THE SUXDA.Y OHEGONIAX, POBTLAKD, JANUARY 59, 1905. .
THREE STATES ARE UNITED BY LEWIS AND CLARK EXPOSITION
resources of the Pacific Northwest, but
for promoting the broadest feeling of
fraternity between these states. Gov
ernor Mead said: 1
"When I received your Invitation to attend
this dinner and to deliver a short address,
I not only appreciated the honor you ex
tended me, but I looked forward to the
event with a great deal of personal satis
faction. Your invitation testifies that the
same fraternal feeling exists between these
states that was cultivated in the earlier
days when we were one.
This event brings to my mind recollec
tions of childhood. In my boyhood days the
Oregon Country was a distant and mys
terious , region, reputed rich in natural re
sources, tald to have an abundauce of pre
cipitation, and was - a land teeming with
fctlrring stories of adventure that thrilled
the heart of the average small boy. In my
Kansas home there returned a friend of my
father, who had been living for years in
the Willamette Valley. Evening after even
ing I used to sit and listen to blm as. he
told stories of the country and its sturdy
Inhabitants. I recall his telling of an old
minister who lived and farmed in the Val
ley. His name or particular place of resi
dence I never knew, but his character al
ways seemed to mo to stand for ploueor en
durance. Our friend would tell of this old
minister and the arduous labor he endured
in caring for his flocks and herds; of how
lie got up long before daylight, and stamped
around in the mud and rain week in and
week out. but riding off on Sunday to con
duct services among his Christian followers.
To a small boy who knew something of do
ing chores around a Kansas farm this
teemed the very acme of self-sacrifice and
rigid devotion to duty. I used to admlru
the old preacher, who was not content alona
to minister to his flocks and herds on week
days, but attended to the spiritual needs of
his friends and neighbors on the Sabbath.
With these leaves of memory fresh before
me, I come to you tonight as the Chief
Executive of a state having a population of
more than 600,000, and I can assure you
that it is with a feeling of pride that I
meet you for the first time under these .cir
cumstances, as I have had an ambition to
know you better since those youthful days,
and I know that my first impression of ad
miration for your character will be strength
ened by a closer acquaintance.
The experience of the past two weeks has
confirmed in my mind an Impression, which
I long ago entertained, that when James K.
Tolk won the Presidency on a "flfty-four-forty
or fight" platform, and then backed
down and allowed his Southern followers'
and an English Ministry to dragoon him into
an acceptance of the forty-ninth parallel as
a settlement of the Oregon question, we not
only lost a rich territory rightfully ours,
but that statesmanship in the conduct of
foreign affairs is of a much higher order
in the present day than during the Folk
period. I can assure you that I more keenly
regret than ever before the loss of this ter
ritory, because I am now denied the privi
lege of appointing hundreds of notaries pub
lic and of bestowing other personal and po
litical favors among the people now yield
ing allegiance to King Edward in the prov
ince north of us which should have been a
part of our national domain.
Rivalry Causes Progress.
We all realize that, so far as competition
along purely commercial lines and among
the large commercial establishments is con
cerned, there is a degree of antagonism be
tween tho cities of our respective states,
but it is a healthy rivalry, and makes for
that constant and keen progresslvcncsc that
keeps a community abreast of the times.
On higher and broader lines, however, there
is a definite unity of Interest in Oregon and
Washington in the upbuilding of the whole
Pacific Northwest. In concrete form this
is represented in the united efforts we are
making through legislative bodies and com
mercial organizations to bring about the
improvement of the Columbia Ulver so that
the commerce of the interior can have an
unimpeded waterway to the sea. In the
protection of the fisheries and the fishing
industry one of our present chief resources
we also are working in harmony. That
same fraternal spirit animates us in all our
efforts to facilitate and expand the sea-car-ring
trade of the Pacific Northwest, ef
forts which are constantly widening our
markets In the Orient and in the countries
to the south of us. Believing as we all do,
and as we are Justified in believing by the
history of commerce and by existing geo
graphical conditions, that the' natural zone
of inter-continental trado lies in our lati
tude, rather than in the latitudes to the
south, we are gradually bringing the world
to a recognition of this fact.
Another community of Interest if I may
be permitted to borrow the phrase is In
using all legitimate efforts to bring to the
attention of homeseekers and prospective
Peltiers the, resources and possibilities of tho
Pacific Northwest. Here we should have a
common ground. In both states there are
much the same natural resources, magnifi
cent and varied and capable of supporting
a population many times greater than we
have, while in climate and physical condi
tions we are practically the same. It should
be our purpose. Irrespective of state bound
aries, to bring the resources and the ad
vantages that we possess in common to the
attention of dwellers in less favored regions,
that they, may make their homes here and
help us to develop the natural wealth con
tained in our valleys and our mountains;
our waters and our plains.
Strong Reasons for Friendship.
From a more sentimental viewpoint there
are other reasons for strengthening the bond
of friendship between us. Politically Wash
ington is the offspring of Oregon, once a
part of Oregon herself, and embraced in the
region known for so long as the Oregon
Country, and no artificial barrier should
keep the people of the two states apart.
The Lewis and Clark Exposition is a
means not only for advertising our natural
resources, but for carrying out the broadest
feeling of fraternity between these states.
As the Chief Executive of Washington I am
glad to stand In a position where I can
co-operate with the promoters and the man
agement of the Exposition In carrying out
their purpose. Our Legislature has appro
priated generously for the state's representa
tion at the Fair, while many counties, cities
and commercial bodies in the state are pre
paring for special exhibits that will worthily
set forth their products and manufactures.
