tCHE StTND.r OEEGOSlAN, PORTLAND, NOVBHBEE 13, 190.'-
.Satered at the Postoffiee at Portland, Or,
'i as second-class matter.
REVISED' SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
By mail (postage prepaid In advance)
Dally, "with Sunday, per month S .85
Dally, -with Sunday excepted, per year.. 7.50
Dally, -nlth Sunday, per year......... 9.00
Sunday, per year 2.00
The "Weekly, per year.. 1.50
The 'Weekly, 3 months ................ .50
Dally, per -week, delivered. Sunday ex-
tcepted ........... X5o
Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday In
cluded . 20c
POSTAGE RATES.
United States, Canada and Mexico
ID -io -14-page paper ............. ........lc
16 to SO-pagre paper . 2o
,Z2 to 44-page paper 3o
Foreign rates, double.
EASTERN BUSINESS OKFICE.
(The S. C. Beckwith Special Axeaey)
New Tork; rooms -43-50, Tribune building.
Chicago: Rooms 510-512 Tribune building.
The Oregoalan does sot buy poems or
stories Irora Individuals and cannot under
take to return any manuscript sent to It
-without solicitation. No stamps should be
Inclosed for this purpose.
KEPT ON SAXE.
Chicago Auditorium Annex; Postoffiee
Ken's Co., 178 Dearborn street.
Deaver Julius Black, Hamilton Sc Kend
(rck, 606-912 Seventeenth st. and Frueauff
Bros.. 605 ICth st.
JTm City, Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co..
J"hith and Walnut.
XM ABgelea B. F. Gardner, 259 South
Spring, and Harry Drapkin.
Oaklaad. CaL W. H. Johnston, 14th and
'Sranklln st.
yimiwnpnHw V. J. Kavanaugh, 50 South
third; 1. Regelsburger, 217 Plrsl avenue
'fcouth.
' New York City I. Jones & Co., Astor
IHouse.
Ogdea F. R. Godard and Myers & Har
tcp. Ontnm Barkalow Broa, 1612 Karsam;
&ageath Stationery Co., 13 OS Farnam.
Batt J, aim Halt if&ke Ke-svs Co., 77 west
MBecond South street.
, St. Xes World's Fair News Co.. Geo. Zu
Saokermaa. newsboy. Eighth and Olive sts.,
"and Excelsior News Company.
Saa Prasclfleo J. K. Cooper Co., T40 Mar
ket, near Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear,
Ferry News Stand; Goldsmith Broa, 238
Eter; It. E. Lee, Palace Hotel News
nd; F. W. Pitts, 1008 Market; Frank
tt. SO Ellis; N. Wheatley. S3 Stevenson;
'Hotel 8t. Francis News Stand.
Waahlagtes. D. C. Ebbltt House News
etand.
iPOXTXAND, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER IS, 1904
A StYSTEKY OF NUMBERS.
Lost Summer, as several persons -were
walking together on Clatsop Beach,
one of them remarked the common phe
nomenon that an occasional -wave
would trash much higher on the sands
than others; -which recalled to another
of the company the concluding lines of
i"Longfellow"s sonnet on the verse of Mil
ton; whose "majestic cadences rise in
mighty undulations," till, "ever and
-anon, high over all uplifted, a great
ninth wave, superb and strong, floods
all the soul -with its melodious seas."
Then the question was started whether
the "ninth wave" was regularly higher
than the others; but close observation
for more than an hour by all the jnem
.bers of the company could make noth
ing of it, and it was decided that the
theory could not be verified.
Longfellow in fact seems to have
made a mistake. It is the tenth wave
that has this celebrity in literature
or legend; but this, too, though it has
Jived so long In poetry and other litera
ture, la but a fanciful -figment, and un
veriflable, except perhaps in accidental
circumstances.
Burke, whose mind laid everything
. under contribution for illustration of
argument in resistance to the influ
ence of the principles of the French
(Revolution, exerted on England, ob
served, in bis "letters on a Regicide
Peace," with respect to the "tenth
wave": "Until at length, tumbling
from the Gallic coast, the victorious
tenth wave shall rise like a bore over
all the rest." One in passing may ob-
serve the special yet elegant and forci
ble use of the word "bore," here.
In Roman poetry the tenth wave Is
spoken of, very xften, as higher than
the rest. Ovid, with his accustomed
poetic circumlocution, says "the wave
which overtops all the others rolls be
hind the ninth and before the eleventh'
Mjucan, Lucretius "Valerius Flaccus and
many more use the figure of the tenth
wave. Tet no natural phenomenon had
anything to do with It "We ourselves
.constantly say ''ten to one," and use
the word "decimate," like "ten times
,wcrse," conveying the meaning of large
odds, great slaughter, or continual ag
gravatlon. The Greeks used the word "myrlos"
vlb we use myriad In the same sense,
for the Immense and innumerable;
though the plural probably was not
applied to the definite number 10,000
till after the time of Homer. The
"Greeks had observed, or supposed they
iaad observed, that each third wave was
larger than the others; and this conclu
sion Is said to accord with very com
mon observation. So the, Greeks ap
plled the number three to express a
'mighty wave. "Trikumla" the mighty
-third wave Is observed in Aeschylus
'and Plato.
