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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 1906)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 30, 1906. OPUS MUSSED OOOOOCO OOOOOOOCJOO NEEDED: A HOLIDAY FOR CONFESSING OUR SINS But There Must Be Restitution in Full; Public, not Private Confession, and None by Proxy. 30 BY J. L. JONES. SOME years ago Ambrose Bierce said that the Southern Pacific Railroad magnates should be hanged on ev ery limb of every tree on every acre of .land In all creation. Or maybe it was in California; I don't remember which. It all amounts to the same thing, any how. Probably Bierce had no idea that this awful fate is in store for all of us as well as the railway magnates, and that he himself Is not exempt. The human body is composed mainly of gas and the mind is even more attenuated. When we die and our bodies decompose only a small percentage of mineral matter returns to earth. The gassy part goes back to the atmosphere whence it came and is quickly absorb ed by trees and plants. Even during life the human body is constantly elim inating gases that are absorbed by vegetation. The atoms that enter into the composition of our bodies in April may be hanging on the trees In June. After the leaves fall and become in MUTATION BY FATHER O'HARA. T the annual meeting of the As sociation of German Scientists and Physicians In 1901 three of their number were commissioned to re port on the present status of the theory of descent. The committee consisted of the botanist, Hugo de Vries, of the University of Amsterdam: the palaeon tologist, Koken, of Tueblngen, and the zoologist, Zlegler, of Jena Haeckel's stronghold. In his report Zlegler, as became a disciple of Haeckel, Insisted that science had transferred tho idea of teleology to "the realm of mysti cism," and was positive that the con cept of creation was regarded as mys tical by every mind at all "atifge klaert." All in all, Zlegler gave an in teresting account of what is "of faith" In Haeckel's dogmatic system. For the teachings of science we must have recourse to the reports of his col leagues. Professor Koken, of Turbingen, con fined himself to the positive results obtained in his own field of investi gation palaeontology during the past 40 years. After a few preliminary remarks on Darwin's merit In arous ing Interest in the study of fossil ro- MR. LORD ANSWERS HIS CRITICS Quotations From New Testament That Preachers Should Work Six Days and Preach One Day BY JAMES M. LEVEL. IT WOULD indeed be a sad blunder on my part, after making the asser tions as found in The Oregonlan of December 16, If I could not make good my position. I was well acquainted with the texts Mrs. Reynolds calls my attention to, but I did not think any honest Bible student would quote them in support of the present church sys tem of begging. Besides, it is not pos sible that one could cover all such texts in one letter. However, only one has felt It her duty to reply, and that a lady. I give her credit for the same. But for fear the public may agree with her that I am both ignorant and abusive if I should remain dumb. I will make a brief reply. The very text she referred me to is a sorry one for defense of the church begging prac tice. The text. Acts vi:2-4, shows that it was the strict business of the dis ciples to attend to the word of God. If any one will read Acts vl:l, he will there find that it was the Hellenists who were converts from the foreign tribes who complained that their wid ows were neglected in the daily serv ice, and by reading Acts lx:29, we there find that this very same people undertook to kill Paul. It was this class of hungry, ' selfish wolves that Paul in Second Cor. xi:26, says he was In danger of. . Now the idea is this: the church was increasing In numbers, and false brethren, with selfish ideas, were get ting among them, and of course they were interested In the money affairs. Therefore of course it was not proper for the disciples to stop preaching the gospel and go to settling disputes. Surely no one lias any objection to ministers preaching the gospel if they will attend to that, but I honestly be lieve that If the money proposition were cut off from them we would see most every church without a pastor. Very few of them would be willing to toll all day and preach at night. Tho Salvation Army comes the nearest to living the doctrine of preach and work for the glory of God. Please allow mo to qualify my posi tion by calling attention to a few facts as they then existed in Christ's time and shortly after. First, in reply to One Cor. lx:14, which reads: "Thus also the Lord has appointed to those who publish tho glad tidings to live by the glad tidings." Sure, but why and who? Let us see. And please read carefully, or else, you may not see the point. Matt. x:l says: "And iiaving summoned his 12 disciples, he gave them authority to expel impure spirits and to cure diseases and maladies of every kind." Verse 5 says: - "These 12 Jesus commissioned, instructing them, saying, "Go not away to the Gentiles, and enter not any city of the Samari tans.' " Does that apply to any of tho ministers of this day? I think not. They claim the first verse does, but their