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XORTLAND, SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1, 1001.
SIR. LINCOLN AND OREGON.
A new history of the life of Abraham
Jiincoln, in two volumes, by Joseph H.
Barrett, of Ohio, published by the Bob
ert Clarke Company, Cincinnati, has
appeared. Its merit consists in the pre
sentatlon in moderate compass of the
main events of the history, with a fair
estimate of the man, of his life, and of
his work. Mr. Barrett not only had the
advantage of personal acquaintance
with Mr. Lincoln, but the further ad
vantage of the voluminous memoirs and
other matter relating to him, published
during the past forty years. The au
thor maintains a judicious proportion
in the arrangement and distribution of
his matter.
An authoritative statement In relation
to the common rumor or report, con
tinued to this day, that Mr. Lincoln
was offered the Governorship of Ore
gon by President Taylor, is made by
this writer. It Is admitted that Mr.
Lincoln expected "a valuable place
from President Taylor. Such was the
modesty of Mr. Lincoln's pretensions
that he appears to have thought of
nothing better than the position of
Commissioner of the General Land Of
flee. But Justin Butterfield, of Chi
cago, was appointed to that place. Mr.
Barrett writes: "Lincoln made no com
plaint, asked nothing else, and the
plain truth must be told that the only
place offered him, so far as the depart'
ment files show, was one which he
could not accept In the writer's pos
session are two copies of commissions
of the same date, certified under seal
of the department issued August
1849, and returned to the files with the
indorsement 'Declined one to Joseph
G. Marshall, of Indiana, as Governor of
the Territory of Oregon, and the other
to Abraham Lincoln as secretary of
that territory."
To the office thus declined by Mr. Lin
coin. Klntzing Prltchett who had been
appointed secretary when General Lane
became Governor, succeeded. Prltchett
held th? office till August 18, 1650, when
he was succeeded by General Edward
Hamilton, who lived in Portland till his
death, at an advanced age. His de
ecendants are the well-known Brooke
family, here today. It Is an Interesting
speculation, what would or might have
been Lincoln's destiny had he accepted
this office in Oregon.
JAPAN AND THE TOWERS.
There is much Justification of Japan's
belligerent attitude as announced by
Baron Hayashl at London. The de
mand Is, he says, for a signed treaty
from Russia In recognition of Chinese
sovereignty In Manchuria. In default
of such signature, Japan will fight; and
if Great Britain should Interfere
urge forbearance, the move will be
resented by Japan. She wishes to be
let alone In her duel with Russia. The
Issues Involves her existence; she will
decide It for herself.
It Is a just and a wise resolution
If
Great Britain urges Japan to recede
from a position thought necessary to
Japan's peace and safety, she will do it
for selfish reasons and not for the good
of Japan. She will do it because of the
appeals of commercial Interests, which
deprecate war today just as they re
slsted our war for independence and
the war for the preservation of our
Union; and because of the fear that she
may be drawn into a long and costly
struggle with Continental powers.
It Is perfectly useless for Great Brit
aln or any one to pretend that the in
terests of Japan are to be conserved by
farther procrastination of the inevitable
conflict If Russia will not respect
Japan's desires without force, there Is
no way for Japan to compel that respect
but by resort to arms. The Russian
advance into Manchuria and Corea
menaces Japan's very existence. If it
is not stopped, the extinction of Japan
is only a question of time. Perhaps It
is a question of time anyhow, but it
is perfectly certain that Japan is in
better shape today to push back the
Russian advance than she will be ten
years hence or one year hence. If Rus
sla Is unwilling or unable to check her
southward movement in Eastern Asia,
the sooner Japan appeals to arms the
better.
"We should say that men of spirit
everywhere would applaud Japan's no
tice to Great Britain that interference
from the powers will be distasteful.
The exploits of the powers In similar
cases heretofore have not been such as
to create any very strong presumption
in their favor. The maintenance of the
unspeakable Turk with his perpetual
outrage of Christian peoples Is the leg
acy of their Interference with Russia
in 1S7S; and Japan herself must still be
smarting under the cruel wrong dealt
her in 1S95, when the results of her
cuccessful war jrlti China were
snatched -from her by these same high
handed and officious powers.
The white man's burden has been" laid
upon Japan sufficiently for her to com
prehend its weight. It would be a fine
thing to see her decline the kind offices
of Great Britain not only now, but at
the close of the war, -when. If Japan
Ins, she can only expect the powers
to step In and divide the victory be
tween them. It would even be an ex
hibit in poetic justice if Japan would
secure then the agreement of Russia
and China to settle their affairs among
themselves and cease to be the play
things of Europe Russia the ally whom
Prance will supply with money until
the extremity when it is really needed,
Japan whom Great Britain will pat
ronize up to the point of fight and then
counsel retreat, China whose garments
Germany, England, France and Italy
are planning to portion among them
selves. It would not pay these Oriental
cats to invite the British monkey to
divide their cheese.
THE NEW VIEW OF THE BIBLE.