It Is a common opinion among those
o have made special study of man
In his primitive state that the number
ten originally Indicated amongst all
vtribes and races that which was im
.jenense or innumerable ten being the
utmost number they could express by
ifcheir fingers the primitive arithmetic.
tfo one doubts, therefore, that this as
cendency of ten depends on a physio
logical reason, one which makes it nat
ural and "handy" for all men to reckon
in this way. The science of number
appears to be of all others the least
artificial; yet there Is no art, not even
the potter's, which shows more clearly
k Impress of man's hands.
As to the origin of the symbolical
use of the number seven, whose most
remarkable expression is found in the
number of days of the week, no doubt
Is entertained. It comes from astrol
ogy. In the days before astronomy was
a science. "Veneration for the seven is
in literal truth a lesson of celestial
teaching. Most of the heavenly bodies.
which seem to revolve daily Tound the
earth, maintain the same relative posi
tion towards each other. But there
were seven, visible before the telescope
revealed others, and before the earth
was known as one of the group, which
wander without resting through the
stationary camp. Among these seven
wanderers, or planets, are the two
greater lights that rule the day and the
night, and the two usher stars that
herald the morning and the evening.
Enumerated in the order of their dis
tance from the human observer, as de
termined by the ancient astronomy,
they are the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the
Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. From
the earliest times they have been an
object of curiosity,, of wonder, of study,
to Btar-gazlng men. "Their movements
have been watched with the minutest
observation, and every possible device
adopted to unravel the mystery of
Lhelr wayward courses. The feeling
toward them Is well illustrated by the
Assyrian and Persian literature. ' in
which c great variety of honorary
names are applied to them, such as the
seven pearls, the seven golden - cor
als, the seven eyes of heaven.
seven tapers or torches, and so on.
Each of these bodies has its own
heaven, or sphere, in which it moves
about the earthly observer. Hence the
Idea of seven heavens, with Its correla
tive of seven hells. It would lead one
almost to infinity to follow out the
variations of this Idea. By it the Jews,
during their sojourn in Babylonia, In
the days of the Captivity, were deeply
impressed, and use .of the idea, with
many variations suited to changes of
time and circumstances, was carried
forward into the later recensions of
their Sacred Scriptures, and into the
Christian Scriptures later still. It is the
origin of the seven-day period, assigned
to the work of creation; while the days
of the week still retain their old astro
logical designations, and still own in
name the mastery of the planetary
seven. .We have our Saturn-day, our
Sun-day, our Moon-day; and if instead
of having a Mars-day, Mercury-day,
Jove-day, VenusnJay, like the people of
France and Spain, we have Tuis'-day,
and Woden's-day, and Thor's-day, and
Freya's-day. it 13 mere translation of
Roman names by their supposed repre
sentatives in Northern mythology,
A word about the prejudice against
the number thirteen. The rate of mor
tality varies with the ages of individ
uals. Now of thirteen Individuals of
different ages, anywhere assembled,
there Is always a probability that one
at least will die within a year. Of
course that is true also of twelve only
the probability Is diminished, and so
on of every number; but by avoiding
"thirteen" at dinner, or anywhere else,
it is clear that we do not avoid the
claim of IClng Death, according to his
known rules and regulations. If we
could permit ourselves to jot down the
names of thirteen of our friends at
random, the result would probaoly be
the same, we say probably, for that Is
all the reason involves.
On the history and significance of
numbers, mystic and otherwise, there
is an immense literature, of which pos
session even of an index would be a
prize. One more remark only, at this
time: "Whatever we may think of the
mystic Import of numbers, which
from Pythagoras and before Pythag
oras down to our own time, as con
tradistinguished from the stern facts,
they are made to unfold and to impress
upon us In all the relations of life, one
fact is evident amongst the moderns
at least there Is small doubt about the
preference for Number One.
CONDITIONS OF PROSPERITY.
PORTLAND, Nov. 12 (To the Editor.)
Great Is prosperity, but -what kind o pros
perity Is It that exports millions In prod
uct while millions of the producers lack?
"What becomes of the butter fat money
from this skimming of the cream of labor's
making? They don't seem to have it. How
are foreigners against whom a tariff must
protect better able to buy than our own
to have? How Is It a surplus when many
are without? Is this surplusage .(?) from
abundance here, none wanting, or Is It the
dollars gathering the masters taking that
tney are too poor to have? How long will
the people be satisfied with this division,
that gives them part of their earnings, while
the rest supports a master, when they might
have all under Socialism? Under Socialism
self-providing would be first, exchange after
wards. Let us hope we may have it.
C35 First st. C. W. SAUNDERS.
Let us have a word here. Let us be
plain with It The Oregonlan is asked
to answer. It will do so briefly.
"Prosperity is great" for those who
make themselves part of It. The gen
eral mass of men and women can
make themselves part of it, only
by the exercise of the virtues of
prudence, self-denial and indus
try, directed by intelligence. The no
tion that favored ones are absorbing
the "butter-fat" the money is error.
Money Is only a concrete expression. It
Is nothing In Itself. There Is money al
ways for those who will work for It, on
terms that employers can afford to pay.
