The Sunday Oregonian., June 14, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 2, Image 48

The m3ht' buge n$e lit ' Wild?1With Jot?
rDKlAkirrPh ArrlM .(irruAi im -4? AL n .. " : "
. . .. -. - - -- . - v VjS ixtjiiiuwr Ti r - :-- msi .-. - xit-w ft
U Mr 11 a f M MA' . n ' A Mr . 0&3&5 ftiJiirW - .? ' . :. A . - ' - - - Vvr4
'a sv a sssasa V a K WW a, wsfosja . , & tr " M.L.''-r'-flf,':-.jr V m UJl IN 1 1 a . t . . . v y-y . ... t Y Tr' it.
IWrfi ill r lrr;T V Ir ftlf It ifJlf f Wl ii
BT MIRIAM VAN WATERS.
JUNE J, 1908, Is pre-eminently a land
mark In the history of Oregon. On
that day the people of Oregon rose
gloriously In their strength and won a
great victory. They gave tue state a uni
versity. On that day the force's of prejudice and
Ignorance were defeated, and the ra of
enlightenment began.
Not to the university alone was this
victory, but to every one of the 160,000
school children of Oregon. To the little
schoolhouse on the mountain crossroad,
to the teacher tolling In crowded city
schools, to every individual throughout
the state, struggling for things of the
spirit, for more and better life, the first
day of June, 1908, was a victory, a step
forward.
The story of that fight transcends the
level of mere politics; it is one of the In
tensely dramatic events of local history.
Now that the smoke of battle has lifted,
the spectator may survey the field. The
struggle began when the University of
Oregon discovered that Its appropriation
waa not enough to pay running expenses.
By the end of 1906 the university found
itself in a precarious condition. Attend
ance had increased 23 per cent over the
year before, the university was growing
rapidly In popular favor, her students
were achieving Intellectual and athletic
honors, yet there were not funds enough
In the treasury to maintain the Institu
tion. Oregon was compelled to face the hu
miliation of seeing her sons and daugh
ters applying to the bounty of other states
for the fundamental right of knowledge.
She waa forced to witness the underpaid,
overworked strength of her faculty sac
rificed to small, ends. She had to admit
that although eight states In the Union
have less population, and nine less wealth,
the University f Oregon was receiving
the smallest appropriation. Under these
conditions Oregon labored In hopeless
handicap.
A champion appeared at last in Mr.
Allen Eaton, Representative from Lane
County and an Oregon graduate. He ln
troduced in the last session of the Leg-
Children Who Own and Manage a Church
Success Attends a Moral Project of Literal Home Missionaries Who Built a Structure In Cbicago.
A CHURCH for children, owned and
managed by children, with a boy
preacher in the pulpit," boy ush
ers and a children's choir, with story
telling hours, games and other attractions
ta keep young girls away from the skat
ing rink and the S-cent theater and to
make the pool table and the Sunday base
ball match things to be avoided by the
boys, is the latest institution established
in Chicago. This children's church is un
denominational. It was dedicated and
opened April SO. In' the short time that
has elapsed sines trten it has mustered
a regular congregation of more than 150,
with new faces at every meeting. Nest
ling under the eaves of a large sanctuary
for grown-ups, a chicken under the wing
of its mother protector, tHe children's
church appears to be almost a toy, a
child's plaything. It is only one story
high, but is wide enough for a double
door and two windows in front and long
enough for many rows of pews, a plat
form and pulpit. Over the doorway
its nam is painted In large letters.
Its origin can be traced back to that
no tad evangelist Dwlght L. Moody,
though It is not known that Mr. Moody
ever suggested the orzanlzation of a
church exclusively for children. He was
responsible, however, for the establish
ment in Cbicago of a great religious In
stitution known as the Bible Institute,
where hundreds and thousands of young
men are trained to perform evangelistic
and mission work. It happened in the
passing of time that a young printer, Wil
liam Fillln by name, took a course at
the Institute and was inspired with a de
sire to uplift the community in which he
dwelt. While he labored at his trade by
day for he was a poor boy FUltne oast
eyes around at night tq search of the
best spot to put his. shoulder to ths re
ligious wheel.
