a neighbor's daughter."
"These particulars have nothing to do
with the case," admonished the court.
"Excuse me." said the barber. "Well,
when my customer was seated in 'the
chair and I had leisurely lathered hl3
face with soap; In the hope that In the
meantime some one , would come In, I
again stropped my razor to gain time."
"You had better save time now," said
the court.
"Well.!' continued the barber, "my assistant-
returned at last. At that moment
I took hold of my customer's nose and
held my razor at his throat. I ordered
my assistant to call a policeman. On.
hearing my order, the man In the chair
made a movement as if to push me aside,
but I held on to his nose and kept my
razor at his throat. And I said; 'It you
budge, I will cut your head off like that of
a chicken.' '
"The fellow, who was not one of tha
bravest, as I had noticed, commenced to
tremble. My assistant went to the door
and called Into the street: 'Police! Police!'
People gathered before the shop, and soon
tho officers appeared. It was just in the
nick of time, too, for I was almost on the,
verge of collapse." r-
When the Judge asked the thief to an
swer for himself, he tried to make tho
court believe that he put the towel into
his pocket by mistake, but unfortunately
he could not explain how the many toilet
articles camo Into his possession. He, said
he bought them for his awn use, but,
mon dieu! 17 combs for bis own personal
use! And he was bald like a billiard ball I
SiCLsT SAGS