"How are foreigners, against whom a
tariff must protect, better able to buy
than our own to have?" It Is no mys
tery. These foreigners pursue a labori
ous industry, which our own people
reject. They practice economies of all
sorts which our people disdain. They
work the most hours and all the hours
they can, instead of the fewest hours
they can. If our people, with the op
portunities they have, would pursue
and employ only a partjf the virtues
of steady and prudent Industry which
are habitual with the peoples of the
countries of Europe, they would have
a marvelous prosperity. But they will
not that Is, not yet. However, in the
time to come they will because they
must. They will learn that there are
no resources for them in -railing against
those of better fortune.
Socialism is absolutely Impossible; but
If It were attempted it would not im
prove the condition or position of those
not willing to pay the price of high
success by highest industry, directed
by the highest intelligence, accompa
nied by the virtues of prudence and
self-denial, which are willing and even
eager to postpone the enjoyment of to
day for the higher expectations of to
morrow, or of next year, or of twenty
or forty years hence. Equally' falla
clous Is It that the labor of the wage
worker does It all creates all wealth.
The manager, proprietor, director, or
"master," as this writer calls him, plans
the business, organizes it, carries it,
keeps it in operation. Ten thousand
men offering to work, with no man to
plan for them, or organize Industry for
them, would be helpless, could do noth
ing. The "prosperity" that our friend
envies comes only to organizing Intel
Ugence, to high capacity, to those who
have power of initiative and of perse
verance. It doesn't come to those who
offer to work, say eight hours a day, in
some field of labor into which all medi
ocrity presses, and who then mistakenly
expect for themselves the rewards that
come to men of superior abilities and
superior powers of organization, dlrec
tlon and management.
Nor could the state, under socialism.
help out the general mass; for the state
could not command for petty pay the
superior services necessary to the sue
cess of industrial and business under'
takings; and the conditions would be
such that the manager would have no
power to direct or to Improve the ser
vice. An industrial democracy, based
on socialism, is impossible.
So long as the world stands, or so
long as human nature and human soci
ety endure, there will be one only way.
That one way Is individual Initiative,
enterprise and Industry, directed by in
teillgence and controlled by prudence,
sobriety, self-denial and all the plain
virtues. Every other thought is expec
tat lem of -folly. Prosperity comes al
ways to those who are" willing to pay
the price for it; to a few others perhaps
"by accident but their number is so
small and exceptional that It only con
firms the rule.
CASES ANALOGOUS.
Mr. J. "W, Shrader, 472 Belmont street.
Portland, writes to The Oregonlan, In
closing this "note" from its editorial
columns of November 11:
Governor Peabody has been defeated in
Colorado and Alva Adams has been 'elected
Governor. Which will be taken as notice
to an rioters, anarchists and dynamiters In
Colorado that they are to be at liberty to
enforce their principles."
And he adds the inquiry:
Being a reader of The Oregonlan, I should
like to know whether The Oregonlan ap
prover the administration of Governor Pea
body, of Colorado. If so, why? I am of
the opinion that a vast majority of those
who have followed this struggle believe
that Peabody & Co. are the chief anarch
ists of the United States.
Since human society has a right to
exist, and must exist. It has a right
to take necessary measures to protect
Itself- and to preserve its existence.
Governor Peabody was dealing with
men who had resorted to extremes of
lawlessness and violence, resulting In
vast destruction of property and whole
sale murder. Ordinary methods of law
could not cope with them. It was
necessary, therefore, for Governor Pea
body to proceed to extreme measures.
That he has not been re-elected Is not
conclusive against his action; for thou
sands voted against him on partisan
feeling or bias, who nevertheless ap
prove what he did. He acted In an
emergency as promptly- and as effi
ciently as Governor Steunenberg, of
Idaho, acted In similar circumstances,
and was similarly justifiable. Peabody
is a Republican; Steunenberg is a Dem
ocrat, and both failed of re-election.
Men of this stamp render immense
service at critical times, but it Is sel
dom they can be re-elected. Which Is
an impeachment rather of partisan
suffrage than of their official action.
PRACTICAL SOCIAL REFORM.
A start has been made in Portland
toward the first social settlement.
Philanthropic women, with love of their
kind and endowed with common sense,
have entered on the work in a practical
way. No doubt It will combine the best
features o,EnglIsh effort Imported into
this country by Jane Addams, whose
social reform through Hull House, Chi
cago, is well known, and American ef
fort put forth through college settle
ment Success of the movement will
depend not so much on the unselfish
spirit and intelligence of those engaged
In it, but upon their tact. Portland has
not yet reached a stage where newly
arrived immigrants, unfamiliar with
English speech, cut large figure In the
social problem. Most of the material
at hand is partly Americanized, but
with a steadily Increasing number of
foreign laboring people, particularly
from Southern Europe, seeking homes
In the United States, it may be expect
ed that the field of usefulness for social
settlement work will rapidly widen.
Experience In every city in the coun
try where this new social reform has
been Introduced proves the need of It,
and Its success has been sufficiently
marked to warrant similar work In all
cities containing not only newly arrived
laboring families of foreign "birth who
are usually handicapped by adverse
domestic conditions, but also among
adopted citizens who continue to live In
much the same manner as they did be
fore they sought a new home. These
require guidance and encouragement.