Too Somber for Young.
The noighborhood in which ho lived ap
peared, to b wall supplied with churches.
hut he believed there was too muoh aus
terity .about them to attract children.
Somewhere he had read a story of a
dominie who had a charge In a rural
islature the famous $125,000 appropriation
bill, providing "for the support and main
tenance of the University of Oregon; to
keep the buildings,-grounds and all other
property thereof. In repair; for the pur
chase of additional lands for the campus
thereof; for the construction of buildings
and additions to the same; and for the
purchase of library books, laboratory
supplies and apparatus."
With commendable thrift the Legisla
ture adjourned In a body to visit the
university and satisfy Itself as to the
urgency of this demand. The result was
that the bill passed the House unani
mously and the Senate by a fair ma
jority. To all appearances the principle
of democratic liberal education bad tri
umphed in Oregon.
Then with a dull thud came the Gov
ernor" veto. The whole work had to be
done over again. Mr. Eaton and his sup
porters succeeded,' however, In repassing
the bill, though the sentiment was strong
for inaction. All seemed again secure
when the Linn County Grange invoked
the referendum. n
Then began one of the most noteworthy
struggles in the political history of Ore
gon. It was the fight of the forces of
progression against the blind and preju
diced forces of the Leviathan. It was a
struggle against ignorance and intellec
tual death. Defeat meant the crippling
of the entire school eystem of Oregon and
public disgrace to the state.
The' Alumni Association of the univer
sity, headed by the redoutable committee
of three, Mr. Eaton, Mr. Alderman and
Mr. McArthur, gathered its forces in
valiant campaign. They became the or
ganisers of victory. Thousands of letters
flooded the state; In every district were
sent loyal supporters, who laid the needs
of the university before the people. Hun
dreds of speeches were made, circulars
printed, arguments set forth. Gradually
the' newspapers and commercial organiza
tions throughout the state were won
over. Every one who took trouble to in
vestigate the university became convinced
of its splendid work and urgent predica
ment. Some notable conversions were
made, especially that of a member of
Linn County Council,' who decided to visit
community. Whenever the dominie made
a pastoral call the beads of the family
hailed him with delight and the plump
est, tendereat fowl of the henroost ran
to the block and laid its head across
in readiness for the axe, but the children
of the household ran away and hid. It
waa plain, reasoned Filllne, that the lit
tle folks stood in awe of the somber
kdress and the solemn visage of the riding
preacher.
Conditions were much' the same in the
city, only there was no henroost, and the
children. Instead of hieing away to the
woods, could find amusement at the skat
ing rink or at a dice game in an alley.
"Now," said this youthful missionary,
who was not too old to sympathize with
children or too young to understand the
ways of men, "a man likes to own a
horse or an automobile. Owning It, he
is Interested in It and takes good care
of it. The same inherent desire to own
something belongs to the small boy. Give
him a top and he will learn how to spin
it and treasure it. So, if you wish to in
terest children in the church let them
own the church, and then see to It that
their church has elements which will sat
isfy their natural longings. It la natural
for a child to play. The church must
recognize this and supply amusement. The
form of amusement must progress as the
child grows.
With these theories about amusement
and ownership as a basis Fllllno began
to build the first children's church. At
this point he found an ally in Bernard
Gronseth, who is a little older than Fll
llno and is a carpenter and paperhanger.
Both worked steadily and set apart por
tions of their earnings as a fund with
which to erect a church. When they
had a nucleus they acquired a lot at
No, 610 North Fairfield avenue, adjacent
to the humble Swediahh Methodist church.
Then they began buying lumber ai with
their own hands started to construct a
house of worship for children, doing the
work In their spare time.
