The Sunday Oregonian., July 29, 1906, PART FOUR, Page 48, Image 48

5
hi,
r" FORMER Secretary of the United
xjk States Treasury passing from his
place at the Cabinet table of the
President to the home of the Theoso
phists at Point Loma.' Cal., wearing
their ancient Greek garb, eventually
perhaps to take part in all the weird
ceremonials of the order, is the aston
ishing; spectacle that Lyman J. Gage
Is affording the people tif the nation
In the closing years of his life.
. It is not so long ago that Gage was
the controlling head of the nation's
financial system. When' he received
the appointment at the hands of Mc
Klnley he was succeeded to easily the
most important post in the Cabinet.
Particularly was this so at that time.
Tile Republicans had just carried a
National election on their financial
platform, and the character of the man
picked had to be a guarantee to - the
country's commercial interests that the
will of the people as expressed at the
polls would be carried out.
The selection of Gage, an eminent
Illinois financier. ' was satisfactory to
the country. The new Secretary was
considered one of the most practical,
liard-headed men who ever held the
place. Politicians used to regret his
lack of sociability and the power to
rvl ylth. tilt cooimoa jjeople, but bis
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"MKmSsOT:- .LiS&ESWSSk-f. Former Secretary of the Trea-
-'V'fc. 1M VIM . sury, Joined
S 'xWhuuik Mrs. Tingley's Colony.
W"
MP KATHERJNE TIN G LEY,
mental powers in dealing with prob
lems of finance were always admitted
to be supreme. .
When Gage Quit the Cabinet there
were doiens of bidders for his serv
ices, and scarcely a bank in the United
States but what would have made a
place for him. He cast his lot with a
New York trust company at a salary
of $50,000 a year, but now he has
abandoned all this to give his remain
ing years to theosophy at the home of
the cult established by Katherlne
Tingley, the "Purple Mother" of the
faith.
If it had been anyone else than Gage
the marvel would not -have been so
great, but if theosophy can make con
verts among men of his undeniable
mental nowern and practicability, then
indeed is it a farce to be reckoned
with.
As a preliminary to full member
ship in the Universal Theosophical
Brotherhood. Mr. Can lias purchased
a 'beautiful tiOiO site on the apex of
Point Loma. and here he will erect
fine home. He made It a condition of
the purchase that if at any time it
became necessary for the house, and
lot to pass from him or his estate that
it should go to Mrs. Tingley at a rea
sonable price. 4 -
Until the new home Is completed
Mr. Gage will continue to occupy Pros
rect cottage, which is near Mrs. Ting
, ley's temple. .. He la .very, strict la bis
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JUIA 29, , 1906.
Ml
I
S3 ji'
RESIDENCE of A. 6. SPA ULDING
observance of the duties of preparing
for full membership, and attends the
lectures of the - Universal Brotherhood
dally.
Mr. Gage's conversion to theosophy is
attributed by some folk to the lnfluenpe
of his eon, Eli Gage; his daughter. Mrs.
Brainerd, and Mrs. E. B. Millar, a niece.
Others say it is the direct result of a
vision that came to the venerable finan
cier in his dreams, in which he was com
manded to invest what remained of his
life and wealth to the cause of theosophy.
; The announced principles of the cult
contain nothing harmful, in fact they
make a rather Ingenious plea for the
brotherhood of man, and the wisdom of
delving deeply to find out the mysteries
of the paet. and apply them to our present-day
needs.
It Is not difficult to understand how
man could be brought to indorse these
principles, but the practices of theoso
phists, particularly those at Point Loma,
are so grotesque and extreme that it is
ONE YEAR'S WORK OF THE JUVENILE COURT
averaged only 12 and 13 years of age.
nave oeen oroKen up by the court, the
plunder returned and the boys put to
work to repay the cash damage. That
boys of 10 and 12 become regular
thieves, taking large sums of money
that they have even been so vicious
as to shoot their companions, and as
In one very recent case, to draw a gun
on the mother. You would not believe
that this past winter 17 boys and girls
of from 14 to 16 years, members of
highly respectable families and all
pupils of one of the large public
schools, admitted in court and before
their parents that they had been in
dulging .in immoral practices for
months. But these are only a few of
the terrible things which happen to
our children and we only demanded
this all important juvenile . law one
year ago!
Mrs. M. E. Daggect, who Judge Fraz
er declares is invaluable to the court
and probation work; Chief Clerk and
Officer Marion Johnson, who Is his
right bower; Officer H. H. Hawley,
who has the reputation of . knowing
every child who ever lived In Port
land, and Truancy Officer S." D. White,
who rounded up 300 truants In- three
months, together with W. O. Nlsley,
of the detention home, make up Judge
Frazer's staff. These officers receive
complaints and reports, make Investi
gations, issue citations bringing the
children and their parents into court,
and after the Judge has sat In judg
ment upon them, they take charge of
the probationers. Some of them are
, placed la charge of the volunteer pro
E
Ifer Fori
W
i
hard to picture Mr. Gage, august ,inan
of affairs, taking part in them.