Better sanitation, better prepared "food,
neater sewing, more cheerful environ
ment and increased natural pride con
tribute to greater happiness. Children
brought up in homes where better con
ditions prevail make better men and
women; hence better American citizens.
Social settlements teach the great
doctrine of self-help, and they aid most
effectively In putting the theory into
practice. The woman or the child In
vited by such an unselfish agency to
raise herself higher In the domestic and
social scale rarely refuses the Invitation
if it comes in a spirit free from pat
ronizing taint. Usually the woman who
receives benefits becomes an evangel
ist In the work; so that the little leaven
Introduced by a social settlement soon
raises an entire district. Results are
not easy to measure, except In a gen
eral way;.but It may he set down as the
sum of experience that effort such as
Is proposed for Portland - is never
wasted.
A TRAGEDY OF THE WILD.
A tardy report from the solitudes of
Eastern Clackamas County tells of
finding In her lonely home In the wilds
the body of .a woman who had passed
the greater part of the past few years
In the deep solitude of the place. Her
husband came home at rare intervals
when work in the mill camps, or wher
ever he was employed, gave out-
There is more than a hint of tragedy
in this woman's life and death. There
Is the practical certainty of tragedy In
both. Upon the first, in its humdrum
of dally toll; its lonely days and nights;
Its shriveled opportunities and unreal
ized dreams of abundance; Its pitiful
struggles which dwindled into the dry
facts of a bare existence it is easy.
now that the scroll Is unrolled and its
bare data spread out, to speculate.
While this part of the tragedy was
being enacted day after day and year
after year, no note was taken of Its in
cldents, beyond perhaps a. comment
now and then upon the utter loneliness
of the woman, with a whisper that un
kind n ess and even cruelty were added
to the dally routine of her life when
the husband was at home. Since there
is no way out of a life of this kind ex
cept as the individual makes it, this
was all that could be done, and this
"all" was simply nothing.
But when the final tragedy was dis
coveredhorrible in Its brief enactment
but not more of a tragedy than that
which had been covered by the com
monplace events of slow-moving years
a thrill of horror and dismay swept
through the community and went puls
ing out as "news" into the wider world.
The details of the killing- of this
woman will probably never be known.
There was but one witness and this
witness was the victim herself. One
theory In regard to the crime will suffice
as well as another. One opinion as to
the possible or probable criminal and
his motive Is as. good as another.
Shrewd guessers may come close to the
mark without seeking the perpetrator
from a distance; others may come as
close to the truth, by a mental or verbal
arraignment of a nameless tramp as the
ruthless criminal But throughout all
only the bare and -revolting facts as
shown by the dead body of the solitary
woman, from which life had been ex
tinct for weeks before Its -discovery, are
likely ever to be disclosed. Let that
pass.
It lb not a matter of surprise that
this lonely toller of the wilds suffered
untimely and violent death. The man
ner of her living may be said to have
invited it The -strange part of the
story Is found in the Isolated life that
she led. .The human touch In dailv
life is an essential need of human na
ture. It Is often said that the world Is
too wide for two people to live together
dally constraint and Bitterness- On
the other hand, there are too manv nm.
pie in it to Justify any human creature
living a life of utter solitude in an
unfrequented locality. The husband
who condemns his wife to an existence'
this kind for months toeether Is nnt
necessarily a criminal, and in the event
her murder he cannot be legally held
accessory before the fact: but to all
intents and purposes he was an acces
sory. And a woman who thus lives in
the woods, like a- wild animal in Its
lair, makes possible any fate, however
shocking, that may overtake her.
DANGERS IN THE CAMPAIGN LIE.
It Is dangerous to fool with thi rm.
palgn Lie. To spring a campaign He is
to create instantly in the mind of th
public the suspicion that you are on
the losing side, that you know it, and
that you have been oblleed tn arinnf
some desperate expedient to pull your
self out or a oad hole. Now, the cam
paign He may not be a He at all. Tt
may have a very substantial bails in
truth. It may be a bald and un&rlnrnort
exposition of some unlovely episode in
the life of a candidate. Or a cam-nalim
He may be 6ome Incident, unimportant
in essence, mat the ghouls of partisan
ship dig out of the grave of a for
gotten past, and embellish with all th
hideous details fancy can supply. Or
a campaign He may be In all respects a
He. Or it may be merely some embar
rassing flaw in the candidate's party
record, exposed to Injure him with his
own followers. This last Dartlcular va
riety Is quite famUiar to all devotees
of the political game. It has the merit
of being, the most harmless and least
sensational, and so nerhans th mnt
nearly Justifiable.
