The Sunday Oregonian., May 29, 1904, Page 4, Image 4

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r .
PORTLAND, SUNDAY, MAY 20, 1904.
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS.
The union of the Cumberland Presby
terian Church with the general body of
Presbyterianism. now approved at Buf
falo, can scarcely be called a reunion;
for the Cumberland Church was largely
e.n independent growth in the South and
'"West of the United States, formed
mainly on the general doctrines, but
dissenting in particulars, from the his
torical and rigid Presbyterian creed.
It sprang chiefly from a remarkable re
vival of emotional religion in the
mountainousdlstricts of Virginia, North
Carolina and Tennessee toward the end
of the eighteenth and the beginning of
the nineteenth C3nturles.
From that region it passed rapidly,
with the pioneer movement, into Indi
ana, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
It was an outgrowth of the nature and
the situation of a people who, in the
stage of Intellectual development and
social life then existing, proceeded with
a freedom and spontaneity of religious
action which the more formal methods
of historical Presbyterianism did not
allow. All the roots of the cardinal
doctrines of the Cumberland Church
were. Indeed, in the old Presbyterian
confession; but there was dissent from
them in certain methods of church gov
ernment, especially as to the respective
powers of presbyteries and synods, and
dissent also from some of the more
rigid doctrines of Calvinlstic theology,
which the old Presbyterian Church had
made its own.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church
grew, therefore, and flourished on its
own basis; and it speedily became one
of the most Important of the religious
factors In the great region over which
it spread, along with the pioneer settle
ments. It still has had steady growth,
though not in so great proportion, yet
Is stronger now in fact than any former
period of Its existence. It now extends
from Pennsylvania to the shores of the
Pacific, but takes its name from the
Cumberland Country of Kentucky and
Tennessee, where its first presbytery
was held in the year 1S10. The church
now has about 200,000 members.
Union of the various Presbyterian de
nominations is now as marked a feat
ure as their variance or disruption was
in former times. With changing con
ditions of life and manners, old meta
physical speculation, fruitful source of
ecclesiastical differences, tends to soften
and to disappear. Education and life
in various localities, even widely sep
arate, move towards homologies, in
stead of towards increasing variations,
as they did in the earlier years of our
history. It is a movement felt alike in
the creeds of politics and In the creeds
of religion. More than anything else, it
was a state of life and manners, and
therefore of feeling and thought, in the
part of the country where the Cum
berland Church arose, thaV caused its
organization on an Independent basis,
instead of keeping it within the old
lines of Presbyterianism.
But now, since on one side something
of the old rigidity is relaxed, and on
the other side changes have come
through the necessary progress from a
new society to a maturer one, there is
opportunity and inclination 'on both
sides to "get together." and the union
is apparently to be effected almost
without resistance. Yet this incident
cannot be taken as a sign of an or
ganic reunion of Christendom; for the
basis of difference goes back to the
Petrlne and Pauline Churches, resting
on tests of authority so different as to
be irreconcilable. And yet the thought
of very complete Protestant union
would seem not to be an impossible one.
Look, for illustration, at the vast de
velopment of English political thought
and life in America, in Australia, in In
dia and in Africa. It would have been
impossible once; for can any man be
ll,. ....... . .. . 1 "
Maine. Florida. Texa a n.I " ,.
i, . i-.. . - "UHUrea ars Hack
hav bn knt nw r TJ"
o-v. o. uuie uj-
nn3 poer snort ot an overwhelming
despotism like that of Russia? Could
these widely separated states of ours
act as parts of one free political body
if they had no means of Intercourse
one with another swifter than the speed
of the horse? In the world of emotion
of feeling, of religion, it is much the
same. Quick communication, through
modern scientific and industrial prog
o
ress, has Its effect on religious as well
as on Bolltlcn.1 action. RailwRvs nmi
as on political action. Railways and
jeiegrapos ana printing are aomg mis
stupendous -work. Soon in all the world
there -will be no, "Isolated spots of
mind." '
PBOIUBS ACQUITTED OF PERFIDY.
We have the solemn word, not to say
the vehement protest, of several prohi
bitionists to the effect that character
ization of the so-called local option bill
as prohibition is "untrue and unjust.
Great is the outcry against this alleged
perversion of their own purpose and of
the law's intent. Such is the atmos
phere of superior sanctity with which
these large-minded and whole-souled
persons surround themselves that to
doubt their word on any subject would
approximate the blasphemous. The
disposition of all mere human men.
therefore, would 'be to accept their
statement at Its face value, believe and
be saved.
But the consequences of this horn of
a painful dilemma are not altogether
pleasurable. For throughout the life
time of a generation, or at any rate
since in 1834 150,000 votes were cast for
John P. St John out of a total of 10,
000.000, or 1& per cent., compared with
208,000 for John G. Woolley In 1900 out
of a total of 14,000.000, or 1.4 per cent
(thus has the prohibition cause marched
boldly and irresistibly forward numer
ically and backward proportionately)
throughout all these years we have
been hearing that prohibitionists look
.upon anything short of prohibition as
the weak invention of the Devil with a
bigD.