inability to do tho cures proves they are mistaken. I will ask the read er to note carefully Matt. x:9-10, which says: "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper In your girdles; carry no traveling bag, no spare clothes, shoes or staff, for the workman is worthy of his maintenance." Verse 16: "Be hold, I send you forth as sheep among wolves." Now these and 70 others are who First Cor. lx:14 applies to, and why? Because Jesus called them from their daily labors for the homo and made them fishers of men. And in order to acomplish his mission quickly he did not wish his servants burdened with worldly comforts. It was necessary for htm to provide for them, since he took them from their all. Now I defy any class of ministers to apply this lan guage. to themselves. It is evident that the disciples leaving all as they did were worthy of their hire. I propose to show that these conditions changed and that Jesus told these very same disciples to go to work. He foretold corporated with the soil, they are con verted to grass. Cattle and hogs eat the grass and we eat the cattle and hogs. It Is literally true that all flesh is grass and also gas. There is no ex ception in favor of Kings or Senators. Windsor Castle is a castle of wind, sir. We are all cannibals. We eat our own parents' and our children and they de vour us and consume our substance. We even swallow ourselves and eat our own words. We can't make a meal of corn or cabbage without absorbing substances that have been constituent elements of our own bodies or those of other people, a month, a year, 10, 000 or 10,000,000 years ago. God surely made all nations of one blood, and blood is liquid gas, an evil mixture, brewed in witches' caldrons The only essential difference between a Ca'llny Senator and a Georgia nigger is in the pigment of the epidermis. Both are unregenerate. both at enmity with God, in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. And sometimes there is mighty little difference in the epidermis. To con demn a negro merely because of his color is to cast a slur on every man THEORY VS. DARWIN'S NATURAL SELECTION mains, he stated that "the purely palaeontological method has separated us from Darwin to an extent that could not have been considered pos sible during the first decades after his work appeared." Professor Koken then proceeded to cite facts witnessed by the geologic record, which indicate an abrupt transition between related organic species, and are Incapable of explanation on the hypothesis of grad ual transformation postulated by nat ural selection. This point was taken up in the report of Professor de Vries and dealt with from the standpoint of biology. The report prepared by Hugo de Vries possesses a double Interest. It proclaims the failure of the selection theory and brings forth a substitute for that theory. In speaking of the origin of a new species from a parent species. Professor de Vries asserted, as tho result of his investigations: "For this transformation there is needed no series of generation, no struggle for existence, no elimination of the unfit, no selection." The positive theory which the Dutch professor expounds is antithetic to the selection hypothesis In almost every detail. The central idea of the theory of De Vries Is that new species arise the destruction of Jerusalem and knew that the existing Mosaic condition of tilings would soon pass away as a means of preparing "Kings of people" for God's future ages, and in the new order of things that he was setting ip he had no further use for drones that live off the altar. He also warned his followers to beware of them that wear long robes, and for them that make long prayers and desire the chief seats in the churches. Since we do not find this class among tho nonconfessors. we must look to the churches for them. I do not mean by this that the ministers are all bad, but I do mean that It is a bad system of religion to preach and practice. There are many of them like Saul, or like 'Matthew or Zaccheous, who are good men, but need their eyes opened. They have made the mistake of reading the Bible through glasses worn by their fathers, which are useless as a result of long perverted use. In Luke xxii:35-36, we have the following: "And he said to them, when I sent you out without a purse and bag and sandals, did you want anything? And they said nothing. And he said to LET US REMODEL OUR Five Supreme Judges at $6000 a Year, and Abolition of the BY. C. A. 6HHLBREDE. I HAVE noted with Interest the discus sion of the question of increasing the number of Judges of the Supremo Court, as published in The Oregonian. Like Mr. U'Ren, I do not see how the suggestions of Mr. Pogue could be made practical. I believe that the old structure has served its purpose; it was all right in its time, but conditions have changed very materially in Oregon within the last 49 years, since the adoption of our present constitution, and in many respects that time-honored (?) instrument is out. of date, and no amount of patching or "su perseding" can now make' it what it should be. I do not care at this time to discuss any part of the constitution except that relating to our judiciary, and upon that subject will say that it should be amend ed, and in amending, it should be broad ened to meet ,rhe present and future con ditions of our growing state. We Bhould have five Judges for the Su preme Court, to be selected from that number of Supreme Court divisions. Their salaries should be $6000. The regu lar place for holding the regular sessions of this court should he at the state cap!