Recourse to the Old Testament as an
authoritative guide for secular observ
ance, especially on the Sunday question.
Is only one expression, though a typical
one, of a view of the Bible which no
longer finds acceptance or promulgation
among Intelligent men. According to
that once universal but now discredited
theory, thirty or forty men, singled out
arbitrarily for the purpose by Deity,
were made the recipients of special and
definite messages, handed down to them
as the angel Gabriel was supposed to
have handed down to Mohammed the
message of God written upon sheets of
Ilk. The Bible, accordingly, was the
exact word of God, not to be questioned
or reasoned about, but simply obeyed
upon dire penalties.
This view, as we have said, is no
longer held by intelligent men, within
the church or without Divine as the
Bible Is in one aspect, just as man is
divine and creation itself Is divine, it
is nevertheless a human book, full of
errors, inconsistencies, contradictions.
misstatements of fact and gross mis
conceptions of truth. Its religious mes
sage Is the best religious message In the
world. Its maintenance as a guide and
rule of meditation and on general lines
of conduct, Is the most necessary thing
In the realm of popular morality. But
that it is divine in the sense of direct
emanation from God and therefore au
thoritatlve in Its mandates upon details
of conduct Is no more tenable today
than the Ptolemaic system of astronomy
Is, or the Chinese theory of medicine.
The Idea Is confuted by Lyman Ab
bott and Dr. George A. Gordon and Dr.
Washington Gladden, and even In the
later writings of Phillips Brooks and
Henry Drummond. It is accurately de
Hneated in this passage from Dr. Ab
bott's "The Bible as Literature":
The modern student can no longer take text
from Genesis. Leviticus, Kings. Job, the Song
Of Songs, Isaiah and Romans, and. Ignoring the
fact that the first book Is one of ancient
tradition, the second a book of ecclesiastical
canons, the third a political history, the fourth
an epic poem, the fifth a drama, the sixth
collection of odes and orations and the
seventh an epistolary treatise on theology.
treat them as though they are all to be In
terpreted In the same fashion, and can be
combined In the textual mosaic which should be
accepted as a standard In theology.
The effort to enforce ecclesiastical
dogma as "divine command" Is further
discredited by the hopeless confusion of
Its sponsors. The Puritan Sunday, for
example, Is contrary to the verbal ut
terance of Leviticus, which prescribes
the seventh day as sacred, and is dis
credited by the example and precept of
Jesus. It was disowned by Luther and
Calvin, and today Is repudiated by
Catholic, Jew and Seventh-Day Ad
veirtlsts. He who would compel unlver
sal obedience to his own particular ver
sion of "divine command" must first
secure some approach to uniform agree
ment upon what the nature of that
command is. Usage and doctrine con
cerning the observance of Sunday are as
varied as usage and doctrine concern
lng the Eucharist or the rite of baptism.
Denominations have power to adopt
their peculiar tenets and enforce them
with discipline; but only within their
own Jurisdiction.
The Bible rests no longer upon ma
terial force for Its support; nor yet
upon ecclesiastical authority. It rests
upon the broader and firmer foundation
of the rich human experience from
which it sprang in the deeply religious
life of the Hebrew people. It Is the
united and happy conclusion of modern
theology that the Bible Itself and the
race as well will be Infinitely gainer by
the change. "Whereas the old Bible was
nurtured in credulity, where it must be
sheltered from the attacks of reason
and criticism, the new Bible Is but
tressed on every side by the researches
and conclusions of scientific and liter'
ary scholarship. As the product of Iso
lated and grotesque and incredible
miracles, the Bible was a stumbling
block. As the beautiful and orderly
evolution of the religious idea in the
most religious of all peoples, It is
natural, lawful growth, as fitting in
cosmogony as the everlasting hills or
the stars in their glorious flight through
space. Sayings put Into the mouth--of
God, whether by Abraham's campflre or
in the smoke of Sinai, or In the garden
in the cool of the day, become no longer
the fetish of a dying superstition, but
the vital evidences of progress In the
religious development of the race.
Nothing that the Bible says Is any
longer permitted by its intelligent
champions to rest solely upon its own
professions of authority or the disci
pllne of a hierarchy. The myths of
Genesis are countenanced by the myths
of Babylon. The records of the captiv
ity are verified by the Inscriptions on
C&naanlte and Egyptian monuments.
The proverbs are approved in the ex
perience of mankind. The psalms are
stamped with the love and veneration
of every devout and gentle heart The
stern cry of the prophet Is attested by
the voice of conscience in the souL The
sermon on the Mount is Justified in the
lives of Its deliverer and of Its. true
followers. The vision of the Apocalyp
tic is verified In the dream of lmmor
tarity which possesses the weary and
heavy laden in every land where temp
tations try and sorrows devastate.
in every application of the Bible to hu
man affairs. The ultimate appeal is to
reason, not to authority; to experience
rather than to "revelation." "Whatever
claim "the Sabbath" has on man lies, as
hath been truly said, in what It can do
for man. not In what he can do for
In obedience to some dogma of some
fractional part of one of the religious
creeds by which man has been humbled
and exalted, edified and terrorized
The life of anotlxer child in this city
has been sacrificed to the reckless habit
of keeping a bottle containing poison
on the shelf with family medicines.