The campaign He made a belated ap
pearance during the late campaign, un
der the auspices of Judee Parker. The
Judge, having been nominated entirely
at me instance of agents of the trusts,
deemed it expedient to charge that his
opponent, who had been nominated
against the wishes of the trusts, and at
the mandate of the plain people, was
blackmalUng the corporations to secure
a great corruption fund. We all know
how this particular campaign He acted
as a boomerang, to the great detriment
of the Judge's cause, damage to his
personal reputation, and benefit of Mr
Roosevelt. Only one other camrjaijm He
during the late campaign stands out
conspicuous. It was an Ingenious per
version of the facts, used by a por
tion of the Republican press, against
Gustav A, Johnson, Democratic candi
date for Governor in Minnesota. John
son's father was for fifteen years an
Inmate of the Nicollet County poor
house. He died there, and was buried
In a pauper's grave. His son during a
great portion of this time was in en
joyment of a substantial Income; so the
newspapers and orators who were con
cerning themselves about Mr. Johnson's
private manners and domestic arrange
ments were much shocked.
But here is the explanation: John
son, Sr., was a chronic Inebriate, an in
corrigible idler, and a hopeless spend
thrift. He abandoned his family.
Young Johnson supported his mother
and sisters, and relieved them so far
as possible of the humiliation and pov
erty imposed on them by the unnatural
father. These seem to be the facts, and
they are all very interesting. Johnson
has been elected, In face of a great ad
verse plurality, partly because of the
shameful attempt of his opponents
some of them to give a harmful turn
to a painful episode in his life.
What campaign He true or false
ever succeeded In accomplishing the
purpose for which it was told? Some
no doubt have reached the mark; but
the greater number fall lgnomlnlously.
The Murchlson letter a deUberate forc--
ery did much to elect Garfield; while
the Halpln incident well-grounded in
truth certainly did not impair Grover
Cleveland's chances in 1S81. What,
then, are the essentials of a campaign
He to make it an efficient instrument
In a campaign? The answer Is easily
made. It must first be true, and second
Its publication must be justifiable. The
public likes fair play. It will not ex
cuse the dissemination of slander or
even of unpleasant truths about any
candidate unless the facts of his record
and the flaws in his personal character
manifestly unfit him for holding" public
omce.
THE UNCHANGING SEA.
Steam and electricity In the hands of
our modern wizards are continually
changing the industrial and even the
social conditions of the world. In all
of the arts and sciences more rapid
progress Is being made than ever be
fore, and Inventions and discoveries
that seem marvelous today become
commonplace tomorrow. This high
pressure life is in a sense alluring, and
we enjoy It. We would not replace the
Incandescent with the tallow candle, the
umiiea express wim tne ox team, or
the trolley-car with Its equine-propelled
bobtail predecessor. And yet it is in
terestlng to turn occasionally from the
contemplation of these modern miracles
and gaze seaward, 'where in certain
lines science, with all of its wealth of
research and Invention, has wrought
but few changes In a thousand years.
Yesterday's dispatches told of a "Vic
torla sealing captain who had skillfuUy
navigated his craft through 600" miles of
the wildest ocean on the globe by the
use of a Jury rudder rigged out of a
topmast. A few days ago news came
down from the Arctic of the return to
Dutch Harbor of a whaler which had
been cruising in the north for three
years. About the same time a state
ment of the year's business of the
Gloucester fishermen appeared, show
ing losses of ten schooners and twenty
lives, the property loss being greater
than for any year since 1S30, although
the loss of life was smaller. Here are
thrown sidelights on a class of men
with which time has stood still for cen
turies- On- land their fellow-men first
fought and vanquished the Indians, and
then, through generations of. toll and
struggling, conquered the forces of Na
ture and earned their reward In the en
joyment of the pleasures of modern
civilization.
The work of the landsmen has been
constantly changing, but with the men
of the sea Uttle or no change has taken
place. They are still righting the ocean
Just as they fought It centuries ago,
and it is grudgingly yielding up a live
lihood and annually taking Its toll of
human life. The Victoria sealing cap
tain, with his disabled craft; the whal
erg, crutetnc for three years in the cold.
sileat and almost unkafi&n rtfften. oi
the north, and the hardy Gloucester
fishermen, with whom Ufe I an endless
succession of tragedies,- are today living
out their lives on practically the same
unchanged plan which was followed by
their ancestors centuries ago. There has
been a change, of course, with the ad
vent of steam "along those trackless
highways where commerce shapes the
trail." but off of these highways the
sealer, the whaler and the Banks fish
erman are still of that old
Breed of the oaken heart
Which drew- the world together and spread
the race apart.
They strike boldly out Into the un
known., with all of the courage' and dar?
lng of the men who sailed with Drake,
Cabot, Magellan and all of the rest of
the ocean pioneers who "shaped the
'course before them, by the wake they
left behind." History and fiction, which
supply us with pen pictures of Indus
trial and social life a century ago, will
a hundred years hence display to our
ancestors a vastly different view from
that which has been handed down to us
from the past. The wild animals and
the wilder men that retarded growth
and development ashore In the early
days of. our country's existence have
passed dn, and urban and suburban life
and activity are alike changing rapidly.
But the unchanging sea offers no such
prospect for variety, and the "Captains
Courageous" of Rudyard Kipling is in
most of its details as truthful and nat
ural a depiction of life on the fishing
banks one hundred years ago as it Is
of today, and win In all probability be
one hundred years hence.