-. CITY'S FIFTY-SIXTH ANNIVERSARY Well-Known Pioneer Proposes a Celebration of Portland's First City Election BY GEORGE-. H. HIMES. IT seems to me that it Is time for this city to make preparations for an an niversary celebration, and what data could be more appropriate than the 56th anniversary of the first city election which will occur on Tuesday, April 7, 1907? Hugh D. O'Bryant was the first Mayor, and Robert Thompson, Shubrlck Norris, Geo. A. Barnes, T. G. Robinson and L. B. Hastings composed the first Board of Al dermen, and W. S. Caldwell was the first Recorder. Of these men the only one now known to be living Is George A. Barnes, at Olympla, Wash. As to the programme of exercises, that could be easily arranged by assigning to different speakers the task of giving a review of the growth of Portland in pe riods of ten years, beginning in 1845, the year the original townsite was named and the first house upon that site built. Such a series of reviews, accompanied by such with dark complexion and every wom an with black eyes or hair. These are all strains of the same color drawn from the original . protoplasm ' from which races and nations have been evolved. When we meditate on these things and consider that in the past we may have been cats or crawfish or pumpkins, we ought to be admonished to mortify our pride and be careful what we swallow either in the matter of food or belief. The greatest need of our beloved coun try is not more laws or lawyers, more millionaires or, free libraries. It is more national holidays, aso that we can have time to enjoy our blessings and repent of our sins. Holiday means holy day. Our days are unholy. They are consumed in vanity and wasted in labor that profits not. 4 What we need most is a National holi day to offset and balance up Thanksgiv ing day, a day of consolation to those who have nothing to give thanks for. There ought to be a day set apart for a general confession of sins. Everybody could share in this more or less cheer fully. It should occur about the end of the year and be observed with special religious ceremonies. All the ashes from cigars and pipes ac from existing species by sudden and permanent modifications or "muta tions" whence the name, "Mutation Theory." This is diametrically opposed to Darwin's concept of gradual modifi cation. Darwin regarded fluctuating variations as the first steps In the for mation of species. De Vries denies that common flucuating ' variability can ever lead, even by the most per sistent selection, to any real trans gression of the limits of a species. Darwin denied the stability of species; De Vries affirms that species are "like invariable unities." It is evident that there Is no important point upon which the rival theories of selection and mu tation are not mutually exclusive. Before passing to consider the recep tion which the new theory has met among men of science, we may call attention to the fact that it escapes the most serious objections that have been urged againsf the selection theory. Tho facts revealed by the geologic rec ord, though fatal to an hypothesis which postulates gradual transforma tion, causes de Vries no concern what ever. On his theory no "missing links" need bp sought for. He tells us that there were no links; that the new species spring from existing ones full panoplied like Pallas from the brain of them, but now he who has a purse, let him take it, and in like manner a bag, and he who has no sword, let him sell his mantle and buy one." Now this ended Jesus' labor, and his special protection of his disciples, and in keep ing with this idea we find that the disciples after the death of Jesus re turned to their former occupations. While some of them had apparently given up all hope which had centered in Jesus and while toiling hard with the net in the lake, Jesus assisted them in providing food In the usual way, und actually prepared a meal and in vited them to dine with him. We find that after this, though some had power not to work, yet as a rule they all worked and commanded that others should do the same. Paul labored at tent making during the week and preached every Sabbath. No rest for this poor fellow. Ho had no Christmas greetings to send out, begging for money. He believed as his Master taught. Let the dead bury the dead. That is, let the world take care of its own. In conclusion I wish to call attention to Second Cor. xl:24-29, and ' any man tal, but a term should be held by at least three of the members of the court once each year at Pendleton, as now, and at Grant's Pass, thus giving to Eastern and Southern Oregon the benefit of such term. The whole Circuit Court plan should be remodeled and placed upon a plan simi lar to that of Washington and California, making a circuit of each county, such court to have the same jurisdiction as now, except that the probate