Our people are animated by a desire to as
sist you In making this the greatest expo
sition ever held on tho Pacific Coast. You
can count on Washington for loyal support
and assistance in the praiseworthy task you
have undertaken. I look for material ben
efit to both states as a result of the Fair,
but one of the most beneficial results that
I expect to follow will be the development
of a closer acquaintance and the ripening
of a warmer friendship between our peo
ples. Notwithstanding the present ability and
productive capacity of our people to add
wonderfully to the storehouse of the na
tloi.'s products, under co-operation of the
National Government with the state in the
reclamation of arid lands and in the pro
motion of vast schemes of irrigation, supple
menting -the pystem which has achieved
such remarkable results by private enter
prise, we will soon more than double our
contribution to the wealth of ,the world.
Uncle 8amV Great Enterprise.
Uncle Sam Is now placing his shoulder to
the wheel In this great enterprise, and lm
tneni tracts of land in Eastern Washing
ton, new unproductive and barren of plant
or animal life, will won be transformed Into
hom. communities and municipalities; our
Kpulatlon will be augmented by thousands
and teHH of thousands of men who will pur
chare and consume goods and merchandise
iiom our merchants; men who will enjoy to
th fullest the comforts and luxuries of
modern American life; men who will build
roadx and highways, schoolhouses. public
lulldlngx and churches: men who in grave
periods of our country's danger will cour
ageously and patriotically defend our flag.
This BeM f ondenvor even now almost
f jrpw the wildest imagination of those
v ho predicted the wonderful results that
Vi-ld How froip the introduction of irriga
tion when the state and nation Joined hands
in eliminating from the map the barren
plains of our great commonwealth. Great
we now are. when the plans now outlined
are consummated we will be able to fur
nish to the werld of commerce and trade
another Washington as great in its trade,
population and citizenship as the one whch
I now have the honor to represent.
Many people perhaps reIde In this city or
In this state who have watched our progress
from the time our territorial population
hardly equaled the population of the small
eft nunty of the State of Oregon. We could
nt hae achieved this remarkable progress
within so short a period had we not been
endowed with inexhaustible natural wealth,
had we not had the benefit of a strong,
lrllr and Industrious population engaged In
driving the wheels of commerce, trade' and
industry
Let us hang upon the outer walls of vry
lty village and hamlet In the States of
Oregon and Washington the word "Wel
come" to those who are seeking homes from
the orerpopuiated centers of the East, and
let us say to them:- "If you believe in good
government and good citizenship; If you are
wedded to the principles of American insti
tutions; If you love our history and cherish
the memory of those who helped to make
it; if you are willing to toll and labor with
an industrious people, welcome are you to
our valleys and our plains, our cities and
our villages!" To this class of citizens, and
to none others, do we extend this greeting.
"A' Glimpse of Past"
Shows Progress
George II. "Williams, Mayor of
PortlnndfTclIa How Three Stat en
Were Carved Ont of the Orego
Country. -
MAYOR WILLIAMS welcomed the
visitors to Portland, and also
spoke on the topic. "A Glimpse of tho
Past." contrasting: the unexplored and
undisturbed wilderness of the Oregon
Country with the three states of Ore
gon, "Washington and Idaho, all rap
Idly growing in prospects and popula
tion. Mayor Williams said; s
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: On behalf
of the people of Portland and as their of
ficial representative, it affords me pleasure
to extend to our distinguished visitors a
cordial welcome to this city. We are glad
to have our neighbors come to see us and
share our hospitalities. We want to estab
lish and cultivate friendly relations with
them. This is both pleasant and profitable.
Conflicting personal and. local Interests are
Inevitable between communities as well as
Individuals, but the spirit of rivalry is not
necessarily inconsistent with personal friend
ship or social amenities. Washington. Idaho
and Oregon are neighbors, and there is no
reason why they should not be friends. Each
is expected to prefer Its own interests where
those interests conflict with the Interests
of the others, but there are occasions when
the interests of these states are almost iden
tical, and the Lewis and Clark Fair Is an
occasion of that kind.
One hundred years ago the territory of
these three states existed as an unexplored
and undivided wilderness, under the name
of the Oregon Country. No one. knows with
certainty when or how this name originated,
but its comprehensive descrlptlvenesa awak
ened the statesmanship of Jefferson, and its
deep and gloomy woods and majestic rivers
inspired the poetry of Bryant. This Oregon
Country, through the privations and perils
of pioneer life, has brought forth three
Btates of magnificent proportions. Oregon
contains 96.000. Washington 09.000 and Idaho
81.000 square miles of territory. These are
comparatively new states. Oregon was ad
mitted into the Union in 1859. Washington
in 1889 and Idaho In 1890. Each of these
states has a natural capacity to support
millions of people, but at this time the popu
lation of Washington does not exceed 800,
000, that of Oregon COO.000 and that of
Idaho 250,000.