Time and the newest dictionary would
fail to set forth In any adequate terms
the scorn your true prohlb feels for
those nominally Christian people who
forget their principles so far as to com
promise with the Demon Rum on any
paltering and unholy basis like local
option, high license, mulct laws or any
other partial surrender to King Alcohol.
The matter Is one admitting of no com
promise. Drink is an unmitigated evil
and any concession to the saloon Is
equivalent to a league with cut-throats
or sneakthieves. Whoever trifles or
dallies or compromises with the flend
Intemperance is fit only to be cast into
outer darkness where there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth, unre
lieved by any gleam from the prohi
bitionist's sunny smile or cheer from
prohibitionist's amiable Impulsive na
ture. It is with mingled feelings of lostness
and alarm, therefore, that we view the
prohibitionist asseveration that local
option as drafted by our Oregon prohi
bitionists, as observed in Texas as
actual prohibition and as insinuated
Into the good will of Oregon temper
ance advocates not prohibitionists, is
not prohibition at all, but only a weak
counterfeit such as they have been
branding as all perfidy and guile. We
did not think our erstwhile stanch and
true brethren and sisters of the Prohl
camp capable of this lapse from fidelity
and grace. Even yet we prefer to think
them true to the tlmerhonored absurd
ity of prohibition. They may be sly.
but they certainly are not perfidious.
Surely it would be erroneous to expect
them, If "local option" should carry, to
come down town with long faces on
June 7 with the confession that the new
law was not prohibition, but a compro
mise whose guilt lay heavily on their
souls.
LET A SPEED LIMIT BE FIXED AND EN
FORCED. A correspondent recently spoke
through The Oregonian In terms of un
measured censure of the automobile, or
rather of the owners of those awe-inspiring,
mischief-breeding vehicles. His
sentiment was an echo of the trouble
that has followed the automobile across
the continent and beyond the seas.
These echoes repeat announcements of
death and walls of disaster, freely min
gled with scathing words of censure
and protests, hot with indignation.
While admitting that there is a grave
basis of truth for these plaints and pro
tests, it must still be admitted that the
automobile has "come to stay." This
being true, it must 'be dealt with, not
wholly as a menace and a thing to be
railed at, but as something that, within
proper limits, is not only to be -endured
but to be enjoyed. Its usefulness even
must be conceded as an emergency
chariot in times of stress, whether of
peace or of war. It is the attitude of
the owners of automobiles, generally
speaking, that is especially irritating.
He who owns a machine capable of
making a high rate of speed is too apt
to act as if he also owned an undis
puted right of way over the public
thoroughfares. Whether he races reck
lessly on city streets, tooting his horn,
or bowls along over the country roads
at a "clear-the-track-fpr-I-am-comlng"
gait, the attitude of "the automobillst
toward those who are traveling by
slower methods is, to say the least, ag
gravating. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently
noted as an interesting coincident char
acteristic of the pompous automobillst
the fact that recently, about the same
time a social leader of New Tork was
held up In the suburbs of Philadelphia
and a social leader in the latter city
was arrested In New Tork for running
an automobile too swiftly. The New
York man gibed at Philadelphia for be
ing "too slow," while the Phlladelphian
sneeringly declared that Gotham was
not holding up its reputation for "a
swift place." Sarcasm did not save
Ihem, however, and both were fined.
Of course both were highly Indignant,
and ignorance of the local law in the
premises was urged in extenuation of
the reckless pace that was set. No re
gret whateyer was expressed by either.
It is evident, says the Journal quoted,
that before long we shall have to con
coct a corpus of automobile law just as
has been done for corporations, rail
roads and other modern institutions.
The development of the horseless
wagon will In due time correct some of
the evils that now follow its use. It
will be simplified, while lessened cost of
construction and operation will bring it
within the reach of people of moderate
means. The history of the bicycle Is
suggestive upon this point. In the
meantime public safety requires that
the speed of these vehicles on the publlo
streets and county highways shall be
made to conform to the rules that gov
ern other means of rapid conveyance.
TVla enaw llmlf nAon.-t. -..
v ""-'-- ". .-.. w acv.urJ
this end may seem low to the automo
C w..r. . --'V- ""u u V"'
","" "w " ""
limit wui oe reaucea Deiow tee rate
that public safety demands. Let us ac
cept the fact that this most rapid
of all means of private conveyance
must increase in popularity as it de
creases in expense. Ordinances minim
izing the danger have already in many
cities been enacted. An honest effort
is being made to enforce them. As a
sport or a fad, automoblling will hav
. . ah uie uiciuiune mere is no
better corrective for undue enthusiasm
in ihic iin tu. .m v. ....j ..
in this line than will be found In whole
-
some discipline applied impartially un
- j
der properly restrictive laws. The ar
dent automobillst "watching from the
sidewalk another's machine speed by
and noting the panic into which pedes
trians on the crosswalks are thrown by
the "teuf ! teuf !" that announces its ap
proach admits this, but is prompt to
forget it when he himself goes out for
a ride. "Laws to control speed nave
bsen found necessary for the public
safety. Why, Indeed, should the speed
of the automobile "the rich man's car
riage" not be subject to the same re
strictions that govern the speed of the
street-car the carriage of the masses?