If he wants fully to subscribe to the
Tingley doctrines, he must be willing to
believe in the reincarnation of the life
of human beings into animals,' and ac
cept as a truth that the soul of William
Q. Judge, former high priest of the Uni
versal Brotherhood and founder of 'the
American Society of Theosophy. has
passed into Mrs. Tlngley's dog, "Spot."
This animal has the most inspired mo
bation officers, who' have given their
services to the court during the year,
but the more serious cases are under
the personal charge - of the officers
named. Judge Frazer has succeeded
in surrounding himself with such an
efficient and tactful staff that it is
Impossible to single out the work of
one as better than chat of the others,
for they are each "made for the place."
There is that about Mrs. Daggett which
sends every child which enters the
courtroom running to her arms. Chil
dren who have been neglected at home
not infrequently cry and 4eg to be
allowed to remain with her. She has
the knack of entering the home of the
most obstreperous cases, winning the
confidence of the most hardened par
ents, and persuading them that their
children are worchy of better treat
ment and getting it for them. Officer
Hawley can accomplish any task the
court assigns him, ' and frequently
cases that seem Impossible are ferreted
out by him and brouglit into court.
His unfailing memory and broad ex
perience as a child officer in the past
expedices the hearing of many cases.
Officer White, "the hookey man," as
the boys have come to call him, man
ages to make warm friends of the
truants he arrests and is succeeding
in convincing the majority of persist
ent truants that their offense is serious
and chat there Is nothing in it in the
long run. He calls making the boyii
go to school "giving them a chance,"
and in due time will doubtless equal
the record of Michigan, where 60,000
children were placed in school in one
year after the truancy law became
effective. In Cbief Clerk and Special
Why Lyman J. Gage,
Lyman J. Gage:
ments. . He writes letters, which Mrs.
Tingley passes out to the faithful as rules
of their conduct. .
.Many . of .the 'queer-ceremonies of the
cult are based on some of the reminis
cences that- Mrs. . Tingley has of the
days way back in 1200 B. C. when she
was wandering along the Nile with Mad
ame' Blavatsky.
She insists that all her cohorts arise
early to take part in the procession to
the sacred ground. Every morning be
Probation Officer Marion Johnson the
Judge has another court in itself.' He
is, in fact, an assistant Judge, and can
conduce all affairs of the Juvenile
Court with wisdom. Mr. Johnson at
tended the recent national convention
of Juvenile - Court Associations in
Denver, representing the Portland
branch, and in an' address before the
Chautauqua ' Assembly last week ably
demonstrated his chorough knowledge
and familiarity with the work of ad
vising and correcting young offenders.
Different methods of breaking up gangs
of bad boys have been tried by the pro
bation officers, but nothing has been
found to equal .vigorous sports, and the
organization of ' several baseball nines
has worked wonders in the Alblna,'Mon
tavilla and other outlying districts. The
leading merchants of the -city donated
the uniforms, balls and bats, and under
the healthful influence or this National
sport the boys have forgotten the mean
things which, used to. amuse them and
they play ball from morning until nignt.
Give the boys something to do, is the
advice of the court some manly, vigor
ous sport. If they don't know how to
play teach them;, if they have no oppor
tunity, no room, provide playgrounds for.
them. -
By far the largest class of parents who
are responsible for or contribute to the
delinquency of their children are the
careless and indifferent ones. These are
found among all classes, rich and poor,
intelligent and ignorant. They simply
do not take the pains to think of what
is best for the child. The mother of a
little girl recently, charged with the
An Intensely Prac-
Stical Man Accepts the Weird
Doctrines and
Strange Ceremonial.
fore sunrise they are on their way to this
soil, and Mr: Gage as a full-fledged mem
ber will have to array himself in a cos
tume somewhat similar to what the an
cient Greeks and Romans used to wear.
It consists of a sort of white pajamas
reaching to knees, white underskirts.
bit of cheesecloth draped around the
shoulders.
When the bare-legged array reaches the
sacred ground, the men arrange them
selves facing the sun. There is a short
grossest immorality went to the Judge
crying, and claiming that ' she could not
imagine where her daughter learned such
things.
"You have been allowing this girl, to
run on the streets after night," sternly
replied the court.