business now handled by the County Court should be transferred to the Circuit Court, and the office of County Judge should be abolished. The salary of the Circuit Judge should be fixed at $4000 per annum. A District Attorney should be provided for each county, whose compensation should be fixed by the Legislature. For the transaction of the county busi ness, three Commissioners should be pro vided for, with pay at $6 per day for time actually devoted to the performance of official duty. All Judges and Commissioners above mentioned should tie elected for a term of six years, except that in the case of County Commissioners elected at the first election under this provision, one should be elected for two, one for four, and one for six years, and thereafter one at each regular election, the Commissioner having Illustrations as can be secured would be of great interest to all classes of people, from the oldest residents to those who have just come to make their homes among us, would 'stimulate civic pride, and besides would be a most admirable advertisement for the city. Surely there ought to be public spirit enough in this city to undertake such a movement and carry It to a successful conclusion. All the Institutions in the city should be called upon to co-operate In a move ment of this kind churches, schools, fra ternal organizations, the Fire and Police Departments, transportation, mercantile and manufacturing enterprises. The city Itself, in its municipal capacity, ought to lend a hand In such a celebration; and some one in close touch with Its munici pal life should prepare a paper covering Its growth by decades. The general .oversight required in the movement so crudely outlined might be safely confined to the Portland Commer cial Club, under the general direction of cumulated during the year should be scrupulously preserved and put away in a sacred urn devoted to this use alone. Then on confession day this dust and ashes should be sprinkled on the ground floor of the building consecrated for the purpose. The penitents, clad in sack cloth or burlap, should sit upon the ground and try to recall all the foolish things they have done, and blunders they have made in the past year. They should tell sad stories of blighted hopes, broken promises, forgotten resolutions, dreams that never came true and bills that are still unpaid. Of course, this would not be a feast day, but a day of fasting. Instead of the gobbler and the eagle, its sacred birds should be the raven, the owl and the crow. The penitents should not be ex pected to eat anything except, possibly, the flesh of the crow. They must not crow over their achievements, but croak and mourn for the things they have left undone. The great National sins of this country are boasting, bargaining and ly ing, and the use of confession should be to put a restraint on these tendencies and foster the growth of a disposition to tell the truth and deal honestly and hu manely. But the chief purpose'of the day should Zeus. The selection ' theory was ham pered by its demand for an "inconceiv ably long time" for the process of spe cific transformation. The new theory lias no difficulty on that score. The strength of the mutation theory of 'course consists in this, that it is based on facts scientifically observed and verified. In his work, "Die Descendenz theorle" de Vries describes his experi ments with the evening primrose In the course of which he witnessed the origin of a new species. Another dis tinguished investigator. Father Wass mann, S. J., in a recent work, records his observations concerning the beetle genus Dlnarda. He. too, saw the rise of a new species from the parent spe cies without intermediate forms. In the annual report of the Smith sonian Institution for 1901 there ap peared a paper on the mutation theory by the palaeontologist, Charles A White. Dr. White considered that the theory was destined to modify in an important manner the views of biolo gists on. the method of evolution be cause of its eminently scientific pres entation. In this regard the new theory contrasts favorably with the se lection hypothesis, which Dr. White goi'S on to say "has necessarily always remained purely a theory, unsupported by any practical demonstration or ex- that will preach the New Testament as he should will meet with the same treatment as Paul did, viz: In prisons. In scourges, in deaths (I suppose he means he was exposed to death In many ways. See First Cor. xv:31-32, foot note): "Three times I was beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, during fre quent journeys in danger from rivers, robbers and from kindred, from Gen tiles, in danger In the cities, the des erts, the sea, and among false breatlv ren in labor and toil, in frequent watching, in hunger and thirst, fast ings, cold and nakedness. Besides these outward troubles, the anxious care for all the congregations which are crowd ing me every day." Surely. If any one had a right to live off the public it was Paul, but he was not of that tired, sleepy kind, that actually make their hearers tired and sleepy to listen to them. He had no time for vacations, neither did he lack for something to Interest his congregations with. And I venture tho