The whaler Narwhal cruising for a
thousand days In the frozen north Is as
far removed from the world which we
know as were her New Bedford prede
cessors which sailed out of the old Mas
sachusetts port a century ago, and the
Victoria sealer, hundreds of miles from
port In a stormy ocean, was as much
at the mercy of the sea as were the an
cient craft which carried Gray, Van
couver, Cook, De Fuca and other navi
gators over the same trackless wastes
of water many generations ago.
In vain man marks the earth with ruin,
His control stops with the shore.
A worthy benefaction is that whereby
Senator Proctor, of Vermont, proposes
to establish a home for indigent and
worthy public school teachers who have
passed the age of usefulness. These
beneficiaries are In the main refined
and sensitive gentlewomen who, not
withstanding the utmost Industry and
thrift, have not been able from the
fruits of their endeavor to save any
thing for the evening of life. A home
suited to their tastes and habits of life,
as well as to their every-day needs, will
be a boon which they will enjoy and
for which they will be Intelligently
grateful. Generally , speaking, the
woman who has spent the flower of her
years as teacher in the public schools
has earned much more money than she
has received as salary. It is. therefore,
in the Une of justice rather than of
charity to see that provision is made
for such of these as come down to old
age without means whereby to compass
the home comforts of life.
The best way to know all about any
thing Is to go and And out for your
self. So the Northern Pacific Railway,
which sees prospects of great travel
westward next year to the Lewis and
Clark Fair, has assembled its district
passenger agents from all over the
United States and Is sending them to
Portland. They are now en route, and
are incidentally learning more than
they ever before knew about the rail
road which traverses the country
through which Lewis and Clark orig
inally came. Railroad men are the
best possible friends any enterprise de
pending on public favor can have, and
the plan of the Northern Pacific In
showing them for themselves what the
Fair is to be will undoubtedly be-of vast
benefit to the Exposition and to the
railroad.
Eva Booth, fourth daughter of a re
markable family, has succeeded Com
mander Booth-Tucker as head of the
Salvation Army In America. A woman
who has "the genius and eloquence of
her father," Eva Booth can scarcely
fail to meet and discharge the grave
responsibilities of the position to which
she has succeeded. The name of Gen
eral Booth stands high upon the muster
roll of the army that does battle for
humanity. That of his late wife is only
second to his own, while those of their
daughters follow close in line. They
stand distinctly for those who love
their fellow-men.
It has been given out that President
Roosevelt will, at the close of the offi
cial term to which he has JuBt been
elected, enter upon the duties of the
presidency of Harvard University. The
story may or may not be true, but If
it puts at rest thus early In the fray
the anxiety of the political busybody
who wants Congress to create a place
of honor and emolument for our ex
Presidents, it will prove worth the tell
lng.
Somebody says that now, since Ore
gon has given so splendid a majority
for President Roosevelt, we may easily
get half a million or a million more
from Congress for the Lewis and Clark
Fair. The Oregonlan -fears it may not
be. Yet it has no objection to inter
pose, if anybody desires to try It,
The announcement that Mr. Sweeney
will be a candidate for United States
Senator in "Washington will excite much
Interest in Portland. It's all right "We
can't expect Mr. Sweeney to invest all
his money here.
The renomlnation of John H. Hall to
be United States District Attorney is
due to the desire of the President and
the Department of Justice to retain the
services of an efficient public officer.
President Roosevelt -is going to the
St, Louis Exposition. Can he be in
duced to come to the Lewis and Clark?
It would be worth our while.
Mr. Manning would not Issue a war
rant for the arrest of Sheriff "Word at
the instance of an Incensed and out
raged Chinaman. Touching!
Apparently Maryland did go for
Roosevelt; but it won't if the Demo
cratic election boards get half a chance.
Didn't Need th -Paper.
Boston Commercial Bulletin.
A countryman gave the following rea
son for not subscribing to a local news
paper: "I get all the news there Is. My
wife belongs to the woman's club, oae of
my daughters works m the mlllrtery se.
and the other is in the delivery window at
the postoffiee, and I'm the tffiwc
owv
THE UNANSWERED QUESTION.
8CUSNCH AND IKMORTALrrT By TOllUm
Osier, M. D., F. R. S. Pp. M. Houghton.
Mifflin A Co.. Boston. Price. 85 cents;
In 1SW the George Goldthwalt Inger-
soll lectureship was founded at Harvard
for the purpose of giving once a year a
lecture on the "Immortality of Man."-
Since that time leading philosophers and
theologians, among whom were Josiah
Boyce, John Fiske. Benjamin Ide Whee
ler. William James and Rev. George- A.
Gordon, have filled the chair. But until
Dr. Osier spoke no leading scientist had
accepted an invitation to deliver the lec
ture.
Dr. Osier's lecture is an incisive state
ment of his personal opinion or the public
state of mind on this question, but it Is on
the whole a nugatory and disappointing
contribution to the tremendous Issue in
volved In immortality, for it takes no ac
count of the philosophical bases of immor
tality, being content to give a brilliant re
view of the present attitude of Western
civilization.
As he views the world today It is di
vided into three classes. The Laodlceans,
who, "while accepted a belief in Immor
tality and, accepting the phases and forms
of the prevailing religions, live practical
ly uninfluenced by It, except so far a3
it ministers to a wholesale dissonance
between the Inner and the outer- life.
and diffuses an atmosphere of general'ln-
slncerlty." The Galllonlans. who. "like
Galiio, care for none of these things and
live whoUy uninfluenced by a thought of
the hereafter form a second group larger
perhaps today than ever before in history.