While it Is difficult to'lmagine how car
bolic acid could be mistaken for castor
oIL since this poison always has its
iBunsrent odor with it, it 13 carelessness
pure and simple that places the two
side by side on the shelf. And while, as
is seemly, we pity the person- who ad
ministers a dose from the wrong bottle
in such, a case, we can have but scant
patience with, the careless habit that
led to the fatal result
FAMILIAR NOTE IN AN OLD SONG.
The director of the State Employment
Bureau of Kansas sounds a familiar
note of an old song when he reports his
findings In regard to farm help and do
mestic servloe in that state. Rural-
bred young men, he says, leave the
farms and go to the cities and towns.
where their wages, so far as money In
hand Is concerned, are bettered, while
young women, though brought up In
country homes where house work is the
order of their Jives, refuse domestic
service, even among their neighbors,
because they dislike to be rated in the
working world as a servant
The statement is a familiar one and
all too true. Yet thus far no argument
has Keen brought to bear upon it as
foolish, short-sighted and beset with
danger, that country lads and lassies
consider worthy of consideration. Boys
are told In vain that agriculture Is the
most Independent occupation on earth,
but recognizing the constant demands
that a well-kept farm make upon a
man's time and strength, they demur.
They are told that an independent liv
ing, and, as the years go on, a modest
competence, awaits young men who de-
ote themselves to fruitgrowing, dairy
ing or other specialties of farming, and
that in diversified agriculture there Is
money and pleasure In the getting of
it Again they demur, thinking of the
early rising, the long hours of labor,
the fight with pests and the uncertain
ty of market conditions with which the
farmer folk must wrestle. And not
knowing the disagreeable conditions
that attend labor in cities; the anyJety
Incident to the constant fear of being
out jf a job"; the discouragements
that wait upon those who as members
of the great army of willing and un
willing workers, are in the labor mar
ket seeking; the voracity with which"
living expenses In the city eat Into the
wages of the laborer; the temptations. to
spend money and acquire vices, great
and small, in exchange therefor un
knowing all of these things and much
more, the knowledge of which he can
only acquire by experience, the farmers'
boy yields to the promise of "better
wages," leaves the farm and seeks the
city.
A young man's right a3 an Individual
to decide the questions of Ideation and
occupation for himself Is unquestioned.
The man of mature judgment even he
who compiles statistics upon this sub
ject and .deduces facts therefrom, can
only wish that the boy who early left
the farm In disgust had addressed him
self earnestly to the duties of the voca
tlon in which he was born, taken a
personal interest in Its dally round and
remained with It until he had attained
the physical growth and strength of
moral fiber necessary to enable him to
meet and battle successfully with new
and untried conditions. With the farm
ers' boys It Is the vdajly round of seem
ingly unreoulte&labor and the tame so
cial life In the country, against the "Job
with good wages and a good time" In
the city. Weighed In this balance the
farmer Is found Irt the ascending scale.
and no one with a knowledf of rest
less boy naturewhlch Is the strongest
ana most forceful .expression of human
nature can wonder at the showing,
though earnest, 'thoughtful men may
deplore it
Conditions slightly dissimilar in char
acter but leading; to the same results
win the girls ' of ihe rural districts to
forsake the farm early, but not for do
mestlc service. True, a girl, even mod
erately skilled.- ln, housekeeping, may
readily find employment In domestic
service at $20 .a month, board and room
Included. But thesame wages as a so
called "clerk" In a store, upon which
she Is obliged to feed, clothe and lodge
herself, present superior attractions and
domestic service Is scorned. It Is In
vain that economists, political, social
and Industrial, decry this condition of
affairs as contrary to nature, and detrl
mental to the best Interests of society.
The American girl settles It to suit her"-
self forsakes housework and Its shel
ter, and, still a servant, works under
orders, and scrimps and continues to
keep the necessary outgo vlthln the
limits of her weekly wage.
And for this there Is no remedy that
argument, expostulation or entreaty
can apply. Statistics do not affect It
and sentiment, which has for Its theme
womenly women and a womanly voca
tlon Is dismissed as chaff which can
not stand before the fresh breezes of
modern life. The truth Is that the sub
ject Is a many-sided one. It Is barna
cled with pernicious growths which
cling to and weigh it down. First we
have "social standing," which girls per
suade themselves that they lose by en
tering domestic service. .Next comes
the undeniable superciliousness of many
mistresses and their unjust exactions in
the way of hours and company. The
lack of training Is a serious handicap
to satisfactory domestic service, and
conspires to make the work unpleasant
and to subject the worker to reproof.
The hours are long and the afternoon
and evening out are not infrequently
granted as a concession rather than ac
corded as a right This list might be
extended. Any incompetent girl who
has gone out to service and fallen Into
the hands of an exacting woman can
lengthen It Indefinitely. And when we
come to put the "board, room and pro
tec tlon" argument against the list the
offset Is ridiculed as not worth taking
into consideration.