assertion that if the most popular minister of Portland would step out and desert his flock and preach the real Kosnel with dead earnestness he would attract larger crowds and do more good than all the other ministers combined. He must of course preach the "gospel" as well as the "mystery of the gospel." preach a man-made Christ and not a God-made man, and many other truths Inconsistent' with his present ideas. December 26,' 1906. JUDICIARY Office of County Judge the shortest term to serve to be chair man of the board. Circuit Judges should be state officers In the sense that their duties might be performed in counties other than their own, so that exchanges might be made, as now, or duties performed in other counties if required by the Governor in case of special emergency. Many of the details should be provided by law, as now, arid the Legislature should be given a very wide latitude in this regard, so as to obviate the necessity of a further change in the constitution at each change in the conditions of the state. In my opinion, this subject could be discussed with much' profit by the legal fraternity of the state through your val uable paper. I do not mean hy this that the lawyers are the ones to be, especially benefited by this movement, or that they alone should engage in the discussion, but they are perhaps 'best qualified to lead In a discussion of this character. I am satisfied that there is a strong sentiment among the lawyers of the state that some changes in our Judiciary sys tem is very much needed, and by a dis cussion in this way we will be able to arrive at that which is the right and practical thing to do. Marshfield, Or., December 26. its indefatigable manager, Tom Rich ardson. I have selected the date above noted because that is the first date about which anything is positively known in connec tion with public matters. It is known, positively, that Portland was named some time in 1845. and a cabin built on the original townsite that year. There is good authority for saying that there was a cabin built on what was a part of the Irving tract as long ago as 1829; and it is known that William Johnson had a cabin In the southern part of the city as early as 1843. But in all these cases there is uncertainty about the exact date. . If the suggestions here made appeal to the people, there. Is time enough to pre pare for a rousing celebration. Mllwaukie Country Club. Eastern and California races. Take Sellwood or Oregon City car, starting from First and Alder streets. be for all the people to confess their be setting sins and temptations before the faces of their neighbors in the open con gregation, and thus spare their neighbors from the ungrateful task of confessing them privately behind their backs. The trouble -with the present system of confession is that Mrs. Green confesses Mrs. Black's sins and shortcomings to Mrs. Brown when Mrs. Black is not there. This sort of confession is embar rassing to all the parties and does not Insure forgiveness at all. In fact, the sins are usually magnified instead of di minished. They increase like balls of snow instead of melting away as they would do in the sunshine of candid con fession. There Is no assurance of for giveness except to those who confess their own sins in public, unfelgnedly re pent of them, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. This means that they must stop com mitting the Bins and make restitution double, or fourfold, if necessary, accord ing to the damage done. Thus, If a mer chant has sold a citizen a suit of shoddy clothes, he ought to present a good suit free, before he can expect forgiveness, either from God or the injured person. If a banker or lawyer has robbed a citizen perlmental observations." After giving an exposition of the experimental grounds on which the mutation theory rests, Dr. White continues: "De Vries supports all his statements with the most minute account of his experi ments, the results of which he also discusses fully. These facts and dis cussions are of such a character that It seems difficult to see how one can avoid accepting his conclusions with out denying his facts. Furthermore, by accepting that theory and admitting the facts upon which it is based, one must necessarily regard the question of the origin of species as removed thereby from an undemonstrable hy pothesis, 1. e., natural selection, to a series of concrete propositions and practical demonstrations." "I have." continues Dr. White, "in my palaeontological studies been often confronted with facts with relation to both animal and vegetable, fossil forms that seem to be quite inconsistent with the theory of their origin by tie slow process of natural selection." Dr. White concludes by mentioning "a few of the many palaeontological facts which are incompatible with the hypothesis of natural selection but support the mu tation theory." On July 1, 1903,, there appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes an article on WOMEN AND How the Conditions THE Socialist movement of today means not only a transformation In industry, but as well in all those things having their roots in economic con ditionsart, education, ethics and poli tics. It means not alone a revolution