These put the supernatural altogether out
of man's life and regard the hereafter as
only one of the many inventions he ha3
sought out for himself." A third group
even small and select, whom Dr. Osier
calls Teresians, after Saint Teresa, 'lays
hold with the author of Faith upon eter
nal life, as the controlling Influence In this
one."
Having apportioned mankind Into these
three classes. Dr. Osier discusses the
leading characteristics of each class as he
has found it in his own experience, the
problem as he sees it being the inquiry
whether mankind's conquest of Nature
has made the individual more or less
hopeful of the life beyond the grave; and
his conclusion Is that "practical Indif
ference Is the modern attitude of mind;
like the Laodlceans, we are neither hot
nor cold, but lukeworm"; and the giddy.
self-Indulged pleasure-seekers at the top
of the so-called social scale those butter
flies whose aspirations are bounded by
stocks and jocks and fighting cocks, whose
delight Is "bridge," and whose care Is for
the things of the world, are cited as ex
amples of churchgoing Laodlceans. So,
too, in ordinary parlor conversation, in
the pulpit and in the press the immense
Importance of the question of Immortality
is deliberately ignored. Of the attitude
of mankind generaUy he says, like Oliver
Wendell Holmes, "we may love the mys
tical and talk much of the shadows, but
when it comes to laying hold of them with
the hand of faith we are not of the ex
cursion."
The poUcy of states and the conscious
direction of governments, both of which
In no way regard the future existence of
man as a factor to be considered, are
cited by Dr. Osier .as ominous comment
aries on the waning interest of moderns
in this age-long question. To the objec
tion that the question of future existence
has never, with possible exception of the
Crusades, affected national life, and that
the real locus and power of the belief is
In the heart of the Individual, which is
never more clearly seen than when the
sojourner In this worldly caravansarai Is
about to fare forth from Its accustomed
warmth and comfort to the misty dark
ness of the hereafter. Dr. Osier cite3 his
own experience at E00 deathbeds, as show
ing how little the average man thinks of
such questions when brought close to
deathbed. In only SO cases was bodily pain
or distress of one sort or another suffered,
11 showed mental apprehension; two posi
tive terror, one expressed spiritual ex
altation and one bitter remorse.
All of which lead our author to the (for
him) Inevitable conclusion that the ex
istence of a future life is not demon
strable from the spontaneous call of the
human heart for immortality as thfq mor
tal Ufe neared Its end. Rather he found
that man went heedless or apathetic to
meet the mystery that lies behind creeds,
concerned to the last only with the needs
of this Ufe, and still struggling and
racing for comfort, riches and happiness.
"So man hath no pre-eminence over the
beast, and. as the writer of Bccleslastes
said thousands of years ago, 'as one dletb,
so dieth the other.' "
The Galllonlans, who "care for none
of these things," form, In Dr. Osier's
opinion, a larger class than ever before
In the history of the world. The un
seen but powerful Influence of modern
science on the concept of life held by the
preceding generation, the effect of the
general acceptance of evolution and the
denial of the existence of tho soul by
modern psychology, which sees in con
sciousness only a material phenomenon,
have all combined to create an ever-Increasing
body of men who concern them
selves only with the duties, labors and
joys of this mundane Ufe. The effect of
science has been to "minimize almost
to the vanishing point the Importance of
tho Individual man," while giving su
preme importance to the cosmic and bio
logical forces which, In their mighty orb-
Its, take no heed to the petty interests,
alms and aspirations of a single life.
Lastly comes the lessening band of en
thusiasts who see visions and dream
dreams and walk the ways of this world
untroubled and serene In the consciousness
of the all-supporting, everlasting arms,
To these It is given to know the myster
ies, for they have tested and tried Pas
cal's celebrated dictum, "The heart has
its reasons that reason cannot under
stand." In a few luminous sentences Dr.
Osier sketches the Irreconcilable difference
between the reasons of the head and the
emotions of the heart, and concludes:
"la our temporizing- days man Is always
seeking a. safe middle ground between
loyalty to the InteUectual faculty and
submission to authority in an unreason
lng acceptance of the things of the spirit
... As perplexity of soul will be your
lot and portion, accept the situation with
a good grace. . - On the question be
fore us wide and far your hearts will
range from those early days when matins
and evensong, evensong and matins, sang
the larger hope .of humanity Into your
young soul. . . Some of you will wan
der tkrotwh all the phases to come at
last, I tract, to the opinion- of Cicero,
who had rather be mistaken with Flato
than se e. the right with those who deny
altogether Ufe after death, and this is
, asy Qwa oBfwki
NOTE AND COMMENT. c
The Billionaire.
His palace was magnificent;
Marble every part.
And Just to be In keeping
Of marble was bia heart.
Grant County has Wyoming ambitions.
Set your face against the cigarette, boys.
What does a Chinaman want 'with a
door, anyway?
By getting Roosevelt as President, Har
vard Vscoops" them all.