It Is thus that the economist who
looks beyond the dally wage that
consumed by the dally need urges In
vain that there Is no field open to worn
en of the working class that offers bet
ter opportunity for self-support, a com
fortable home and an opportunity to
save money than does domestic service.
Words do not avail against conditions
as the working woman views them, and
homes In the country, village and city
are deserted by the young women who
have been born and brought up In them
for the semi-public life behind the coun
ter, the deafening noises of the tele
phone service, the temptations and ex
actions of the stenographic life or the
hard duties of the machine girl In
manufacturers' sewing-room.
The situation In the case of both the
boys and girls who, tired of farm life,
seek the city for employment, repre
sents a phase of modern life that must
be left to work itself out since neither
argument nor experience can hope to
prevail against It Let us not be too
apprehensive of results. The disasters
that come to individuals In this open
strife for a living are after all few when
compared to the great army of workers
of whose modest efforts, patient en
deavor and upright lives the world
takes no note. Let us believe that the
home will be maintained in Its purity
and usefulness and that manly men
-and womenly women will be evolved
from the conditions which, we are per
haps too prone to regard with appre
hension. In. brief, let us have faith In
human nature and renew "our confi
dence In American Institutions, Amer
ican manhood and American woman
hood. SEATTLE GOES VS ONE BETTER.
Mrs. Ellen Allen, charged with the
murder of Mrs. Laura Graham at South
Seattle, last Fall, has been acquitted by
Seattle jury on the ground that Mrs.
Allen was Justified in believing that
Mrs, Graham had alienated the affec
tions of her husband and was "the de-
spoiler of her home." Here we have
this vicious doctrine of the right of pri
vate vengeance for domestic wrong
pushed -to Its logical extreme. If a man
may be justly acquitted of murder on
the plea that his victim had "alienated
the affections of his wife," then there
Is no avoidance logically of the con
clusion that a woman may be Justly
acquitted of murder on the plea that
the woman gave to my husband and
he did eat" If a man may sit pistol
hand In his domestic garden of
Hesperldes and justifiably kill any man
who plucks his golden apples, why may
not a she-dragon, In shape of his wife,
sit pistol in hand and keep deadly
watch and ward over the family tree?
If the premise be sound that the hus
band has the right of private vengeance
against a man, why, then, logically the
wife has the same right of private
engeance against a woman who "hyp
notizes" her husband. There is no es
cape from this logic, granting the
soundness of the premise. The woman
suffers as much by the alienation of her
husband's affections as a man does by
the loss of a wife's; probably more. A
woman Is less capable of self-restraint
than a man In the master of wrong of
inis sort; for ner rury she can plead
quite as strong a case of resistless I
provocation. Practically this leads to a
ery serious state of affairs, if every
wronged wife Is as free to execute pri
vate vengeance as every wronged hus
band, because the number of wronged
wives probably greatly exceeds the
number of wronged husbands. Add to
this the number of men and women
who only pretend to have been wronged
In order to execute an act of private
vengeance and we have a social atmos
phere that begins to grow exceedingly
sultry and Insalubrious.
Of course there Is only one effective
cure for this state of things, and that
Is to go back to the old-fashioned doc
trine that neither man nor woman.
neither husband nor wife, has any
legal right to abate real or fancied
wrongs by an act of private vengeance.
Until we do this we cannot complain
If juries who turn "injured" husbands
loose also acquit "Injured" wives or
women who commit murder. The most
contemptible part of the Seattle affair
is "the reconcilement" of Mr. and Mrs.
Allen. The woman goes back to the
arms of a husband who has proved
that he cannot be, trusted out of range
of her (eyes and her gun, and he goes
nacK to tnetarms -of a woman whose
hands are red-"with the blood of his
paramour.. ""Hypnotism" appears to
have.become the latest refuge of every
gay Lothario j and faithless husband.
Every honest (man knows that women
do not break down masculine virtue by
"hypnotlzing'j good, husbands; it Is all
the other wayi It la .the man who iur-
sucs the woman and seeks to undermine
her good resolutions by appeals to her
vanity, her upldlty,. her affections and
her passions;
No honest ran. of sense ever accepts
the plea of "tfksclnatlbn" as a good ex
cuse for deserting a -wife and commit
ting adulters'. A sane man when he
sins with a wb'rha.n"is bound to carry
his own cross and not plead that the "hyp
notizing," fascinating "she" did It
Mrs. Allen, If sbo knows anything In
particular, which Is . doubtful, knows
that conjugal fidelity that cannot stand
exposure to the atmosphere of the outer
world was dead before It was born. And
yet this freak murderess resumes living
with her "despoiled" husband all smiles
and kisses and singing "Am I Not
Fondly Thine Own?" It looks very
much as if the Seattle case Is one that
was the legitimate outcome of "the
monkey marrying the baboon's sister."
But then Seattle Is a "freak" town.