of the position of the laboring man. but a complete change for woman, economically, socially, intellectually and morally. To understand fully the economic state of woman today we must go back In history and even into pre-hlstorlc times and trace, briefly, the changes through which she has passed. It is to woman in the state of savagery that we must look to find the beginning of all indus try. She gathered the material and built the shelter. She sewed the ' skins and wove the fibers that clothed the family. With clay she shaped the first rude bowls, laying the foundation of our pres ent great pottery making. She loosened the soli with a flam shell or a pointed stick, planted the grain, and thus became the earliest of the agriculturists. In this stage of society, woman was strong, physically, but as the human race advanced Into barbarism, and herds and flocks were kept, tended by the men, her work became almost wholly confined to the home, and thus savagery and bar barism gave birth to and slowly devel oped her economic dependence. Civiliza tion brought this to full growth, and since her life in the open air was gone she was no longer man's physical equal. Through the years of the Middle Ages history refers only incidentally to woman. This was the time when her secluded life continuing for long periods, made her the narrow. Inferior being she Is today. It was with the opening of the indus trial revolution brought about by the Introduction of steam power that her pure economic value became utilized. Heretofore' the clumsy tools had been too, heavy for her to use, and lack of physical strength had thus barred her from competing extensively in the labor market. The new machines with their power of steam, required only a guiding, and this could be furnished quite as well by women as by men. Thus the labor power of one woman under the new sys tem equaled that of many men working after the old methods. The present century has. In this way, changed for a vast number of women economic dependence from husband or father to employer, and made her prob lem more nearly identical with that of the laboring man. Today 5,000.000 women, not Including the thousands of wives employed in home work, are actively engaged in industry. But the number of women Is not of such vast importance as their wages. Capitalism, that finds a source of strength In the great body of unem ployed men whom they play against those employed, has reached out to the women to yet further increase this struggle, and has found in them an extremely valu able economic factor from the fact that they can be compelled to accept a lower minimum wage than man. Woman, whether true or not, is looked upon as having no dependents on her work, and Is marked down as the lowest of the laborers the "downmost man.'.' Woman's average wage in the United States is less than $5 per week, while many receive but $1 or $1.50. This is not a living wage, and many women are forced to choose between existence and a life of prostitution. Industry under capitalism, knows neither sex nor age, but chooses the labor embodied in man, woman or child which is the cheapest in relation to the 'degree of efficiency. Frequently the father looks for work while the mother is forced into the labor market, and the child competes against both. Thus we find in many New England towns the father caring for the home and small children while the mother and older children become the bread winners. , Nor is It necessary to go back to the of his estate by legal processes, he must restore it and reimburse the costs. Those who hold possessions which they have acquired legally, but not honestly, and which they do not need, must restore them to those who do need them and to whom by right ' they belong. This is what is meant by bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. There is no genuine repentance without restitution and restoration, and no minister nor priest of any church is or even can be authorized to pronounce remission or absolution of sins on any other condi tions than these. The penitent must first seek forgiveness from the person he has wronged before God can pay any atten tion to his prayers. There is no use pray ing to God to condone sin. How can God forgive any one for injury dene to an other person, if he does not settle with the injured person? Sins are like debts they must be paid off if the bills are al lowed. But 90 per cent of the debts of the world are fraudulent, and 90 per cent of the sins fictitious. The real debts and sins must be sorted out and paid off and the fraudulent bills thrown ont. With the average preacher and profes sional Christian the seven deadly sins are swearing, dancing, drinking beer, playing cards, gonig to the theater, staying away Scientists Willing to Vries as Substitute for the mutation theory from the pen of the distinguished scientist and professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, M. A. Datsre. In reference to natural selection, Professor Dastre has this to say: "It may be noted that natural selection Is not a sin gle hypothesis; It Is a linking together of three hypotheses. If we separate the links of this chain we can show that not one of them will stand the test. The