HEARST rOBTUNES IMPAIRED.
From the general tone of the San
Francisco "special" announcing the
perforced abandonment of worthy char
ities by Mrs. Hearst on account of her
son's political expenses, there is room
to apprehend a measure of exaggera
tion. The inclination to make the most
of such stories is not confined to Shang
hai, that Crete of the modern world, nor
even to San Francisco, whenc the
Hearst tale emanates. It is fair to
young Mr. Hearst to suppose that his
political undertakings have been ad
vanced largely upon his own exchequer,
and not upon his mother's; and yet
some diminution of the maternal store
may readily be conceded, and as Mrs.
Hearst Is 64 years old, not given to
vain display or riotous living, little dis
tinction is to be made between their re
spective fortunes. What is hers, if not
his now, will soon be his In due process
of time. It will not suffer more in her
hands than in his.
It is a serious question how much
the world i3 gainer through such dona
tions of rich men and women as are
withdrawn from their more natural
dissipation into the channels of trade
of various sorts through their, heirs.
There is not a charity in the land, how
ever worthy and unselfish, whose ben
eficence is not offset to some extent at
least by the weakening of Its recipients.
All the luxuries and conveniences of
living and of study provided by Mrs.
Hearst in the various subordinate in
stitutions she maintains at Berkeley as
adjuncts to the university proper are
the implements of help to the students
using them, no doubt; but they would
be of more help to them if they pro
vided them for themselves. The men
whose names are household words in
theland are not the men nourished on
free scholarships and free libraries; nor
were the able and devoted mothers of
these men grounded in womanly virtue
ami fiber at Hearst Domestic Indus
tries, Pie Delmonto or Enewah clubs.
W. R. Hearst's Presidential ambition
does not cost his mother any more real
sacrifice, probably less, than many a
poor woman makes to keep her boy in
the grammar or high school. Rich
men's sons, truly, are often spoiled by
their silver spoon or bed of roses, but
the disposition of parents to assist their
children to realize their ambitions is
not to be censured or eradicated. In
equity young Hearst has a far more
valid claim upon his father's millions
than any of Mrs. Hearst's expectant
beneficiaries. The employment of great
fortunes in endowment of great educa
tional institutions is undoubtedly the
least harmful of almost all the avenues
with which inordinate wealth seeks to
palliate its existence and condone its
origin. But the results at Berkeley or
Stanford or Chicago do not compare to
the disadvantage of the product turned
out a generation ago in poverty-nurtured
places like Dartmouth, Bowdoln,
Amherst and Oberlin.
The privilege of spending his money
on his family as he sees fit is perhaps
the most powerful incentive to the ex
ceptional man to enter Into the colossal
undertakings which alone give great
possessions. The fortunes to be made
in them gave us the Pacific railroads
that brought forth Stanford and the
mines that endowed Berkeley and di
versified our journalism and politics
with Hearst Social and Industrial evo
lution, like the steps of lower organic
creation, has come along only through
the advances made by the exceptional
minds; and nothing could more effect
ively retard this advance than any re
striction "upon the power of the rich to
dispose of their gains as they please.
"THE GREAT WHITE PLAGUE."
During three entire days of "the late
session of the Illinois State Medical So
ciety In Bloomington the strong light of
medical science and experience was
turned upon the disease that is known
and dreaded everywhere under the old
name, "consumption," or the modern
name, "tuberculosis." Elsewhere in The
Oregonian of this date is published a
careful report of the work of those days
as given in the Chicago Tribune. It Is
only necessary to read this report to be
come convinced of the fact that we
have entered upon an era in which the
ravages of the "great white plague"
will be much restricted.
Consumption, according to the find
ings here given, is both preventable and
curable. All that is required to bring it
under control is intelligent, associated
effort The keynote of the struggle is
found in the words "beware of the be
ginnings." But even if, through ig
norance, inattention or fancied security,
this warning has been neglected, there
Is still, under the searchlight of mod
ern science, a fair chance to discover
and put to rout the insidious forces of
the enemy. Dr. Preble, of the North
western University, contributed to the
convention a paper in which encourage
ment so sorely needed, was held out to
the consumptive, saying: "It is not
necessary to Isolate the patient, nor
should he be allowed to look upon him
self as a source of unavoidable danger
to his friends. Contact with tubercular
patients can safely be continued for
years, provided only that the sputum is
properly disposed of."