To develop the immense resources of these
three great states an increase of population
is required. To produce this result It is
necessary that people elsewhere should have
a knowledge of the advantages of living in
these states. Each of them will have an
opportunity at the Lewis and Clark Fair
by Its exhibits and otherwise to Impart this
knowledge to the hundreds of thousands of
people who will visit that Exposition. These
states, especially Oregon, have not grown
as fast as might have been expected, chiefly
because there has been a lack of correct
information and a misunderstanding as to
their inviting conditions. Some few statis
tics will show what has been done In Oregon
with its limited population. Our exports
in 1903 amounted to the value or $11,120,000.
consisting chiefly of cereals, flour and the
products of our forests and fisheries;- our
Imports amounted to $2,774,784. The value
of the grain raised In Oregon in 1904
amounted to J10.34'i27C. The output of
lumber was 1,405.000,000 feet. The flsh
product, was worth more than three million
dollars, and our manufacturing establish
ments turned out products of the value of
$52,000,000, and our mines are well up in
the millions.
These items of business Indicate what this
state can and will do when It Is thickly
settled, as It might and probably will be
In a few years. Eastern states have many
things in common with us. such as agricul
ture, commerce and manufactures, but we
have jomc things here conducive to the
comfort and happiness of the people which
not many of the Eastern states have. Our
chief advantage over these states Is In our
climate. Some variety In climatic condi
tions is desirable, and these we have, with
out extremes of heat and cold. The mean
temperature of the month bf.July. 1904. in
Portland, was 67 degrees, and the mean
temperature of the month of December.
1904. was 43.3 degrees, and these are fair
specimens of the average Summer and Win
ter weather of this city. Cool winds from
the north modify the heat of Summer, and
warm winds from the south modify the cold
of Winter. I have lived in Oregon for more
than 50 years, and have never seen a cy
clone or a blizzard during that time. There
is a widespread and mistaken impression as
to the rainfall in Oregon. As a general rule
we have a good deal of rainy weather in
the Winter, but very little In the Summer;
but. taking all the -seasons of the year to
gether, the precipitation here is not greater
than in many other places. We have as
much, if not more, rain In Portland than
In any other part of Oregon, excepting, per
haps, at some points on the ocean side of
the Coast Range of mountains, and the an
nual rainfall of this city as compared with
some Eastern cities is as follows:
Portland 39.8 Inches
Boston 40,80 inches
New York City 43.40 inches
Atlanta 46.40 Inches
New Orleans 40.00 Inches
Our green fields at this season of the year
testify to the moisture and mildness of our
Winter climate. Oregon is highly favored
with rail and water transportation. Three
transcontinental railroads running '.hrough
the state In different directions meet in
Portland ocean-going ships from ell parts
of the world. Oregon not only excrls many
Eastern states in -healthtulness and salu
brity of its climate, but in the Rrandeur
and beauty of lis natural scenery. Moun
tains and forests, lakes and rivers, hills and
dales, and every variety of landscape, rich
ness and beauty, diversify the face of the
country, inducing the onlooker to say:
"How has kind Heaven adorned this happy
land.
And scattered blessings with a wasteful
hand."
Oregon's Interest in
Irrigation
Watered Land "Will Provide
Homes for Half a Million, Says
Judge Stephen A. Lowell.
JUDGE STEPHEN" A. LOWELL, of
Pendleton, spoko on "Oregon's Inter
est in Irrigation." declaring that tho
National reclamation act is the most val
uable piece of legislation which graces
the statute books of the United State.
Oregon, he said, has a million acres eas
ily capable or irrigation and another mil
lion that can also be irrigated, which
would provide homes for 100,000 families,
a halt million of people. Judge Lowell's
address follows: 1
:x
We are living in an irrigation iM. As the
century Just closed witnessed the iraix of
the world's commercial and mechanical de
velopment, so the one now opening will mark
the peopling of the waste places of the
earth, the recession of the deserts.
For unnumbered" generations Egypt waited
for the coming of that mighty storage dam
Just completed on the Nile, the noblest
achievement of England's occupation of the
land of the Pharaohs. It means the bene
ficial use of flood waters, the end of, fam
ines, prosperity for the lowly fellahln. and
by reflex Influence better conditions through
out the globe.
This Is an era of large things; steam and
electricity have brought the continents In
touch. Britain's monumental work In Africa
has found response In projects" to restore
the canals of commerce and Irrigation In
the abandoned valley of the Euphrates, to
conserve the river floods of Southern Eu
rope, to seek water for tho dry plains of
Australia, and in comprehensive legislation
to reclaim arid America.
Next to the nomestead law. beneficent in
Its season beyond estimate, the National
reclamation act is the most valuable piece
of legislation which graces the statute
books of this Republic It elevates the
matchless West and gives assurance that
It Is coming to Its own; that here upon
the Pacific Slope, where the majestic march
of empire westward ceases for its final
stand, -there shall be established the high
est civilization vouchsafed the race Here
will be solved the social and political prob
lems of our day. because when the now
waste waters are married to waste soils
the resultant will be millions of rural
homes for the landless hoards of the crowd
ed East.
Under the fruitful reign of the god of
waters there will be accepted the maxim
of small farms, well tilled, which shall be
owned and occupied by men proud alike
of American citizenship and family head
ship. There ten acres will be enough, and
bonanza farming, the present curse of all
the West, will pass away.
The once great American desert, of which
a dozen states lay claim to part, will some
day boast a population denser than any
other portion of the Union. Its soil, largely
of lava ash, containing the essential ele
ments for most successful crop production.
Its climate healthful. Its mountains filled
with coal and copper, gold and silver,
crossed and penetrated by the avenues of
commerce between the oceans. It needs only
the Impulse of Irrigation applied in equity
and with a reach beyond the present to
assure a civilization which shall b the
model of the world.