Brazil's Intention to carry a big stick
makes Argentina's hand feel empty.
There's any amount of sand along the
Suez Canal. Here's the Baltic fleet's
chance.
To a Y. M. C. A. audience Admiral
"Bob" Evans recently delivered an ad
dress. Censored, probably.
"Uttle hoods of lace finish some of tho
evening cloaks." says a fashion note. Yes,
and the little bill finishes hubby.
Thirty-four Sultans of Turkey have let
themselves be assassinated. What slaves
these monarchs are to precedent.
Young Walton has received a 25-year
sentence, which seems a high price to pay
for the fun of being beaten over the head
bya street-car conductor.
Papers that run pictures of "the good
angel of the Port Arthur garrison" might
at least pick out a stock cut that doesn't
resemble a patent medicine ad.
Now Chicago Is to" have a subway. Soon
any ghost anxious to revisit the glimpsls
of the moon wiU have to be careful at
which floor it leaves the elevator.
In Its "local news" the New York Mail
notes that "Ed Harriman, of this place,
was a Portland. Or., shopper Tuesday!
Ed bought the Columbia Southern Rail
road." Pierpont Morgan has gained great
credit for returning the stolen cope he
purchased. This shows it is easier for the
rich to gain credit than to pass through
the eye of a' needle.
As the Seattle .News wittily remarks,
"the servant girl occupies a distinctive
place in the domestic Ufe of America. But
where the rub comes la In the fact that,
she never occupies the place long."
In the jungles of India is found a bee
that works only at night How nice to be
a kid in those parts and not have grown
up people quoting, "How doth the little
busy bee Improve each shining hour" at
you. .
"We went to St, Louis." wails the edi
tor of the Hardeman (Oa.) Free Press,
"to enlist in the Beer war, and when we
got there we found that it was the Boer
war. As we had been grossly deceived,
we came on back home."
In Seattle two editors have been call
ing each other pet names. One has called
t'other a "paretic mattoid." and up to the
present he holds the belt, but of course tho
dictionary has not been used up yet, not
quite.
The trumpeter who sounded the chartre
at Balaklava hag just died in Denver. The
trumpeter was as multitudinous as the
many-voiced ocean, and the "first man
into Port Arthur" will have to die several
thousand times to beat the record set by
the Six Hundred's survivors.
Herman Wise, of Astoria, rises to re
mark of a recent paragraph "Next time
we hear of the Baltic fleet It may bo In
action with the Swiss navy" "Oh, cheese
It; such ta shot would be smelled around
the world." The Japanese have bought a
lot of Dutch cheeses, so there is a possi
bility that Russia might use smokeless
Swiss for their heavy gun projectiles.
Insubordination at the University of
California 13 serious, explains the presi
dent, because rules of the War Depart
ment'were broken; had they been merely
university rules It would have been a dif
ferent affair. This should prove encour
agalng to the students.
In future when they want to run their
heads against a stonewall they wlU know
enough to avoid mere university rules and
choose one that is meant to be obeyed.
Professor Howison, head of the depart
ment of philosophy in the University of
California, declares that "the presence
of a large number of women students is
Inconsistent with the attainment of high
scholarly Ideals," or. In other words, the
phUosopher thinks that a man cannot em
brace philosophy and a girl at the same
time. The remedy is so obvious that it
might have occurred to even a- coUege
professor. Let the high scholarly Ideals go
hang.
According to the Argus; the election in
Seattle went as indicated In the following
story: ,
M. M. Lyter was about the only Demo
crat to be found In town Wednesday, and
he had blood in his eyes.
"It's a blamed shame," said he, fiercely
"a dirty outragel"
"What Is that?" inquired a sympathizing
friend.
"Why, the Republicans- held an election
yesterday," said Mr. Lyter, "and they
didn't let us Democrats know anything
about it!"
Some professor of something has discov
ered that the human body shoots out rays
which vary In color with the moods of tho
soul inside the body. An angry man
flashes red signals, a hopeful man blue,
and so forth. When we all reach the
point at which we can see these rays a
new trouble wiU have been added to the
life of woman. No fashionable woman
could bear to be seen radiating a color
that did not match that of her frock, and
she would have to hypnotize ierself Into
the mood of which the color went best
with the style of her dress for the day.
There was little apathy in the election
if one may refer to it at this late "date
so far as the Chippie Creek district was
concernedt A Denver Times dispatch
from Cripple Creek began as follows:
Two Democratic Judges have been killed and
one Peabody Deputy Sheriff la mortally
wounded and' a great number of Democratic
Judges have been beaten up and throws Into
Jail, although the 'Democratic and Republican
leaders met last night and signed an agreement
"providing for a peaceable election.
A pleasantly vague referMwgi.kjjfct to
the "great number" of Dea&cgijMigaa
that were beaten up, while. th-r fee SPtae
reporter that violence sfee3 hay seen
U3ed, is really amusing. DM set uw Dem
ocratic and Republican teaiera - wigs.
an agreement providing He a. yaMMe
election, and here they K aiall 'y faft,lf
there were no virtue in a 9tlmam:-.ffmm.
though what most excitaa r wyir U
the probable state of trfUm Hhi no
ledge of peace been given! ;