It is, however, conceded and even
urged that the key to success in treat
ing this disease is to put the subjects
under the right environment All agree
that the prime essentials in such envi
ronment are fresh air outdoor air
clothing conducive to the comfort of the
patient according to the season and
climate, an abundance of nourishing
food, a cheerful atmosphere and avoid
ance of fatigue. Manifestly the first
step 1b to call the attention of the com
munityof evrey community to these
facts as demonstrated by the careful
experiments or mea1Cai scientists tvitmn
P"t few years
Practically everybody knows that
medicine administered as a cure for
consumption is worse than useless. Not
only does it not destroy the Invading
germs or check their multiplication, but
it weakens the digestive forces and thus
lets down another bar to the progress
of the disease. The open-air sani
tarium, carefully planned and intelli
gently supervised, Is the means by
wnicn me scourge can successiuuy De
fought Intelligent research has reached
.. . . ..
this conclusion, and in resnonss to It
sanitariums are being established in
many states. Oregon is not likely to be
long behind In this effort Already, as
is well known, a fund is being raised to
establish an institution of this kind
near this city. Fresh air may be had in
any climate, If only proper means are
taken to Becure it The weary and
hopeless journey taken for "change of
climate" by the consumptive Is not
necessary. Experience has proved In
thousands of cases that it Is ill advised.
Upon the open-air sanitarium, easily
accessible to patients, the, speedy relief
of sufferers In the Incipient stage of the
disease depends. Reasonable hope of
cure of patients in the second stage Is
held out through the same means. An
active, earnest crusade against the In
sidious foe is demanded. Let the watch
cry be, "Beware of the beginnings,"
and let the warning be made available
to our own people as early as possible
by the establishment of the Institution
for which funds are now awaited, as
.soon as possible.
KLAMATH SWAMP LAND DECISION.
Secretary Hitchcock's ruling in the
Klamath swamp land case is in keeping
with his general policy of protecting the
public, domain from purchase and set
tlement. With the aim to circumvent
fraud, which wholly possesses the Sec
retary, no good citizen can fall to sym
pathize; but in practice his uniform dis
pleasure with all who might make use
ful application of public land is calcu
lated to invoke a Rooseveltian laconic-
lsm aDout the hard heart and the soft
head. Mr. Hitchcock stands up so
straight that he leans backwards.
The Secretary is powerfully impressed
with the Indian's prior right to the
lands of the United States. That the
noble red man was here before us and
that his dispossession has rarely been
achieved In accordance with the Re
vised Statutes will be generally admit
ted; but few will be disposed to follow
the Honorable Secretary to the point,
where logic would require him to go,
of issuing a process of eviction for a
large part of our 80,000,000 population,
on the ground of the Indian's prior oc
cupation. Nor so disposed have been
former Secretaries of the Interior. Ilka
Noble and Vilas, whose numerous rul
ings adverse to the Indian In similar
cases, we find gathered up in the com
prehensive brief upon the present case,
offered before the department, by Will
lam B. Matthews, the able lawyer who
represented the State of Oregon In this
appeal.
Mr. Matthews shows, upon an exam
ination of many such cases, that there
Is nothing in the nature of Indian ten
ure which at all stands in the way of
such grants of lands occupied by In
dians as the one made to Oregon by the
act of Congress of March 12, i860, under
which the Klamath tract in controversy
Is claimed. Such grants are not and
never have been uncommon, and at one
period of the National history they
were the rule rather than the excep
tion; and be submits that the ground
of the Land Office ruling that the ab
original tenure had not been extin
guishedcertainly does not afford any
reason for denying the power of Con
gress to, grant swamp lands to the State
of Oregon. Let us reproduce two of Mr.
Matthews' citations:
Attorney-General Caleb Cushlng, 1838: It is
the universal doctrine of public law. that the
Indlani are the domestic subjects of the par
tlcular European-American state In whichthey
happen to be. It Is a doctrine nf nm. .n,iin
law equally fundamental that the Indians do
nui aoia a tee in the lands of their aboriginal
occupation, but only as a uaufruct, the fee
being in the United States or In come cases
In the several states. . . . That usu
fructuary occupation was capable of being
extinguished by the United States and by them
alone.
Supreme Court of Wisconsin. 1834: it 1 woi
settled that the possession of a tract of land
oy me Indians does not affect the validity of
a grant by the Government to a state or to
a citizen, made without the consent of the
Indians. . . . The Dower of the Govern
ment to grant, and the capacity of the state
to take, cannot be doubted.