The rulers of a day, the "lawmakers of a
year, will pass- across the stage and be
forgotten, but the work of the engineers,
the canals and reservoirs of the Irrigation
systems which they shall establish upon the
lakes and rivers, will last as long as waters
run and earth produces.
Upon this western coast the light of a new
day is breaking. In that Isthmian water
way which has been the dream of the cen
turies will soon commingle the waters of
two oceans. Upon that ancient continent
where man was born he Is about to be born
again into newer life and nobler aspira
tions, and here must he the meeting place
of the Orient and Occident, and the ex
change centers of the world.
As Boston. New York. Philadelphia and
Baltimore have waxed in wealth and popu
lation with the growth of the Eastern
States and the commerce of the Atlantic,
so Tacoma. Seattle. Portland and San Fran
cisco are to increase with the new Pacific
and the expanding West.
There will be glory enough for all Jeal
ousy must have no place. We have com
mon Interests, common hopes, and In pass
ing let me give 'for Oregon to the repre
sentatives of the sister states here assembled
a single sentiment paraphrased from his
tory. Said Philip of France to Richard of
England upon one of those crusades which,
though seeming failures, resulted In a pil
lar to Europe against the thralldom of the
Saracens and embalmed. for later genera
tions the seeds of education, personal lib
erty and religious freedom, which are the
bases of the civilization of our age. "Let
there he no rivalry between the lilies of
France and the lions of England, save that
which shall carry us farthest Into the
ranks of the enemy."
So let there be no rivalry between these
commonwealths of ours, save that which
shall count most for homes and human
happiness, for the righteousness and per
petuity of this government of the people.
Oregon, an emerald priceless In the dia
dem of the Pacific placed In the zone of
power, resting for 500 miles upon that
ocean, indented with bays, some day to
become Imposing harbors, with two great
navigable rivers, a soil of marvelous- fer
tility yielding In great abundance every
product of the temperate zone, a climate
euqable and healthy klsed by the balmy
Chinook wind, an area double that of the
Empire State, a veritable land of promise.
Is least known of all the states.
Nearly half a century old. she is virgin
yet. awaiting only fame as bridegroom to
fructify with wealth and people and In
dustry nd power.
As the god of nations withheld the
Western world until the last that there
might be the heritage of all that In best
In the experience of the race, so Oregon
for some mysterious purpose has been re
served its the scene of the century's su
premest effort.
Upon a firm foundation her institutions
have been established by a sturdy. God
fearing and devoted people, and three
thing only she requires for her forward
movement; her great river open to the sea.
a railroad crossing her center from the
Snake River to the ocean, and the ap
plication of her surplus waters to her arid
lands. The first two of these requisites
will assuredly follow the consummation of
the last.
Under the terms of the Federal irrigation
law this, state is at once most imperial eon'
tTibutor to its funds and most promising re
cipient of its bounty. No portion of the
vast region within the scope of the opera
tions of that law presents such multiplicity
of attractions in soil, climate and those
productions essential to modern life as this
peerls Jewel of the North Pacific.
Possessed of timber surpassing any other
state of" the Union, fisheries rivaling New
England In her palmiest days, mines as
rich a the Rand, fruit sought In the finest
markets of all the East. Urestock of ever'
character, unnumbered and Its best adorned
with the bluest of ribbons, whcafilds ca
pable of production which can feed a na
tion, coal and water power sufficient for
ever' Industry, lands of character Infinite
in variety Impregnated with every element
needed to assure abundant returns in every
avenue of agriculture. Oregon can, be self
supporting with 10.OO0.0C0 of Inhabitants.
Comprising in land more than 60,000,000
of acres, one-third or which Is still In the
public domain, with two-thirds- of her area
within the semi-arid belt where ranges of
lofty mountains send forth rivers flushing
with Roods from melting snow, she offers
an Ideal field for reclamation operations
and the general Government has only waited
proper local legislation to begin the work.
Rarely falls such opportunity for public
service, for the exercise of wise and far
eeelng statesmanship, as has been given the
legislators of Oregon at this time, the ex
alted privilege to rise above petty Interests
of men or locality, beyond the present to
the plane of the great future of a. state.
From waters easily available we have a
BILLIARD-ROOM OF THE COMMERCIAL CLUB.
million acres capable of facile irrigation,
and as the science of artificial watering Is
understood, another million acres can be
added. They alone would mean homes for
100.000 families, a half million of people,
for under the dominion of irrigation 5. 10.
and 20-acre farms are the rule, valued at
not less than $100 per acre, and often
when highly Improved $1000 per acre.
But with agricultural development that
of other occupations Is commensurate: cities
grow. Industries are established, commerce
flourishes.
The reclamation of semi-arid Oregon then
would add td that portion of the state a
million people and wealth untold.
But In this movement this wonderful Val
ley of the Willamette will Join for her own
enrichment, and by use of Irrigation in the'
drj season will double the value of her
crop production, enhance the value of her
lands, grow rich and populous, and the
coast region will feel the Influence and
reap Its share of resultant progress and
prosperity.
This effect would be immediate, a rapid
resultant upon the application of water
to the land.
But behold the later; picture; a wilderness
in bloom, the sagebrush and sand replaced
with fruits and flowers: every valley now
barren smiling with bappy homes, schools,
churches and marts of trade, the broad ex
panse where now Is the limitless range o
the sheep king and the cattle baron teem
ing with agricultural and Industrial life,
water power developed, factories bullded.
mines opened, steam and electric lines of
transportation belting the state; 1.000.COO
souls where now is bare 200.000, pouring
the rich production of fertile acres and at
tendant industries into this commercial cap
ital of the state and seaports yet to come,
for distribution throughout the world.