The construction of the building pro.
eeeded slowly and laboriously, but the
young, self-appointed, self-supporting
home missionaries persevered until it was
finished. By that time news of their un
dertaking had spread throughout a large
THE SUNDAY OKEGOITCAN, PORTIANP. JUNE 14, 1903.
r& Mr Ji&ll III r I up a majority for the university of 10,000
Vy5CCC UsTL? J lull f M t kC5, "! votes, but few other counties had been
VtoBSSI&Jy Will ' j7 heard from. .At 3 in the Horning: Mr.
zCvcr V?J3 SIT if 3 GJS-E'GGW
the Institution he was opposing. He re
turned a complete and ardent supporter
of the appropriation.
Students and faculty aided in the strug
gle with Insistent effort. They organ
ized committees and spent leisure time in
.writing letters and making speeches.
Each man and woman in the University
considered it a point of honor to make
his or her conduct irreproachable in tffa
slightest particular that might prejudice
the voters of the state. Many pleasures
were voluntarily given up. Victory In
college activities was sought eagerly;
success was never more sweet, defeat
never more bitter, and all for the honor
of Oregon.
The whole tale of the struggle for the
appropriation will never be told. Per
haps the greatest heroes 'were those who
had received no personal benefit from tle
university, who in many cases had never
seen it, yet who toiled against tremen
dous odds In the back districts of the
state. They were alone in the ranks of
the enemy. Committee, students; nor
other workers received pay for their
services. There waa nothing In it for
them. They simply felt that the reputa
tion of Oregon was at stake. It was a
case of loyal devotion to a cause.'
Meanwhile the forces of opposition
neighborhood and Into most of the
churches of the city. Both laymen and
ministers had become interested in the
project.
Children Assume Debt.
The day on which Filllne, wielding the
broom himself, swept the sawdust and
litter out of the completed church and
Gronseth followed him with a mop, wip
ing up the duet, a crowd of children
swarmed about the door and half a dozen
clergymen of various denominations gath
ered inside to Inspect the "religious toy."
The walls had been hung with gay paper;
there were plenty of windows, which let
in almost as much daylight as there was
outdoors; the pews were made for little
folks, and the whole interior was more
suggestive of a playhouse than a scene
of devotion. The truth was its founders
had designed it for both purposes, as
Filllne tall for his age, angular and
bashful explained while he leaned over
his broomhandle.
"There will be clubs for the boys and
clubs for the girls." he said. "We will
pay especial attention to outdoor games
In the Summer baseball and tennis and
the like. Yes, the boys will play mar
bles. There isn't any sin in marbles. If
the boys are taught to play for the sake
of becoming skillful. In bad weather
we'll have ' games In the church check
ers, domlnos and authors and many oth
ers. There will be sociables, and prob
ably we will have a doctor at them to
tell the children tho effect of eating too
much ice-cream.
"Besides tho amusement and athletic
features we shall have sewing and cook
ing clubs. We shall teach the girls to
sew and cook not Gronseth and . myself,
but we shall have a woman for that.
Other departments of domestic science
may be added. We are going to have an
ployment bureau for both boys and girls,
and help them to good positions when they
are old enough to work, for this is a
poor neighborhood and everybody works
who can."
The young man continued with an out
line of bow he expected to form an or
ganization of boys and girls and to turn
over to it the house of worship. He
expected to Imbue the Juvenile congrega
gained strength, undermining the efforts
of the committee, instilling subtle poison.
It worked as an unseen presence, filling
the mind with terror, causing lntenser
vigilance. As the days drew near to June
1 both sides put forth tremendous exer
tion. The climax was at hand. Sleep
less nights and subdued excitement pre
vailed. A shadow bung over the campus.
On the morning of June I everyone
awoke to the fact that this was the aay
of momentous Issue. It would all be set
tled within a few hours. For weal or Woe
the struggle would be over. How many
maddening thoughts occurred to the lead
ers then? how many heart-searching
questions as to whether anything had
been left undone! Inded, the issue was
tremendous. The Intellectual and social
fate of the State of Oregon hung in the
balance. The development of the future
was at stake.