A word might appropriately be added
on the equities of the case. The swamp
land grant of 1860 antedated by four
yeare the "treaty" subsequently nego
tiated with the Klamath tribe, and even
if the state had not this claim of prior
record, authorities have held that a for
mal "treaty" with these nomadic and
savage tribes imparts no more validity
to their aboriginal title than It had be
fore. The area of the Klamath reserva
tion Is given at 872,186 acres, and as this
claim of the state is set up to only
92,378 acres, there Is left for the 1141
Indians reported in 1902 some 780,000
acres, or over 700 acres apiece. If
this case is to be reviewed, as may be
done, It would seem that some such
moderate concession to civilization
might be made as the enforcement of a
land grant on a tenth part of this vast
Indian hunting and pleasure ground.
MARYLAND'S CUE FOR ST. LOUIS.
The most immediate effect of such
collapse as the Hearst boom has experi
enced and such diminution as attaches
to the Parker movement by failure of
several conservative state conventions
to instruct for him, is to rehabilitate
Senator. Gorman as a Democratic possi
bility. Even without that increment to
his personal ambitions, the astute
Marylander's counsel has always been
highly regarded in Democratic counsels.
It Is impossible to regard lightly, there
lore, this utterance of the Maryland
platform:
There is no rightful place under our system
of Constitutional American liberty for the
conauest. subjugation and government of alien
races In remote Islands of tho sea. and for
the dangers aid evils that accompany colonial
and imperial expansion, and we pledge our
selves to the adoption of all conservative and
practicable measures to rescue the Govern
ment from the evil consequences of so de
plorable a departure from the fundamental
principles of the Constitution. To this end
we demand, at the earliest possible moment.
Independence shall be granted to the Fili
pinos, with the same general relationship to
this country as that now enjoyed by the peo
ple of Cuba.
This is a specious cloak for one very
simple proposal. As to alien races, the
Filipinos are no more alien than the
Alaskans, or the Porto RIcans. As to
remoteness, it is a mere term, for the
Philippines are not as remote In any
practical sense as Oregon was when
created a territory in 1S48. As for the
"dangers and evils that accompany co
lonial and Imperial expansion," they are
no greater in the Philippines than in
Porto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska or New
Mexico. The view of "constitutional
American liberty" which professes that
statehood and full citizenship are nat
ural" rights of acquired territory and
Its inhabitants is a figment of partisan
imagination, discredited by every step
in our National expansion.
Stripped of its folly and dishonesty,
accordingly, the Maryland demand is
simply for abandonment of the Philip
pines. The suzerainty we exercise over
Cuba by virtue of our geographical po
sition is impossible of application to the
Philippine Archipelago, which we must
either rule with firm and omnipresent
hand or else leave to its own devices.
.. . ... . - I
on ine issue or abandeniner -the-
Philippine Islands, the Democratic
party is likely, to make lae- seme mis
take in 1904 that It madt in 1900; that
is, if It 'follows Mr. Gorman's "Ideas, it
will only array Itself against the firm
resolve of the American people to retain
the Philippines, for their own good, for
the honor and dignity of the Nation,
and perhaps chiefly for the vantage
point they give ns in the world struggle
for the trade of the Orient
Among the things that events have
brought to pass the last seven years
and that the Democratic party thinks it
necessary to censure and resist in justi
fication of ts own existence, none is
more irrevocably- secure than the en
trance of the United States into Asiatic
affairs, , In the perpetuation and 'utili
zation of our position there, our occu
pation of the Philippines is of the first
importance. It is an advantage that
will not be thrown away; whether Re
publicans or Democrats are nominally
In power at Washington; and to array
itself against this factor In our National
destiny is for the Democratic party to
make as foolish and damaging a move
as it made against the Union in 1S64
and against the gold standard In 1896.
STARTING BADLY.
A young man named Waiter F. Miles,
of Pacific College, Newberg, who par
ticipated in the oratorical contest at the
First Baptist Church in Portland on
Friday night the general subject, being
"Prohibition of Manufacture and Sale
of Liquors" In speakings of the oppo
sition to the prohibition effort, said:
"The editorial columns of our leading
newspapers are knocked down to the
highest bidder."
Mr. Miles, a young man, is starting
very badly. Allowing his mind to be
filled with the Idea that "everything
among men is venal and only awaits a
purchaser," there is danger that he is
preparing himself for a tall, at an early
opportunity, One who holds an idea of
this kind, it may be feared, holds the
soil it not the seed of corruption in him
self. Mr. Miles, for his own good, can
not correct himself too soon. He "is on
very dangerous ground. Just so soon
as one has persuaded himself that
"every man has his price," he will have
his price for himself.
Honor is general among men and
women. Comparatively few are mer
cenary or venal. This is a fact of hu
man nature, and the honor of human
nature requires belief In it. Not less is
belief In ,lt required for maintenance of
one's own moral dignity. Suspect the
man, always, who suspects everybody
else.
As to "the leading newspapers," they
are always above and beyond purchase
or price. The moral condition of their
existence, on which the business condi
tion Is built, requires' it. Even the
aphorism "Honesty is the best policy"
is too low a moral maxim for them.