When this portrait shall live In fact, as It
will do, you of the West, forgetting a di
viding mountain range, will strike hands
with us In recognition of the blessings
wrought, thankful that our generation has
had a share In molding a perfect state.
Commercial Bodies
Have One Aim
William D. "Wheelwright's Ad
tlresH oa Their Co-Ope ration la
Promoting; the Public "Welfare.
WILLIAM D. WHEELWRIGHT, presi
dent of the Chamber of Commerce,
spoke as follows on "The Relations of
Commercial Bodies."
It Is a matter of much regret to me that I
have not had time or opportunity to prepare a
speech worthy of your attention, or at least
asx nearly worthy of It as any effort of mine
can be. I can therefore only ray a few words
Informally on the relations between the com
mercial organizations and the community.
It Is 137 years since . the finrt Chamber of
Commerce was organized In New Torfc. and
the one In Glasgow followed It 15 yesrs later,
both of them antedating the foundation of a
like institution In London. Thus appears the
significant fact that commercial organization
Is essentially a creation of modern times.
The early history of the human race Is com
prised, an we know. In the three word, con
flict, struggle, labor. It was the fight for ex
istence that made man strong; It was the In
dividual's effort for himself that developed his
faculties, and this Individualism controlled
man's action In trade, as It bad governed It
In war (and business for many csnturles was
very much like warfare), until. In what seems
to us the fullness of time, when marvelous
discoveries kept pace with equally marvelous
Inventions, business b;gan to take on new
aspects, and man realized that he was not
alone: he comprehended the principle that
when two parties enter Into transactions to
gether both must benefit, or one of them mart
stop trading, and out of this comprehension
was evolved the system of working together
for mutual protection.
The First Chamber of Commerce.
The organization of the first Chamber of
Commerce In this country was simply and
solely the remit of exactions levied on the
trade and resources of the colonies by Great
Britain, which had ordained that the citizens
of the colonies could not export their products
to any other -country than England, could not
make Importations except through Englih
merchants, could not"" do the Inter-colonlal
carrying trade except in British ships.; were
prohibited from manufacturing their raw prod
ucts Into finished goods, and finally were es
topped by a high tariff from exporting any
BBBBBBBSSZb? SBBBBBBBaxaSS t
LADIES GRILLROOM IX THE COMMERCIAL CLUB. j
kind of grain or farm produce even to Eng
land, vjonn nsite.j ise aseciauoa iu
speedily it extended Itself Into a meaaa of de
velopment as wen as ci protection, ana
into the securing for all members of the
community for the weak as well as for the
strong equal rights, privileges and Immuni
ties. Now it Is of the effect that this asso
ciating of men together for the common good
Vio. lmnn fh IntvMttat tt-nf T went to SDeak
to you, not from a commercial or utilitarian
point of view and therefore, perhaps you may
think, not quite in sympathy with the alms
and objects of this meeting. But harmony
is made up of different tones, and I am sere
that this one Is not discordant.
trlbutlon to evolutionary science which Charles
Darwin pronounced unique and original when
ne poinica oui uiu cucci ui ujc Viuiuuft.
period of Infancy on the individuals of the
t...man tirvm tfiA ft,rlonmpnt of those
qualities of human character that made ot
man "the paragon of animals, the beauty of
the orjd: so noble In reason, so Infinite In
faculty. In action so like an angel. In
apprehension so like a god." The Influence
of the family (which Is In great measure the
result of the long period of Infancy) was
.iimni.t. h i virtnM nt Keif-restraint, ot
thought for others, cf unselfishness in fact, of
all the Signer qualities ot nuracnuy, hbo
Influence of associations among men for mutual
ami twnnt i nnwerful in the same
direction. The finest gem Is Improved by
attrition: tne cnaracter oi me ran iuwjucu,
developed and restrained by association with
his fellows. A man who may sometimes do a
thing In secrecy, of which he has cause to
v. - m ttatn to do that which
will cause hla associates to be ashamed of
him. And so. to sum up. the Influence of
commercial bodies oa the community is to
strengthen and broaaen tne cnaracier ui
Individuals that roaice up coin.
Work of the Chamber of Commerce.
I had not thought to speak of local condi
tions, or interests, but perhaps a word about
the institution of which I have the honor to be
the head and of its sister organization within
whose hospitable walls we are now gauiereu
together, may not be out of place. The
m u rvvmrnn- han been true to the
traditions and principles of Its predecessors;
the mistakes that it has made have been the
errors of youth and surplus energy, ana
vii. nt thm have been disastrous to
individuals, the result has been of incalcu
lable benefit to tne city anu me wum:n..
community. In one Instance at least It may
. . , ...i - .,kaa hotter- than thev knew.
It has since been and now Is a conservative
body, guarding the right and privileges of
Its Individual xnensoera iu --
. ' ,,. nrivtWH of the commercial
community, stimulating the development o.f
the port, the river ana ot ico wunnjr
needs a port and a navigable rlyr to achieve
Its destiny. It welcomes as 1U coadjutor In
the work this young ana powenui
tlon ot the Commercial Club that Is doing
i-- tnr. um raneral end.
though bv different means and by the develop
ment of other 'avenues and channels of In
fluence and the two are working and will con
tinue to work In perfect harmony for the
VLr..flt ne th -ltv. the state and the entire
PadTflc Northwest. The Interests ot all are
Identical.