first hypothesis Is that of the advantage in the struggle for existence which is given to an animal by the possession of small adaptive variations; the second is that of a preservation, by transmission, of this acquired character; the third Is the progress, always In the same direction, of these , profitable variations, which, accu mulating, finally create a specific charac. ter. None of these hypotheses will stand a searching examination." The writer goes on to show wherein these supposi tions are opposed to facts. Again, after distinguishing carefully be. tween the .doctrine of evolution and that of natural selection. Professor Dastre con tinues: "Now It appears that while Darwin succeeded in establishnig the Idea of the continuity of living forms by means of generation, he was much less successful as regards the means which he proposed. To speak plainly, he failed. There are but few naturalists at the HOME, UNDER CAPITALISM of Both Cannot Help but be Improved Under Socialism horrors of early factory days in Eng land. Present society has horrors of its own. The foul "sweat shop," the crowded factory, the cheap laundry, the box making establishment, the tobacco trade, and the shops all today make a profit from underpaid female labor. Long hours, bad sanitary conditions, the "speeding up" of machienry, are a strain under which the laboring class is fast deteriorating physically. Of the vast number of working wom en in the United States, It is found according to the report of the Com missioner of Labor, that one out of every three are living in houses that are classed as "very poor." while one out of every ten are working in shops designated as "neglected and unheaith ful." Until recently the working women have been entitled to be called the "working girls." The majority began Legal Interpretation of New Acts How English Courts Are in Advance of the United States, Not Being Hampered by Precedent BY GEORGE E. HARGREAVE. IN AN article, "Lynching and the Crim inal Law," page 751 of the current number of Review of Reviews, deplor ing the general lawlessness of the coun try, it Is stated that only about one mur derer In 74 suffers capital punishment. The late Justice Brown, of the Supreme Court, is quoted as saying: "In our ad ministration of criminal law we arc gen erations behind England." The Reviewer claims, "There is a general feeling that the jury has been exalted at the expense of the Judge" by requiring a unanimous vote of the jury and apparently the res toration of the powers of an English Judge will be required for a unanimous vote on jury cases. In the very next paragraph we are told "Too often the American Judges exalt matters of precedence over matters of substance," causing delay if not the utter abortion of Justice. Delayed justice is often the greatest of injustice. Justice is delayed because our Judges have not only to interpret the statutes, ascertain the facts of their infringement and administer the prescribed punish ment, which Is all that is required of an English Judge; but an American Judge must decide what Is good and bad law, whether the law Is honored more In the breach than Its observance, or. in other words, whether it is constitutional. If not constitutional, it must not be admin istered. To be certain of giving a verdict in touch with other eminent Judges, ail the records of the court proceedings In all the states of the Union on any similar case must be hunted up and read to the Judge (pro and con) by both sides. This is the meaning of the great stacks of books, sometimes nearly a wagon load, and for single cases often a wheel-barrow load, piled up on the courtroom table. A clever, conscientious Judge, with ail his acumen, is liable not to decide aright, or, if right (and who can tell amongst a thousand decisions who is right?), he is liable to have his verdict set aside. Four out of five of our Circuit Court verdicts have been recently reversed by the state court. All this leads to halting habits of pro cedure, causing delay, which, under pres ent conditions, cannot be avoided. And then we have to consider the Immense cost of It all. What an army of lawyers we must maintain. We do not know which of your laws are good until a de cision has been made, and then some lit tle technicality or irregularity the most trivial may knock out the plainest ren dering of the statutes. AH this results from such' a veneration of the Constitution, which was devised to serve the people, but to which we have from Sunday school, and putting buttons in the contribution-box. But accumulat ing wealth by legally defrauding their neighbors in business operations is not counted sin at all, though it is based on the love of money, which is the root of all evil. Before instituting a day of confession President Roosevelt ought to appoint a commission to Inquire into the nature of sin generally. There ought to be a clearer definition of what constitutes sin, and then the various sins ought to be classified as the railroads classify freights, according to their degrees of enormity. A person should not be pun ished externally for the sin of chewing tobacco if he is allowed to steal railroads -with impunity and keep the stolen goods. This is Uke