"No. Indeed, I haven'W replied ; the
mother: "she only goes around the neigh
borhood and is always in- by half past
nine." - '
"Then you can blame yourseif for your
daughter's downfall," was the consola
tion she got from Judge Frazer, who
has no patience, with parents who allow
their young sons and daughters to be
out of the home after dark without es
corting them. Soon after this two small
boys were brought in for burglary
whose mothers declared they did not go
out at night "only two evenings a week
to vaudeville shows." As no one in the
family paid any attention to what time
they came boms on the vaudeville nights
it is small wonder that tney were able
to rob four different stores without their
parents' knowledge. Night street gangs
are always proved to be schools for
crime. And parents who allow their lit
tle girls to attend places of amusement
at night attended only by their own com
panions wonder why they go wrong, but
the workers of the Juvenile Court do not
wonder at it. They know that it is al
most sure to happen, and that the mother
and father who do not give the. child
the care and attention that its bringing
into the world demands for it, can Just
as surely expect that child to go astray.
If there were no orphan or deserted
children; no vicious or immoral parents:
no Ignorant, " weak or incompetent par
"Ghita." the Theoso
a little extract from
one of the inspired letters of "Spot,-
then the brothers each stoop down, pick
id a handful of dirt, and toss it back
again.
Those who engage in this proceeding
every morning belong to one of the Inner
theosophical circles, and are known as
the sons of the Rising Sun.
While this mystic rite has been in prog
ress in the open air. still another elab
orate ceremonial has been engrossing the
attention of another quota of the faithful
at the Tingley homestead. Here men.
women and children, all barefooted, some
In regular clothing, others in the cheese
cloth garb, have circled around the home
of the prophetess three times, loudly
chanting her praise and that of Loma-
land.
Loma land is no place for the gourmand.
It is another of the tenets of the order
that its members must eat little, though
this does not apply to Mrs. Tingley, for
she. as the repository of the soul of
Madame Blavatsky, is felt to need double
refreshment, hence she eats normally and
heartily.
The others have to be content with the
most minute rations, and a quarter of an
egg, a slice of toast, a few nuts and
raisins is voted the ideal breakfast, not
by the faithful, hut by Mrs. Tingley, for
them.
This light diet is supposed to make the
members of the cult more refined and
spiritual.
Mr. Gage, as a distinguished, able and
wealthy member of the community, ought
to be able to promptly attain a high place
m the order, and it is not out of question
that he will-become a member of the coun
cil or cabinet of 12 men, over which Mrs.
Tingley presides. The former secretary is
known to have made an exhaustive study
of the occult. ,
In connection with the Point Loma set
tlement. Mrs. Tingley conducts a remark
able school known as the Raja Yoga. It
is her theory that her teaching can be
spread more effectively through men and
women who came to her as children and
spent a whole life mastering her teach
ings, hence she is constantly adding the
young to her little colony.
Besides, the adults who live at Point
Loma, its votaries Include many wealthy
folks all over the country who contribute
to its' support, and make frequent pil
grimages there, just as the Moslem goes
yearly to Mecca.
Mr. Gage is not the first man of wealth
whose conversion Mrs. Tingley has effect
ed. She made such an Impression on Dr.
Wood, of Providence, Rhode Island, that
he donated the money that purchased the
site an built the Raja Yoga school at
Point Loma.
Most of the, $9,000,000 of wealth at Point
Loma has been contributed by wealthy
men. . A. G. Spalding had practical busi
ness ability enough to make Jl.000,000 out
of sporting goods, but he is now one of
the most devout members of the colony,
has his- home there, and takes part In all
the observances. So the late General
Abner Doubleday was a firm believer and
gave liberally of his means.
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 38-
ents, there would be practically no juve
nile delinquency and fewer adult crim
inals. Are the parents of today different
from those of a few decades ago? The
statistical fact that there Is an Increase
of 50 per cent in juvenile crime throughr
out the civilized world would surely in
dicate that there has been a general re
laxation of parental control and discipline
of young children. Grandfather did not
belong to hoodlum street gangs when he
was a boy he did not throw rocks at
cars and insult passing women. And
grandmother did not go to theaters, skat
ing rinks and dances unattended by her
mother while she was still in short
frocks nor did she play truant ana
then tell stores about it. But today it
is so different. And why? Can fathers
and mothers answer that question? Why
do they not lessen the duties of the
Juvenile Court by giving their sons and
daughters proper attention?
An Unfair Advantage.
Meggendorfer Blatter.,
"Mrs. Nagg is the most Inconsistent
woman I know."
. "How's that?"
"She had the words, "Rest in Peace,'
carved on her husband's tombstone, yet
she visits the grave every day.
The Modern Way.
Meggendorfer Blatter.
Maiden Aunt "My life has been
perfect romance." '
Niece "But you've never married,
aunt." ,
"You stupid! In modern romances
the heroine never marries.'1