H W Scott Speaks
on "TheOutlook"
Pacific Seaboard In to Be the
Seat of Empire Equnl to That
on the Atlantic.
assisned to Mr. H. W. Scott,
who spoko as follows:
This theme doesn't require any fine rhetoric,
nor any poet's eye In fine frenzy rolling. Sober
view lends itself sufficiently to prophecy. The
future Is In the 'past and In the present, and
the movement has now gone so far that all
may see the tendency. Our Pacific seaboard Is
to be the seat of empire equal to that on the
Atlantic
Men yet living; men not yet old. have seen
the Oregon Country develop from smallest be
zlnnings to its present greatness. But its
present greatness 1 only the promise of Its
future.
All tt multiplied resource . of Nature,
through which great commonwealths are built
-lip are present here In abundance. Hitherto
the development has been slow: but now, fairly
started, it will proceed with constantly accel
erating rapidity. It has. Indeed, moved with
marvelous rapidity hitherto. Compare achieve
ment here, these CO 7eara, with the achlrve-
ment of the first CO years from the beginning
oi settlement on the Atlantic coast. How
little was accomplished theie during this equal
period; how much here1
Our Internal dcvelootnent will keen race
with It; in many ways will outrun It. Pos3-
onttles of production in these states are un
bounded. In agricultural resources there Is
n superior country. In Umber wealth, none
equals It; In mineral wealth, none surpasses
it J-or climate, our facinc States bear tne
palm over all other narts of America. This
tact is bnt Just now becoming known. 1 1
mtgnt enlarge on fruitgrowing and fisheries
and water power, and the possibilities opened
for water power through electrical science, hut
it is needless. No part oi tne world at this
moment Is so open to the opportunities of
Intelligent labor as our Pacific States.
We can best understand where we are by
some retrospect of what we have been. This
Is The fifty-third year of my residence In
Oregon. Portland, when I first saw It. num
bered perhaps eight hundred Inhabitants, and
was- must the largest town in the Oregon
Country. Outside the Willamette Valley there
were very few settlers a few nendred in
Southern Oregon and a few hundred at Puget
Sound. To one who has not actual recollection
of the conditions ot that period. It is next to
impossiDie to form a conception or the narrw-
neas of conditions, of the slowness and diffi
culty of communication. And. .indeed, for a
good many years afterward it was no better.
It would have been pertinent, perhaps, had 1
told the railroad men last night how wa used
to travel on foot all over this country for
hundreds of - miles, invariably carrying a
blanket for the night's sleep, but usually
taking chances on obtalnnvent of food. 3Iy
father made our first settlement at Puget
Sound. Communication between the Columbia
River and Puget Sound was by the Cowlitz
trail, over which we trudged, waded and
swam many a time. Between Rainier an9
Olympia X have consumed three weeks all tho
time making utmost efforts to get on. In -the
Fall of 1868 .1 had occasion to return to
Oregon, and on the last day of September of
that year set ont on foot from Olympia to
Portland. I was Jest one week on the Jour
ney, and I think I was the only passenger
that week on the trail. Of course, "slept out"
o' nights.
Stephen Beater's Bide.
This reminiscence is merely personal. Now
let me give an historical example; At the
beginning of the year 1S59 I was at Oregon
City grubbing for roots under a tutor, -so I
might read Horace and Homer, and sup
porting myself by chopping cord wood, rna
act that made Oregon a state bad been passed
by Congress In the month of February in
that year. Bat It was more than a month,
before we could know of it. and when known
it excited little Interest or attention. The
news came to this Coast by way of Panama,
and by steamer from. San Francisco to Port
land. That steamer arrived at .rortiana one
afternoon late in the month of March. At
Oreron City the news that Oregon was a state
did not arrive until nearly noon the next
day. A few persons talked about It with a
languid Interest, and wondered when the gov
ernment ot the state would lie set In opera
tion. Perhaps it would be another week be
fore It could be known at the capital (Salem)
that Oregon was now a sovereign state, and
the pioneer Governor-elect, John Whlteaker.
might not hear of It at his farm In Lane
Countv for a month to come. An announce
ment that now would be instantly made at
every telegraph station and would call ionn
the boom of guns and the peal or Delia, passea
almost unnoticed. But It occurred to a young
man at Oregon City named Stephen Senter
that there were nersons at balem wno migni
wish to have the news, so ae mounted a
hnrw and t.rtel as messenger. At that time
of the year It was not easy to ride. Molalla
and Pudding Rivers were to be crossed, both
urro nut over tha banks, and. needless to say,
the mud was at Its worst. But this courier
and herald of the state persevered, and after
an effort ot 30 hours reached- balem witn me
news. Naturally, the announcement was re
ceived with more interest at the capital than
elsewhere, for It meant that the state govern
ment would supersede the territorial; but the
nnt. i-r- ,vlnced little or no interest
In It. and a letter from Salem printed In
The Oregonlan. then a weekly paper, some
ten days later, said the state arrived here on
horseback last Wednesday afternoon, and that
was all.
is,, if .timiM not he inferred from the sim
plicity of our manners of that time that
,T,.minn -srhleh had been made for our
state was an immature work. It was a prod
uct of preceding experience m pivcrumu.,
adapted to our times and conditions, sso ripe
t it o comnlete. that It has answered our
purposes ever since. Permanent principles are
fixed In it. It contains little that could be
called temporary, and that little passes ai-
for what is unnecessary in
constitutions and laws quickly becomes obeo-
UTet life had its special attractions. Wo
were content with Utile, ana were uuu
i ,nt few wants. We were. I think.
more cordial and hearty toward each other:
for Intense devotion to our various purusults
had not then thrown all the energies of each
Into a single channel, and so to an extent
separated us from each other, as now. True,
webad to work to live, but each one felt that
we had a little time for the Intercourse or
social life. There Is not much of that sort
of leisure now. Tet there might better be.