-
The night of June 1 ended without def
lnlte relief. Multnomah County had rolled
tion with its first sense of responsibility
by having it assume the church debt.
He believed the inspiration to pay off the
obligation would result In a good many
pennies being diverted from ' the neigh
borhood candy and gum stores. Organ
ization of the congregation was to be
completed by the election of regular of
ficers, boy deacons and girl deaconesses,
boy ushers, a boy collection taker, a boy
Janitor and a mixed Juvenile choir.
When the day of dedication arrived the
"toy church" was packed with young
sters. Superintendents of Sunday schools
and clergymen from a score or more' of
churches assisted In the ceremonies and
wished the undertaking godspeed. Since
then everything attempted by Filllne and
uronsetn has worked out successfully.
The Juvenile congregation has assumed
the debt and contracted to pay it off in
monthly Installments. The church is a
club center, a work center and a play
center for small children after school
hours and for older children in tho even
ing. Some of the children were inclined
to be rough and boisterous at first, but
the roughness soon disappeared, although
lusty lungs make plenty of noise during
the games.
Joseph Raycroft. 12 years old. and
known as the "boy preacher," occupied
the pulpit and held revival services every
night the first week that the church was
opened. Since then Filllne has done the
preaching. The congregation expects,
however, to employ a regular boy clergy
man as soon as it can. v
Sons; of tile Eay Mark.
Chicago News.
I've bought the soap with cola enwrapped
By venders moK vociferous,
And as metallic bricks have aappd
Because tber seem auriferous.
I've tried to pick tee little shell
That sportive Jays Is skinning yet.
But, knowing all the sharpers well,
I hope to make a wlnnlns yt. '
The gentlemen who faro deal
Have had their little crack at m;
rv won a trifle on the wheel.
But always it got tack at me.
I am not entertaining hopes
When sow I see It spinning, yet
I think that since I know the' ropes
I'm apt to make a winning yet.
I'm dabbling low upon the street; ,
My trust holds out endurlngly.
A little flyer made In wheat
Is beckoning alluringly.
I've dropped some money In the pit.
Of course, I'm Just beginning yet.
But as I'm getting on to it
I hope to make a winning yet. i
Eaton retired 'to snatch a few hours' of
much-needed rest before the firing should
begin on the morrow. In a short Inter
val he was roused by a telephone call.
News at last! The following was carried
on eagerly:
"Is this Mr. Eaton?"
"Tea."
"Well, this Is a message from Koseburg
regarding election returns on U. of O.
appropriation."
"Well, quick!"
"I have been asked to report that re
turns on appropriation are not yet
counted."
Thus began that long day of the 2d of
June, which put every man's nerve to
test and searched out his inmost weak
ness. Alternating between fear and hope,
as county after county delivered its par
tial message, words cannot describe the
agonizing slowness of those election re
turns. They came creeping in tantaliz
ing, inconclusive. During the afternoon
the count grew against us. Steady in
roads were made on that splendid 10,000
Multnomah majority.
Could It hold Its own against the assault
made upon it?
Could Portland offset the enemy?
Bit by bit the chance of decisive victory
a victory so overwhelming that it would
forever place education In Oregon beyond
the realm of machine politics, seemed
more impossible. " Once rumor broke out
on the city streets that the University
had lost beyond recall. It spread like
wildfire, scorching everyone with terror.
It was suppressed at last and the dull
strain of waiting began once more.
At 6 In the evening came word from Leb
A College Graduate's Dime Novels
Old Sleuth's Successors Who Compose a Sixty-Thousand-Word Story Every Week.
THE! Harvard man who is devoting
himself to the composition of the
cheapest melodramas is not the
only college man who makes his living
writing "thrillers." According to tho
statement of the largest publishers of the
"Dime Novel" the mantlo of Nick Carter
and "Old King" Brady has fallen on
a young and active staff made up entire
ly of college graduates, who turn out
penny dreadfuls quite as lurid as those
of tho original "Old Sleuth" himself.