Nothing could Induce a great newspa
per to part with its independence. As
matter of fact, moreover, every such
newspaper earns money enough to be
Independent of all who would buy lt3
utterances. Even were It not so, Its in
dependence is worth Infinitely more to
It than money, and it would die before
it would debase itself.
Beware always of the man who thinks
others men and women up for sale.
Be sure he stands on very slippery
places himself.
THE MODERN NAVY ON TRIAL.
Are the new naval machines the pon
derous battleships and swift cruisers
likely to prove too much for those who
are charged with the duty of operating
them? Is the destructive enginery of
war, subsidiary or auxiliary to these
mighty ships, as represented by sub
marine and torpedo-boats, too much
for their formidable superiors when im
pelled -by the fever of war to feats of
daring? Judging from the record of
naval disasters In and about the har
bors of Port Arthur and Vladivostok In
the last few weeks, these questions
might be truly answered in the affirm
ative. What is called modern naval
equipment, the power that Is clad In
steel, propelled by steam, belches
twelve-pound shot through the potency
of smokeless powder, sweeps the sea far
and near by electric searchlights and
feeds on high explosives, seem to have
developed Into a veritable two-edged
sword of relentless power and uncertain
temper, turning without a moment's
warning to rend the agency that Is sup
posed to control It
In evidence of this double-dealing
power of the modern naval equipment
we had but now a harvest of death
upon one of our own battleships en
gaged in target practice, while notes of
disaster from far-off Eastern waters
have been sounded that have filled the
nations with apprehension and worked
dismay alike to Russia and Japan.
With the Petropavlovsk sent to the bot
tom off Port Arthur by an explosion of
her own or the enemy's mine; the Hat
suse meeting a similar fate in the same
waters, and numberless smaller craft
destroyed by their own power or that
of explosives that were placed for their
destruction, or in process of being
placed for the destruction of the vessels
of the fo, It looks like the great force
that has been evolved from human In
genuity working upon the forces of na
ture is a veritable "boomerang" the
control of which has by no means been
reduced to an exact science.
In the smaller things of life a warning
has often been sounded by wise men
against the danger of evoking a power
that, once launched, speedily passes be
yond individual control. Human inge
nuity passed this danger line when it
Invaded thea-ealm of nature, sought out
and combined Its mightiest forces In ex
plosive compounds and gave these Into
the hands of adventurous men to har
ness to the chariot of nations. These
elements under control are faithful ser
vants working energetically the mas
ter's will. When by mischance they be
come even for a moment masters, they
prove to be the most relentless of foes.
This being true, the world looks on ap
prehensively while practically the first
great game of war Is being played with
the modern navy as the deciding power.
Will this giant be equal to the task to
which it has been set, or will It gener
ate the forces that lead to Its own de
struction? We shall see.
A LESSON IN BOADBUILDEN'O.
One of the many interesting features
of the late, session of the State Grange
at Corvallis was the illustrated lecture
given by Professor Hyde in the chapel
of the Agricultural College on the sub
ject of good roads. The audience was
large and attentive, and was composed
in the main of people who have what
may be called a personal Interest In the
subject. The theme was Indeed a par
ticularly appropriate one, since of all
classes the farmers of the state are the
most deeDlv Interested in th intPiHcont
I construction and proper maintenance of J
And
good roads. Other people may use the
couaty roaas the rarmers must use
them. t
The iwastefulness of bad roads has
been often shown. L033 of time, un
necessary strain upon horses, vehicles
and harness, and inability to reach the
markets with seasonable products at a
time when some or them bear the high
est price, are some of the things that
contribute to this waste. The isolation
of the farmer folk In the Winter, sea
son Is another count in the Indictment
against old and still prevalent methods
of roadbullding in Oregon. This repre
sents a hardship that must be felt to ba
understood, and it may be added that
a large majority of the rural dwellers
of the state understand It only too well.
Against the prevailing Idea that bad
rOadS in WintAi nra a nuninr Tcill
of our rainy season Intelligent protest
nas oiten oeen heard. The best of ma
terial for road construction is very gen
erally available in the state, and there
are very few districts in which this fact,
combined with Intelligent methods In
roadbullding, the prime essential of
which is proper drainage, will not put
the practically Impassable Oregon road
of midwinter and early Spring entirely
out of commission.
Multnomah County has built within
the past ten years many miles of good
roads. The hill roads in the eastern
sections of the county, having all the
advantage of good drainage, are espe
cially excellent. It has taken labor apd
money to build these roads, but the re
turns on the investment in the pleasure
of using them are steady and satisfac
tory. Nor has the outlay been greater
in the long run than was that of for
mer years. In which, without any spe
cial system or the use of suitable ma
terial, th roads of the county were
stirred and patched and made to do
makeshift duty. There Is a maxim that
is frequently on the lips, of careful in
structors of the young which may be
with profit applied to roadbullding.