Nature requires us to wor. um. -
M'KINLEY'S FIRST PROMOTION
Widow of Man Who Gave It Is Now Visiting in Oregon.
0K THIS 62d birthday of the mar
tyred President, "William McKlnley.
It 13 remarkable that the wife of
the honored soldier, who gave Private
"William McKlnley his very first promo
tion In the "United States, should be a
guest of Oregon.
At Camp Chase. Ohio, in 1S61, shortly
after his enlistment In the Twenty-third
Ohio Volunteer .Infantry, while yet a boy
of 17. William McKlnley was recommend
ed for promotion from private to the non
commissioned rank of Commissary Ser
geant, the very first upward step In a
long "and honorable military career
credited to the 24th President of the
United States.
The man who recommended younsr Mc
Klnley for this first promotion was the
late Captain J. W. Skiles. of Company C,
Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
then In command of the company at
Camp Chase, before Its departure for the
front.
While this article Is being read in Ore
gon homes, the aged wife of Captain,
afterward Colonel allies, who started
William McKlnley off his upward career
In the Army. Is visiting her sons, E. C.
and J. W. Skiles. Jr., in this city, and
on this birthday of the martyred Presi
dent recalls ids kindly spirit and undying
friendship.
Young McKlnley was one of the very
youngest members ot the regiment, the
famous Twenty-third, which did such gal
lant service In the terrible days of the
struggle, and as such, he attracted the
attention of Captain Skiles, and the
friendship then formed. In the beginning
of the war, while the flower of the land
was being plucked for the defense of
the Union, was only broken when death
claimed McKInley's old Captain In 1SIM.
Captain Skiles was a veteran of the
Mexican War. having served under Gen
eral Winficld Scott during the entire war.
being present In every battle and enter
ing the City of Mexico with the victori
ous army on September 14, 1E47.
When the first call for volunteers was
issued In 1S61. J. W. Skiles was -one of
the first men to respond to the .call, and
organized a company at Gallion, O. Soon
after his company was mustered in and
sent to Camp Chase, where he recruited
for the front, in August, 1S62. being or
dered to Maryland, where the regiment
V.H3 engaged in the Battie of South Moun
tain, on September 14. 1852, the anniver
sary of the entrance of the American
Army Into the City of Mexico.
At the Battle of South Mountain Cap
tain Skiles lost his left arm. near the
shoulder, and was taken to the hospital.
Here he was separated from his com
pany, and Private McKlnley, although
he followed the succeeding career of the
young soldier with pride and Interest.
Captain Skiles was promoted to the
rank of Major on his recovery, in Decem
ber, 1862. and made Provost Marshal of
Columbus. O . a position which he faith
fully held until the close of the war, re
cruiting for the front In that time more
than 80.000 soldiers. He was promoted
to the rank of Colonel at the close of the
war.
At the Battle of South Mountain, atccr
bJs Captain bad lost an arm and had been
punishing excesses In that direction, too. 1Z
she does it in no other way. ehe makes suc
cess itself useless, for her wreath often covers
hair that has grown gray, and fame comes
when the hearts It should have thrilled aro
numb. The greatest of all moral writers has
said. "They lose the world who buy It with
much care."
Many are yet living who have seen the wool
that made the family clothing carded .and
nlng-wheel and the loom. Indispensable- por
tions ot the domestic plant, occupying a, largo
part of the space In a small cabin; who havo
seen the dyepots standing In the chimney cor
ner at the open fire. Where, the meals of th
family were cooked; who have been members
of households where every part of, the work;
lar way with clocklike regularity the man
agement of crops, the care of animals, the
Af n .v. . .tiHni, 'mMtt and at
tention to all the arts and duties of independent
each family supplied its own wants. and
prisfs us now to think how few things were
necessary.
Out ot this mode of lire we have passea, oc
cause we could not remain In It- New con
ditions nave grown up aro una us. to- wmcu.
of necessity, we conform. Society Is In
. ma ImV KniV ta
the past for instruction, we accept the present
with an eager, nut unoennea. expectation.
talk of successive generations of men. but.
looking at society in a mass, the generations
do not come and go. One unites with an
other, and there Is no line of separation. But
the whole living organism to which We belong
is carried rorwara oy impulses inat
the laws of its own existence. The changes
are assumed only by degrees, and not with
abruptness; they come as a cumulative effect,
v.t iin rfo rannnt ahtrl or remain In any
state of fixity, but must pass on.
Familiar as I am. ana auring a iuns
have been, with the growth and progress of
the Oregon Country, and. indeed, of all our
Pacific Coast States. I am yet. upon reytew
of this growth and progress, astonished al
what has been accomplished, within the period
of my own observation. We who observed tha
slowness of the growth, during a long period
of time, could not Imagine we should live to
see what we have seen; and yet all that here
tofore has been accompnsnea i
to the prospect that opens before us. in
dustry and production are the factors ot our
material progress. In peace, as Iron and go.a
are the two main nerves of war. Industry,
opeating on the resources of Nature. In a coun
try so favored as ours, will do all things.