straining at a gnat and swal lowing an ocean steamship. I am aware, however, that there would be con siderable difficulty in selecting a com mission to inquire into the nature of sin. The commissioners themselves would first have to be confessed and completely ab solved before their report would be gen erally acceptable. There would have to be another commission appointed to In quire into the best methods of doing this. Corvallis, Or., Dec. 25. Accept Experiments of De Great Evolutionist's Theory present time who attribute to natural selection any role whatever in the filia tion of species. A Dutch naturalist. Hu go de Vries, who has a wide reputation among the botanists of our time, has just given the finishing stroke to the, theory of natural selection, already much shaken, and has proposed in place of it another hypothesis, which he calls the 'theory of mutation." The doctrine is founded on observations and experiments which, by the sagacity, long and patient effort, and careful criticism of their au thor. deserve to be ranked with the ad mirable observation of Darwin." Pro fessor Dastre then reviews the evidence In favor of the mutation theory, and after recounting the experimnts of D Vris. con cludes: "The care devoted to these ex-, periments gives them ' a value which must attract the attention of naturalists. Their result furnishes a new and pow erful argument in favor of the theory of mutation." It would be easy to multiply testimonies to the same effect, for the general cur rent of scientific opinion is flowing in the direction indicated by the remark of Pro fessor Loeb: "It seems to me that the work of Mendel and de Vries and their successors mark the beginning of a real theory of heredity and evolution." , Portland. Or., December 26. work at 15 years and the average age of all was less than 23. At present 13 out of every 100 women in the. labor world are women of families. In but one place Is there being an intelligent effort made to secure equal rights for women and men. That is in the Socialist movement. This move ment stands for a condition in which, classes on an economic basis cannot ex ist. It does not demand especial priv ileges for the laborer only equal op portunity for all and that all shall be required to work for what they re ceive. Today, "Riches are the portion of the Idle, poverty the reward of the worker." Already the laboring men, conscious of their interests, are organizing them selves in the Socialist movement. The time Is ripe ror the laboring; women to unite with the laboring men in this struggle for economic freedom. Woodstock, Or. become too much enslaved, making of It a fetch as bad as tho Joss of the China man. Our young are taught to look on the Constitution as a set of Immaculate principles, inherent to good government, rather than Its being just as much of a compromise in matters of procedure. The Lord Chief Justice, with a few, clerks, manages things much better in England. In tho promulgation of a new law, theirs is the business to show what: Is antagonized, but the new law once on the statute books nni.st stand whatever It abrogates, so that all law is constitution ally good in ptigland. and has only to be interpreted and administered by the courts, hence their celerity and dispatch. If In the .multitude of counsel there la wisdom, our legislators should be the best, and. therefore, the only interpreters of good law. To elect our Senators and Representa tives, both state and Federal, and pro vide all the machinery of government for lawmaking at an Immense cost, and then to elect a class of academic Judges, with, power to thwart, delay or abrogate their laws, seems farcical to an Englishman. When the majority of the states control the election of their Senators by the vote of the people, as in Oregon, we shall not require such strenuous effort to get one or two laws for the general good; there will be so much to do and so much to undo that the present dual method will be superseded. As your leading article this morning concludes: "The work of the courts and lawyers will be reduced to a minimum when the business of government is placed in the hands of the people, where it belongs." Clackamas. Or.. Dec. 27. The Bride's White Gonn. Church Eclectic. It is interesting to note that the choice of 'white for wedding dresses is compara tively a modern fashion. The Roman brides wore yellow, and In the most Eastern countries pink is the bridal color. During the middle ages the Renaissance brides wore crimson, and most of our Plantagenet and Tudor queens were mar ried in this vivid hue, which is still pop ular in parts of Brittany, where the bride is usually dressed In crimson brocade. It was Mary Stuart who first changed the color of bridal garments. At her mar riage with Francis II of France, In 1553 which took place not before the altar, but before the great doors of Notre Dame she was gowned in white brocade, with a train of pale blue Persian velvet six yards In length. This innovation cauprd quite a stir in the fashionable world at that time. It was not. however, till quite the end of the seventeenth century that pure white the color hitherto worn by royal French widows became popular for bridal garments in England,