The demands made upon the writers
have gone up. Literary finish has' never
been required, but speed is essential. The
best of tho college men are now expected
to compose GO.OOCk. words a week, pro
viding new plot every seven days. This
Is a rate of forty newspaper columns in
each weekly Installment, making a dally
allowance of nearly seven columns, which
is more than a newspaper page.
"Compose" Is the proper word for this
sort of work, for the tremendous rate
of speed makes it impossible for any
man actually to write with his own hand
that amount of copy. The "writer" dic
tates to a stenographer, on wbose rapid
ity depends the success of the purveyor
of dime novels to the people.
It is this tremendous speed which is
knocking out the older men and causing
the authors of the "nickel-shockers" to
be recruited from the ranks of the young
er college men and the most energetic
of these can stand the strain only about
five years. This is .a change from the
days of the "Old Sleuth" who kept at
the work for 20 years.
"Old Sleuth" waa the nom de plume of
Harlan P. Halsey, the first man to Intro
duce the detective story as the main ele
ment of the dime novel. This was so
successful that the term dime novel has
become almost synonymous with some
"Shsrlock ' Holmes" mystery story.
The dime novel began as far back as
lSfiO, under tho guidance of H. H. Beadle,
and was a story of lurid adventure,
either on the Western plains or built
around some incident of colonial Ufa. On
the covers of these weekly publications
anon: "We will lose this county by 900." A
little later the telephone brought another
message: -
"Yamhfll lost by 950."
These were the heavy guns of the en
emy. At 7:30 a telegram arrived:
"Salem is against us 1300 strong."
Then followed a silence, when strong
men clenched their hands and looked Into
each other's eyes with the fear of defeat.
Were two years of faithful work to count
for nothing? Must the long road be gone
over again? For be it known by the peo
ple of Oregon that never once did the
redoubtable committee, or the friends,
faculty and students of the U, think of
abandoning their cause.
A whole city was tense with excite
ment. On the college campus there was
no studying. Students clung to the tele
phones eager for the latest word. But
the sanguine Freshman shared none of
these alarms. .That happy species of an
imal knows neither anxiety nor terror.
Quite calmly, as If all were decided and
the fate of a commonwealth did not hang
in the balance, the Freshman gathered
him wood for a great celebration. He
heaped up a mighty bonfire pile ready to
light In the evening. At the very top, on
a long green pole, was put a tar barrel.
To the Freshman this symbolized the
Referendum: he was preparing to cele
brate .Its downfall.
The climax of the suspense came late
that night. A little group of the faithful
were gathered downtown In Mr. Eaton's
Art Store, which throughout the long
campaign has served as University rally
ing ground. It was an Intensely dramatio
occasion. The floor was cluttered with
telegrams. Men with white faces paced
up and down.' Could Portland hold?
was the woodcut of a dime, hence the
name for this class of literature. But
the credit of making the sleuth the center
of the dime novel belongs entirely to
Harlan P. Halsey, who received his lit
erary training as a chicken seller and
butcher in Washington market, and his
total amount of book education would not
have carried him Into the grammar
school.
Even after he had "broken into" the
writing business he always dictated and
never handled the pen himself, from a
few fundamental lackes In the line of
grammar and spelling. Despite this slight
drawback for literary achievement Halsey
became an author for one of the weeklies,
then abounding, of which the Ledger and
the Fireside Companion were the leaders.
Halsey's first genuine hit was "The
Fastest Boy In New York." This title
was adapted from Oliver Dyer's one suc
cess "The Wickedest Man in New York."
a tale of John Allen's dance hall. The
plot, however, was Halsey's own. After
this ten-strike he branched out into the
detective story, as a result of reading a
translation of Dti Bolsgobey's "The Crime
of the Opera House."