Its public that applauds the acquittal
of Mrs. Allen ought to present her with
the chromo "God Bless Our Home" to
help furnish out her "pretty little flat'
beattle rejoiced a few years ago over
the acquittal of the prostitute that
killed Thomas H. Boyd.
THE IRISH TALENT FOR POLITICS.
Charles F. Murphy, - the leader of
Tammany Hall, who rules the New Tork
Democrats and who Is likely to
Influence the selection of a Presidential
candidate by the National convention,
Is an irishman. There Is nothing unex
pected In this, for the leader of Tarn
many Hall since the foundation of the
Democratic party has generally been an
Irishman. From the date of the pas
sage of the alien and sedition laws In
the Presidency of John Adams dates
the gathering of the Irish clans under
the banner of Democracy. The Tarn
many Society, organized by William
Mooney, an Irishman, In opposition to
the Cincinnati Society and the Federal
party, was an active instrument in
bringing Irish adopted citizens Into line
against the Adams Administration. In
the election of 1800 the Irish vote of
New York City turned the scale for the
Democratic party In the state, and by
this victory Jefferson was chosen Presi
dent and Aaron Burr Vice-President.
From that time to this the Irish vote
has been the backbone of the Demo
cratic party In the City of New York.
The Clintons were of Irish stock, and
all the Irish - refugees or 19S were
brought through Mooney to. the support
of the Democratic party and followed
It without a break for over twenty
years. It is estimated that In 1800 at
least 5000 Irishmen in New York City
joined the Democratic party. For more
than a century Tammany Hall has been
the great machine for recruiting the
Democratic party from the ranks of
Irish immigrants. Tammany has done
more to give victory to the Democratic
party In the State of New York and the
Nation than any other Democratic or
ganlzatlon In the country. The Tarn
many Hall missionaries have in this
long period gathered into the Demo
cratlc fold 93 per cent of the Irish Im
migrants who have come to our shores
and who constitute at least 60 per cent
of the Democratic party -In the North
ern States that were once known as
"the free states." Mooney, the founder
of the Tammany Society, sought the
preservation of state rights by a series
of societies that would resist Federal
encroachments and soon after Jeffer
son's election it became a flourishing
Democratic Institution.
In Its early days the Tammany Soci'
ety Included among its members, Aaron
Burr. De Witt Clinton. . Martin Van
Buren. William L. Marcy. Clinton
Anally quarreled with Tammany Hall,
even as TUden, Robinson and Cleveland
did at a later date. During all this
time Irishmen were not always the
dominant leaders In Tammany, but
they have been during the last half
century of Tammany's life. The sec
ond generation of Irishmen who had
grown up in American atmosphere from
boyhood not only soon became the mas
ter spirits of Tammany Hall, but they
became the master spirits of the Demo
cratic party in all the leading cities of
the country, and they are Its master
spirits today. Tweed was the reckless
thief of the' Tammany rlngp but Its
brains, so far as It had any, was Peter
B. Sweeney. Oil. the fall of Tweed hon
est John Kelly became the master spirit
of Tammany Hall; to Kelly succeeded
Richard Croker, and today we have an
even more astute political engineer in
Charles H. Murphy.
Another astute Irish politician was
Hugh B. McLaughlin, who ruled the
Kings County Democracy until he was
four-score. David B. Hill is the son of
an Irish mason; William Purcell, an
able Irish editor, once ruled the Democ
racy of Rochester. The leader of the !
Democracy of Buffalo, Sheehan, Is an
Irishman; the leader of the Democracy
of Rensselaer County, which includes
the large City of Troy, Is an Irishman,
ex-United States Senator -Edward Mur
phy. The lender of the Democracy of
Boston is General Patrick A. Collins.
There is not a city of 10,000 inhabitants
in New England or the Middle States
in which the leading Democratic politi
cians are not Irishmen, and the same
feet Is visible on the Pacific Coast
It Is equally true that whenever an In
telligent Irishman becomes a Republi
can he soon works his way to the front
of practical politics. There can be no
dispute that the average Irishman of
fair Intelligence has a r.atural-born
taste and talent for political life. The
explanation we need not go far to seek.
The average Irishman is of warm
blood and sturdy physique, and such
men always enjoy outdoor life. They
have humor, facility of speech, are
shrewd judges of rough human nature.
They are unrelenting partisans, have a
deal of outdoor executive ability, and
such men would be sure to enjoy a
political fight and are well fitted for
outdoor political leadership. Their nat
ural taste and talent for political life
must be remarkabe, for an Irishman
of the second generation In America,
whether he is a Democrat or a Repub
lican, Is sure to be an energetic, force
ful political worker. The German pop
ulation of New York City Is very large
and intelligent, but It does not manifest
either the same taste or talent for poli
tics that the Irish do. It Is so across
the water; the shrewdest, mo3t indom
itable politician In the British House
of Commons are the men who compose
the so-called "Irish party." They are
full of fight, eloquence, energy and
craft The Irish succeed In practical
politics because they enjoy a civic
struggle Just "as they enjoy a scrap.