"Whatever Is worth doing at all Is
worth doing well" applies here in prac
tical, forceful way. Our friends the
Grangers, who listened to Professor
Hyde's lecture, will no doubt act upon
many of the suggestions made by him
for the betterment of the public high
ways in their respective localities. If
no other benefit were -likely to be de
rived from this convention, this one
would fully justify these representa
tives of the greatest, oldest and most
essential of Industries in laying" aside
their customary labors for a week and
meeting together for a discussion of
ways and means. '
Object-lessons in Oregon roadbullding
have for years been too dismal to con
template. That they have been viewed
under stress of necessity by the farmer
struggling to keep his team afoot and
his vehicle from being overturned while
his wife held on for dear life to the
basket of eggs in her lap is true, but
one cannot for a moment Imagine that
the object-lesson thus presented has
been enjoyed. The report on good roads
at the next annual meeting of the State
Grange will be awaited with Interest,
and If it does not contain some evidence
of improvement in this line in at least
some of the localities that were repre
sented at the late session of that body,
The Oregonian will be both surprised
and disappointed.
Union County has troubles of Its own.
Not to mention the regular political
battle that it shares with the people of
the state generally, it has a county seat
fight on hand which bids fair to be a
hotly contested one. Union is the county
seat and wants to remain so. La
Grande objects in its own behalf, and
will push its objections at the polls
with what influence it can muster. A
contest of this kind Is usually to be re
gretted, since the local animosity that
It engenders does not subside with the
decree rendered at the ballot-box. The-
dlstance between the rival towns in this
Instance Is but a few miles. It prac
tically makes no difference, so far as
the convenience of the people is con
cerned, whether the Courthouse, tax
collecting and other official machinery
is -at the one place or the other. One
place enjoys the county seat; the other
wants It It is impossible to decide
such a case on its merits. The voters
will, of necessity, render the decision
upon personal preference and leave time
to heal the breaches in personal, com
mercial and political friendship that
have been opened and left agape by the
contest
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi
neers has again been sorely smitten by
the sudden death of a man high in the
councils of the order. The death of T.
S. Ingraham, grand engineer, which oc
curred without warning as he sat at his
desk In the convention at Los Angeles
last Friday, was a duplicate In many
respects of that of Chief Arthur a year
ago. A member of the order since 1865,
its grand engineer since 1873, he had
been closely Identified with its workings
for nearly half of his 67 years. His ac
tive life came to a sudden end while yet
he was in the industrial harness. The
brotherhood in convention assembled
held memorial services for Chief Arthur
a few day3 ago. It is said truly that
the order has been doubly smitten by
death in recent months.
Professor Robinson's selection as Re
publican nominee for Superintendent of
Schools, made by the county convention
in spite of his previous affiliations, Is a
marked tribute to his efficiency. His
services to the schools of this county
and to the state have been notable,
and his acknowledged eminence and ac
complishments are so great In his pro
fession that he is in demand at educa
tional conventions in neighboring states
for instruction and advice. We hope to
see Mr. Robinson's faithful labors rec
ognized by a very large vote at the
June election.
Those who Insist on separate city
elections doubtless are right "They dis
trust the people, don't want a full vote,
and think there would be better show
for their clique to "run" the city if
elections were held in off years, when
there is no general interest As a way
of shutting out the voice of the people
it's all right In this way some of
those who made the charter might be
elected.
The Eugene Journal, a paper that is
not supporting Mr. Hermann, has this
remark: "Some people may not believe
it now, but will be convinced later on,
that the bitter attacks on Hermann in
some of the papers and orally are mak
ing him votes faster than anythingie
could say or do would." Undoubtedly a
correct Judgment.
While Alexieff and Kuropatkin are
quarreling as to whether they shall give
battle to Japan or retreat and save
losses, the enemy grows busy enough to
lessen the pressing necessity for a de
cision. If they can't agree. It's no great
matter. Kurokl may save them the
trouble.
KOTE AflD COMMENT.
galUnmushy.
(A Neo-Celtlo Bitty.) .
Oh now I'm London tow In, arid a fair tp-pn
It Is.
And the rich shops are splendid though
Ughtly they are barred,
BuC oh. my heart It beats now, my blood Is
all a-flxz
"While I stumble on the pavements hard
I long for Balllnaushy and Its sweet,
soft mud.
I will arise and go now, to Balllnmushy jep.
And I will paddle much there, aa paddled
have I oft.
Por London's all macadam, or asphalt, row
on row.
And me longing for the main street soft
Of old lone Balllnmushy and lta sweet,
soft mud.
Nine piglets will I have there, eight young
ones and a dam.
And In the gentle main street they with me
shall wade.
And when they've very fat grown they'll make
good LIpton ham.
And my landlord will I fix with trade,
And long loe Balltnmuohy with Its
sweet, soft mud.
The Modern Way.