An odd point about the entrance of tho
detective into American literature is tbe
fact that an American took him to
France, and the French writers sent him
back to the land of his birth. Poe's Im
mortal mystery tales made almost . no
impression on his own countrymen, but
they were received with applause In
France and under the Influence of Poe's
"Purloined Letter" Gaboriau wrote his
"Le 13me Hussards." The first of tho
French detective stories did not reach
America, but it was the book of Gabor
lau's follower, Du Boisgobey, which was
tbe .literary parent of the "Old Sleuth"
tales. ' . ...... s .
An interesting story is told of Pu Bols
gobey's beginning as an author. Alex
ander Dumas, the younger, after writing
"Camille," was at tha height of his fame,
but his .profits, or rather his publishers,
had been sadly cut Into by tho Gaboriau
"thrillers."
The publisher suggested to Dumas that
ho repair the damage by writing a de
tective story himself. To this Dumas re
rniilrt PnrflnnH tinlrt? Tina was the er
of every heart. About midnight came a
rush of telegrams, the last belated re
turns. One by one the little group of ex
hausted watchers melted away. The
store was deserted. Everything was set
tled now; the University had won by
6000 Btrong. Portland had held!
A city was transformed overnight. If
awoke on the morning of June 3 to find
Its heart's desire attained. Swift and
sharp was the contrast between previoui
despair and the present Joy. The uni
versity and the City of Eugene went mad.
A monster rally was soon in preparation.
Then it was that the wisdom of the
freshman became apparent.
When It was dark the celebration
turned itself loose on Kineaid football
field. . Rallies have been held there be
fore, splendid victories won. but no rally
ever held before can equal that never-to-be-forgotten
night. These who come
after us will celebrate this victory annu
ally; but can they ever know the exult
ant thrill of triumph that filled our
hearts; can they ever know the feeling
of, relief, and the gratitude we felt to
every right-minded voter in the state.
It was a glorious celebration of victory.
The fiercely blazing bonfire, the Im
mense crowd gone wild, the beloved col
lege yells, the long procession of college
women with their waving Chinese lan
terns looming like immense fire files in
the darkness; the band music, the shower
of sky rockets, the splendid speeches; all
these united in one wonderful whole, an
Impression never to be forgotten, it was
abandonment to the spirit of triumph.
The evening star blazed In the clear
sky, symbol of victory. Long labor was
crowned with accomplishment.
And Portland had held.
plied that any old fool could write that
sort of yarn, and if the publisher want
ed one. why not apply to one of the young
clerks in the office.
The publisher took the advice literally
and applied to Du Boifgobey. then clerk
ing in the office. The result was "The
Crime of the Opera-House," which set all
Paris agog and started tho cheap de
tective story in America.
On reading this story, Halsey took unto
himself the name of "Old Sleuth", and
started his famous series. His success
was instantaneous, and immediately an
other publisher copyrighted the sisnature
"Nick Carter," and this was soon fol
lowed by "Old Cap Collier", and "King
Brady."
About the highest salary for this kinl
of work was that received by the "Old
Sleuth" himself, who was known to draw
113,000 yearly for his compositions. The
usual salary was $100 a week, and pub
lishers would frequently offer tlSO to get
the man they wanted. At present there
Is a dispute as to what the rate Is.
' The publishers say they are paying
their staff of college men more than the
old regulation prices, while tho men who
have grown gray in the business say that
they arc, being cut down to as low as J-5
for a 40.000-word story.
Just who Is writing or probably more
accurately speaking, who are producing
Nick Carter stories today the publishers
are not willing to tell. As they explain,
they have competitors in the business,
and men who can turn out a 60.000-wovd
novel weekly and keep It up year in and
year out are rather scarce.
The publishers franticaly deny that
the dime novel Is dying out. They Insist
that the demand Is Just as great as it
ever was: but when one Inquired why
the publisher who copyrighted "Nick
Carter" had taken unto himself three
magazines, the answer was that, although
there was just as much demand for the
dims novel as there ever was before. It
didn't pay as well as it used to. The
statement was made even that the h1s
torio dime novel firm wasn't very proud
of this line of work, which is a sad
change from the days when "Nick Car
ter's" publishers took Nick Carter
seriously. New York Times.