They have risen above the atmosphere
of "Donnybrook Fair," so they enjoy
the more Intellectual wrestle of a parti
san conflict As a nation fhey are men
of great physical vitality, mental vi
vacity, fonder, of outdoor life and hu
man leadership than of the still air of
professional studies; so they make good
politicians.
WHAT IS A BLESSED MARTYR?
A week ago yesterday wreaths and
other floral tributes bedecked the
statue of Charles I in London, In com
memoratlon of the 250th anniversary of
his execution. This is understandable
In England, where the prayer book of
the Established Church still Includes
reference to "our blessed martyr, King
Charles I," but It Is not easy to under
stand why certain Episcopal churches
In Boston and elsewhere In America
should observe the anniversary of the
execution of Charles L The Established
Church In England was always the
champion of despotic royalty agalns
the liberties of the people under James
I, Charles I and Charles U, but for
that disgraceful fact the Episcopal
Church In America surely Is not re
sponsible. So far as Charles I being a
blessed martyr to the cause of Epis
copacy Is concerned, Macaulay points
out that this view is utterly without
foundation of historical fact. In his
"Essay on Hallam's Constitutional His
tory" Macaulay says In substance that
to represent Charles as a martyr to the
cause of Episcopacy Is absurd.
The attachment of Charles to the
Church of England was altogether po
Utlcal. In 1641 he deliberately con
Armed the Scotch declaration, which
stated that the government of the
church by archbishops and bishops was
contrary to the word of God. In 1645
he appears to have offered to set up
popery in Ireland. "That a King who
had established the Presbyterian relig
ion In one kingdom and who was will
ing to establish the Catholic religion
in another should have Insurmountable
scruples about the ecclesiastical const!
tution of a third is altogether Incredi
ble. The men who put Charles I to
death cared as little for the assembly
of divines as for the convocation, and
would only have hated him the more if
he had agreed to set up the Presby
terian discipline." Charles In his let
ters recognizes that the Established
Church had been since the Reforma
tion the great bulwark of prerogative
and as a stronger support of monarch
ical power than even the army he
wished to preserve it If he had known
that he was not safe to palter with the
fierce and daring Cromwelllans as he
had with the Presbyterians, he would
have swallowed he covenant as easily
as he had the Scotch declaration.
Charles appreciated the Anglican
Church as a political asset for it had
always been the lackey of monarchy
and the obdurate foe of public liberty.
The divine right of Kings and the duty
of passively obeying their commands
were the favorite tenets of the church.
From the days of Henry Tudor to Will
lam of Orange the Anglican Church
was the base minion of royal tyranny,
save in 16SS, when Catholic James II
outraged the dignity of the church so
grossly that she momentarily forgot to
practice the submission which she had
taught If Charles I had any deep re
llglous opinions, he was a zealous Ar
mlnian who, though no papist liked a
papist much better than a Puritan. His
Queen was a devout Catholic His son
James was an avowed Catholic, and hia
son Charles died a Catholic His ec
cleslastical arm in the execution of acts
of despotic cruelty was Archbishop
Laud, who had departed farthest from
the principles of the Reformation and
had drawn nearest Rome In his passion
for ceremonies and his Ill-concealed
dislike for the marriage of ecclesiastics.
Charles I is correctly described by
Macaulay as a most perfidious and
cruel man, in whose reign men guilty
only of printing sentiments in favor of
political and religious liberty had their
ears cut off by the shears. The elo
quent Sir John Eliot was unlawfully
confined in the Tower for twelve years,
until he died of disease there contract
ed. His only off ense was that when the
King, in direct violation of the petition
of right continued to raise tonnage
and poundage without the consent of
Parliament, Eliot proposed a resolution
in Parliament of condemnation. Charles
pledged his royal word to govern In
compliance with the demands of the
petition of right an broke his word
at the first opportunity. He was the
worst of all tyrants that ever sat on the
English throne. Macaulay says he was
a tyrant after 'the Italian fashion as
"constant at prayers as a priest as
heedless of oaths as an atheist" He
had a fine taste in art and he was a
faithful husband to his Queen, but, says
Macaulay, "If a man oppress and ex
tort all day, shall he be held blameless
because he prayeth at night and morn
ing? If he be insatiable for plunder
and revenge, shall we pass it by be
cause in meat and drink he Is temper
ate?" He was so full of "duplicity that
he had deceived churchmen, Catholics,
Presbyterians, independents, his ene
mies, his friends, his tools, English,
Irish and Scotch.
Faithlessness is the chief stain upon
Charles' memory. He had an incurable
propensity for dark and crooked ways.
His execution was not a murder. It
as not without good defense in mor
ality, but it was an impolitic act
Charles was no martyr In the cause of
Episcopacy; "his fate was procured by
his own acts of treason to the constltu
tlon and laws of the English people,
whose liberties he violated law in order
to subvert This is Macaulay's view of
the so-called "blessed martyr." Ma-
caulay Is good authority; none better.