"Labor omnia vlnclt" remains as true as In
the olden time, and truer; for man now U
atile to make the forces ot Nature serve nun
in Innumerable ways formerly unknown.
Paclfio Coast States linked Together.
Our states of the Pacific Cc.-st are linked
together in a common Interest. Together they
have risen: together they still will rise and
grow. Forces within them and without them,
whether similar or common. not. all work;
toward the same end. Industry, production,
and commerce are at work with more than the
hundred hands of Brlareus.
Note our situation on the Paciflo seaboard
Note also that the changes of recent times
have virtually made the Pacific, an American
sea. The active theater of the world's new
effort is now in Asia and Western America.
The two hemispheres heretofore in communi
cation only across the Atlantic, are now rapia
ly developing an Intercourse over the Pacific
Many steamships, and an Increasing number,
on regular lines, now sail between our Pacific
ports and the ports of the Orient, and ot
"tramp" steamers and sailing vessels a large
and continually growing fleet. Pressure or
Russia and ot other nations upon China, and
Japan Is creating a prodigious activity, and.
Is sure to result la vast transformations .thtre.
England. Franca and - Germany have their
apheres of active influence In that same enor
mous field. We are In touch, then, with a
movement that Includes more than one-halt
the human race. "We are In the Philippine
Islands ourselves, an Incomparable station for
observation and commerce. Participation in
the results that are to come from the trans
formation of the Orient wih ne had through
the ports of our Pacific States the way sta
tions en route to lands across the Pacific.
Of this mighty development now Just begin
ning to appear, our country should take all
proper advantage. It means a commerce on
the, Pacific which will rival that of the At
lantic It means mighty Industrial and com
mercial progress for our states of the western
side of the continent. Where now are four
millions of people there may be fifty raUlloiw
by the close of this century, with every kind
of Intellectual and moral development com
parable with the material prosperity.
I shall not attempt statistical detail of the
growing Industry and commerce of the gjea.
Pacific Northwest. Such detail Is printed In.
appropriate places, and Is to be consulted ax
leisure. It requires art and genius, too. to
make statistical detail attractive, and. per
haps, oven art and genius have never suc
ceeded In doing It.
But, from review of the past and observation
of the present, we may see the promise or
the future. Like the old Welsh bard wl.n
all the past Impressed upon his soul and look
ing dowVthe historical vista to a wonderful
future, one may echo the exclamation:
"Visions of glory, spare my aching sight;
Te unborn ages, rou not oa my gum-
carried from the field, McKinley earned
his second promotion by an act of per
sonal bravery, which was one of the
proud accomplishments on the Twenty
third on that day.
During the hottest of the terrible light
at South Mountain, the Twenty-third Ohio
became separated from Its commissary
wagons and the soldiers of the regiment
were famishing In the hot sun and hard
fighting, when McKlnley. who was then
non - commissioned Commissary Ser
geant, ordered the driver of the wagon
to go to the regiment In a distant part ot
the battlefield, where the fighting was
hottest, so the boys could be supplied
with coffee. The driver refused to face
the peril. McKlnley ordered him off the
wheel horse, and himself mounting in tha
driver's stead, rushed the commissary
wagon across the field, through flying:
shells and screaming cannon ball, and,
reaching the Twenty-third In safety, re
vived the worn-out soldiers with hot cof
fee. For this act of bravery. McKinley was
promoted to the rank ot Second Lieuten
ant. In 1S63 he was made First Lieuten
ant, the following year he was made
a Captain, and on March 13, 1S63, he wa3
breveted a Major for bravery on the field.
After the war was over the friendship
between then Colonel Skiles and Major
McKlnley was revived. In all the suc
ceeding years, until the death of Colonel
Skiles, In Denver. Colo., on April 6. 1S94.
Major McKlnley was a warm friend and
admirer of the sturdy old soldier who
gave him his first promotion. Colonel
Skiles remained In the service of the
Government until hi3 death, having
Berved various departments, his last po
sition being that of special timber In
spector In the states of Idaho and Wash
ington. Mrs. Skiles Is proud of the achievements
of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer In
fantry. In which her husband and Major
McKinley won distinction. Its first col
ors were presented to l.t on Its departure
for the front. In ISol, by General John
C. Fremont. Rutheford B. Hayes, after
ward President of the United States, was
Major of the regiment on its depature
from Ohio for the front, and Stanley
Matthews, afterward Justice of the Su
preme Court of the United States, was a
Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment.
Mrs. Skiles remembers Major McKinley
as soldier, statesman, civilian and Presi
dent, and in all of those high stations
which he so ably and conscientiously filled
he was ever the same genial, loyal, brave,
kindly, steadfast man and friend.
BERT HUFFMAN.
Pendleton. Or.
Comprehensive Child Training.
Rev. William S. Gilbert, of the Calvary
Presbyterian Church, will speak befo.ro.
the Home Training Association. Thurs
day. February 2. at Toting- Women's
Christian Association rooms, at 3
o'clock. on "Comprehensive Child
Training." His address will be on the
duty, scope, limitations and discrimi
nating the special needs of special
training". All are welcome to attend.
Mamma Now, Elsie, dear, what Is a cat?
Elsie Dunno. Mamma Well, what's that
funny little animal that comes creeping up
the stairs when everyone's In betiT Elsie
(promptly) Papa. Illustrated Bits,