Miss Lizzie Jenkins served coffee to the
firemen employed in fighting the flames
at the Smith hair factory.
Miss Jenkins la now known as the Al
blna Joan of Arc
Bill Sharkey, of Sellwood, succeeded In
borrowing a dime from Grocer Rutabaga
last Saturday.
Bill has been proclaimed the- Napoleon
of finance.
In a debate between the Oregon City
Literary and Dancing Club and the
Clackamas Euchre and Poetry Associa
tion, Thomas Dingbat declared that local
option wouldn't opt if his optic were op
tlcking properly.
Mr. Dingbat is hailed as the Rupert of
debate.
William Rheingarden, the popular Mount
Tabor blacksmith, assisted a lady from
her buggy yesterday.
William is known as the Plumed Knight
of Mount Tabor.
Red Gods or White?
"When the sun is high
And the sky is blue
And a May-day haze
Enchants the view.
And a breath of air
Says In your ear.
"Oh leave your desk.
The Summer a here."
"Well what on earth
Is a man to do.
When the sun is high -.
And the sky la blue!
Don't mix up your vote for aueen and
your vote for Sheriff.
The strawberry is the boss of all ber
ries, and not a straw boss at that.
"Is Reid a Scotchman?"
"Scotch! "Why he weara plaid under
clothes." Secretary Hay was presented with a
bill for his stay of less than a week In
St. Louis with three friends, at one of the
hotels. The bill was $777, or about $195
for each person, quite a comfortable
amount comfortable, that is, for tho
hotelkeeper. ,
One of the readers of an English news
paper sends It the following extract from
a serial story he has been reading. It
shows extraordinary agility on the part
of the "stranger."
The stranger grunted, and X noticed that
he smiled faintly for the first time, but Just
at that moment he turned, and, catching sight
of my back through the ha)f.-Qpened door,
started slightly.
A half-masted ensign is usually enough
to bring a boat from any ship within the
range a vision. A report was recently
made to the Marine Department at Vic
toria that the flag at the Egg Island
lighthouse was being flown at half-mast,
and much anxiety was caused thereby.
The Dominion fishing cruiser Kestrel was
hurried to the spot and with great diffi
culty the captain made a landing through
the surf. He found that the keeper
wanted to send some eggs to Vancouverl
Two criticisms of "Anna, the Adven
turess," have been dug up and presented
to the public by the San Francisco Argo
naut One is from the San Francisco
Chronicle, and the other from the New
York Sun:
The story Is full of intensely dramatic scenes,
and the plot keeps the reader's Interest on the
stretch to the very end. The dialogue is
bright, and there Is much epigrammatic wisdom
packed Into the speeches of several of tho
characters. Taken as a whole'. It Is one of the
strongest novels of the new year.
As absurd a farrago of nonsense as we have
seen for a long time Is offered as a novel by
E. Phillips Oppenhelm (who has done very re
spectable work) la "Anna the Adventuress."
The people are clumsy caricatures, and the In
cidents such as even the best good-will will
And It difficult to swallow.
There have been many things sold on
the mall-order plan. Perhaps the new
est is church membership. The First Uni
tarian Church, of Orange, N. J., is cred
ited with the institution of this novel
method of adding to Its numbers. Every
Monday morning, it is said, a printed
sermon will be mailed to each member of
All Souls, as the church is to be known
In future. Every month the pastor will
write a personal letter to each member.
There's a whole lot to be said for this
scheme. For one thing, if a man thinks
sermons are likely to do him good, he
can read tne printed one at any time
without the inconvenience of giving up
his Sundays to church-going. Ho can
play golf, If he pleases, all Sunday morn
ing and yet not miss a word of the ser
mon that others have heard in sweltering
dlfccomfort. .
Robert Bridges, an English poet, Is kick
ing if poets "kick" that an American
Robert Bridges has caught the hem of
Fame's garment by editing a selection
from President Roosevelt's writings. It is
not so long since the English Winston
Churchill and the American Winston
Churchill were becoming hopelessly en
tangled in the public mind. It Is not un
likely, however, that the Englishman will
become Sir Winston Churchill or the
Baron of Whltechapel or something of
that kind. But there is slim chance of
that for a poet Lord Tennyson was the
laureate, and, besides, he was of greater
poetic fame than Mr. Bridges. W. L. Al
den, however, suggests, in the New York
Times, a plan to avoid confusion. He
would have the English Bridges affix U.
K. to bis name and the American U. S.
A. Mr. Alden evidently does not know
that the American would be taken for an
army officer, which might be a serious
matter for a writer. Why not follow the
example of Mr. Barnes, of New York, or
Carroll, of Carrollton? Let the poet be
Bridges, of Piccadilly and the other be
Brooklyn Bridges, two euphonious titles.
Or they might follow the example of some
Portlanders. and affix a date to their
names "1305."
WEXFORD JONES.