It was the fashion forty years ago for
Tory Englishmen fo deride. Macaulay
as nothing but the author of a partisan
eulogy of the English Whigs, but Ma
caulay's history has been carefully ex
amined recently by men like Frederic
Harrison, professor of history once In
Oxford and a famoga critic, and his
historical judgments are none of them
reversed. His errors of historical fact
are trivial, and do not affect the value
of his famous historical portraits. He
is never Indifferent to truth; he does
not whitewash Henry VIII, nor Fred
erick the Great. His estimate of CUve
still stands the final judgment of his
tory. And Macaulay's Judgment is that
Charles I has not the slightest claim
to be regarded as "the blessed martyr'
In the cause of Episcopacy.
Helen Wllmans Post a venerable
woman who has been before the public
as a healer and publisher for many
years, is on trial In Jacksonville, Fla.,
for using the mails to defraud the pub
11c Mrs. Post Is 73 years old, a genial
optimistic woman, who thoroughly be
lieves in herself and possesses In a re
markable degree the faculty of making
others especially the sick and those In
trouble believe In her. This is proba
bly the head and front of her offending;
and since of the 10,000 persons who have
come to her for mental healing in half
a century at least 80 per cent accord
ing to her testimony, were benefited, or
thought they were, she may be said to
have done good rather than, harm in
the world through the exercise of what
she calls her "gift." Her financial sue
cess, like that of Alexander Dowle, tes
titles to the power of self-confidence
when unwavering in Its purpose and
pushed to the limit. There will be
cheerful "frauds" such as Mrs. Post
and Mr. Dowle as long as the world is
full of willing and amiable dupes.
Is it possible that the scions of the
German Imperial house have hit upon
a plan for removing obnoxious person
ages without exciting much hostile
comment? Formerly some rulers had
pleasant way of inviting- an inimical
subject to dinner, taking care that the
food served the guest should disagree
with, him to such an extent that he did
not recover. Now we read that Lieu
tenant-Colonel Baden has been filled
with lead by one of the Emperor's sons
while out rabbit shooting. It may be
that the "imperial youth," as he is de
scribed in the dispatch, has expressed
his disapproval of Colonel Baden in the
way recommended to the citizens of
Portland by Chief Hunt, who has sug
gested filling burglars with small shot
as an indication of displeasure. If this
be the case, future Invitations to go
rabbit shooting with members of the
Imperial family will be received with
alarm and be accepted only by those
lucky enough to have ancestral armor
in their families.
In other climates Spring comes upon
a country of frozen fields and saples3
boughs. The changing of the seasons
appears to people that have been rub
blng hands and stamping feet in un
kindly weather, and their appreciation
breaks forth In obvious verse, until the
"Spring poet" is as plentiful and as ob
noxious as the perspicacious pests of
the later season, or the persons that
ask "Is It hot enough for you?" It Is
the Idea of many who greet Spring
with blue noses that the season cannot
be appreciated in such a land as Ore
gon, where Winter is balmy and trees
are evergreen. . There could be
greater mistake, for we do not hall
Spring for what it ends, but for what
begins, and, although here we have no
snowdrifts to melt away under the
breath of the Chinook, the wind brings
promises of the "blue, unclouded" Sum
mer. It is as the trumpeter of hop
that the season is proclaimed
Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleas
- ant King.
A. peculiar but not uncommon phase
In human nature Is shown by the
woman who, having brought herself to
want and disease through a dissolute
life, objects to being taken to the poor
farm on account of the "humiliation"
lnlcdent thereto. Pity can scarcely re
press a smile at the stress that is put
upon this word by Its use In this case.
Even the most generous advocate of
the "divine spark" in every human soul
must be foroed to conclude that the
depths of "humiliation" had long since
been reached by a woman in this condi
tion. A woman so. tardily sensitive
should conceal her Identity under the
name of "Mrs. Richard Roe," go to the
poorhouse and be grateful for Its kindly
shelter.
Princess Alice of Albany, who Is to
marry Prince Alexander of Teck, Is the
daughter of Leopold, the youngest son
of Queen Victoria. Her father was a
victim of epilepsy from his birth, but
her mother is a German Princess of
sound health and fine physique. The
prospective bridegroom owes what little
distinction he has to the fact that he Is
a brother of the Princess of Walea
NOTE AND COMMENT.
We'll have to try slnga Zf
With Santo Domingo,
By Jingo.
Russia and Japan have "broken off dip
lomatic relations." In other word3 they
have quit jawing and are coming down
to business.
Now they complain that the stock of a
big Hawaiian sugar company is watered.
The American taste evidently does not
approve of eau sucree.
Kansas City has spiral flro slides for its.
schools. How the kids, weary of sliding
down banisters, will long for a good blaze
during school hours!
Possibly the officer who was peppered
by the Kaiser's son while shooting rab
bits is consoled by the knowledge that be
was perforated by Imperial shot
A fly cost the casino at Monte Carlo $25,-
000 the other day. The fly alighted on the
number 13, and the crowd hastened to
take the hunch, which turned out to be a
ood one.
Much discussion is raging around the
shoe of Salem's fair ones, and Colonel
Hofer seems to have put his foot In It
What annoys the owners of the tootsies is
that a Salem man should assail 'em.
Now that Bryan Is for Hearst and
Hearst loves Bryan, what spasms of mu
tual adoration may bo expected when the
Dally Commoner and the Dally Examiner
shall explode hourly In St Louis.
A teacher named Paynter la In great dis
favor at Dayton for bringing a girl named
Daisy Wick to book. Perhaps it would
be more accurate to say that he brought
a book to Wick, as he hit the girl on the
head with one.
The idea that a barrel of sauer kraut
is a high explosive is terrifying. Fortun
ately the rul'js of the Geneva convention
prohibit Its use in warfare, so there will
be less of a ruction In the Orient than
there might have been.
It appears that the sea is undermining
the terrace whereon the ghost of Papa
Hamlet is accustomed to disport its un
earthly form. While this will not affect
many persons directly, great numbers will
be sorry, on principle, to hear of anything
that tends to keep the ghost from walking
as frequently as possible.
Doyle had a drawing In Punch that
shows a political meeting when Cobden
fought protection, and reference to it clear
ly shows that the conservative English
man .uses exactly the same arguments
against free trade today as his father did
against protection half a century ago. In
Doyle's picture the air is full of bricks.
Representative Smith, of Kentucky,
says that his state maices wmsky lor
Maine and Kansas. The only reason for
this, however, Is that modern methods
have increased the production of whisky,
while It has to be swallowed in the same
old way. Consequently, not even the Ken
tucky colonels can keep pace with the
manufacture, and the overflow goes to
other states.
South Bend Is a thrifty municipality. In
taxing the "red lighters" due thought was
given to the possibility that a heavy fine
might drive those behind the rubious tran
soms outside of the city limits, when
there could be no taxation, and revenue
would grow slim. So $5 a month was
esteemed a sufficient monthly contribu
tion. Thus the finances of South Bend
are Improved and some of her Inhabitants
saved a walk.
The Japanese national anthem, wo learn
from an exchange, is rief, If nothing
else. Translated It runs:
The reign of our Emperor will last thousands
of years? Just as long. Indeed, as a tiny stone
which Is growing Into a big rock gathers lt3
moss.
The Corean anthem, which Is repeated
quickly ten times In a sing-song fashion,
may be translated thus:
The Coreans are the- original people. All
other nations are but dingbats under the feet
of fate.
Wrestling Is now the craze in England.
It is the only thing that has ousted the
fiscal question from public attention, and
nothing is heard but discussions of tho
Graeco-Roman and the catch-as -catch-can.
styles. The Cumberland style, which has
hitherto appealed to those who consider
tho struggling on the ground makes wrest
ling resemble a dog fight does not seem
to gain much favor outside its peculiar
bailiwick. In the East also wrestling has
become popular, which seems to show that
athletes take up fads as readily as women
do.
Tho National Council of Women has
passed resolutions In favor of juvenile
courts of equality of women and men in
the pulpit, of hygienic dress, and of va
rious other things. It Is to be regretted
that the council did not draw plans of the
hygienic dress it favors, for the world
would have welcomed some such declara-
tlon. Women are being told constantly
that the thlngimajigs they- wear are very
dangerous to health, and "hygienic 'dress"
is talked and talked to them. But what is
this hygienic dress? Eve's garb was no
doubt healthful, but It cannot be adopted
today. Let the hygienic dress be pictured
for the women that are adjured to adopt
it But the National Council must not
forget that If their proposed "reform"
makes woman look a fright it will be dis
tinctly unhygienic, owing to Its depressing
influence on her mind.
Great has been the discussion of read
ing In bed, and Its good or bad effects.
Miss Gilder, the editor of the Critic, in
commenting upon the matter, says that in
France It Is customary to read In tho
bath. She says that the French do not use
baths so often as Americans, and there
fore when they do have a hot tub they
stay In the water much longer. Miss Gli
der adds that she has seen a Parisian
bookseller advertise a list of "Books for
the Bath." and she speculates upon the
class of reading that would be deemed
suitable. It Is probable that the editor
of the Critic has -hit upon a great discov
ery. The French novel is .proverbially
frivolous, and is held up to scorn by the
more solid beef-eatere of literature. Is
it possible that the French author, his
heart aflame o write a great novel with
a purpose, is compelled, through tho
knowledge that his reader will be languid
from beelng steeped In hot water, to write
a frothy tale? And It so, isn't it likely
that ha makes his story pretty warm
to correspond with tho temperature of the j
water? MUs Gilder should make a more,
extended study of this subject. It Is one,
of Interest to both readers and authors.
How does the Frenchman, for Instance,!
get along with a serial story? If it werej
In a dally he would have to bathe Incon-i
venlently often; if in a quarterly at tod
long intervals. The subject is full of In
teresting. points, and we hopo for furthe
information. .
- WEXFORD JONES.