The Sunday Oregonian., July 19, 1908, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 28

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THE SUNDAY OREGO XI AN, POTiTXAND, JULY 19, 190S.
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PORTLAND. SUNDAY, JILI 19, 1908.
TUB WAKING DREAM.
What la a material thing? A con
tributor who lives In Los Angeles
esks this question of The Oregonian. '
He adds "if there can be a conclusion
that objects and things are not seen
by us In the form in which they really
exist, then there must be some con
clusion as to their real form, and
what is It?" His entire letter, which
may not prove uninteresting to the
reader, will be found elsewhere In
The Oregonian.
This inquirer seems to have 6tated
Ills problem in a serious mood and
we are disposed to answer him ser
iously, but we cannot help thinking
that he has not framed his question
exactly as he intended. He asks
about the "real form" of material
things. One naturally conjectures
that what puzzles him is the nature
or essence of things, not their form.
He wants to get at that intangible
eomething which Kant called "das
Ding an sich," the thing in itself, the
substratum of objects which would
go on existing even if all their attri
butes like color, weight and size were
removed. Descartes and Spinoza
called this elusive entity by the name
"substance." Bishop Berkeley opined
that it was the mind of God and that
It is the thinking of the deity which
presents itself to us as sensations.
Philosophers later than Kant have
denied that there is any "Ding an
slch" or substratum of objects. There
is nothing to them. It is said, except
the bunch of sensations which we get
from them. Take away the sensa
tions and you take away everything.
Herbert Spencer, however, agreed
with Kant and Berkeley that there
is a causative something behind our
sensations. He called it "The Un
knowable," but of course the name
does not jr itter. Our Los Angeles
friend my follow Bishop Berkeley's
example ajid call it God if he likes;
or he may go back through the cen
turies to Parmenides and say with
him that the reality behind appear
ances is thought and naught besides.
"To auto noein estin te'kai to einal,"
declared this dim did Greek, who un
fortunately was ignorant of English.
What he meant was that thought is
the only true entity there is.
But let us not get bewildered In
wordy wanderings. The question be
fore the house is this: "Is there any
reality outside of thought, and if
there Is what is It?" The word
"thought" has a pretty wide mean
ing here. It takes in everything
which the mind does, such as feel
ing, willing, making judgments and
bo on. Pain is one aspect of thought,
pleasure is another. Memory is a
third. Now if our Los Angeles friend
and the other elect brethren who
may peruse this discburse will use
their brains a moment they will see
that' the question we have posed at
the beginning of the paragraph Is
nonsense. Is there a reality outside
of thought? Perhaps; but if there
Is we can never know it for the ex
cellent reason that we know our own
thoughts and nothing else. Abso
luteley nothing else. hat is out
side of consciousness is outside of
knowledge. Ponder this statement
well, for it Is the key to many riddles,
but do not make the blunder of sup
posing that it is novel. It is as old
as the hills.
It is nonsense, therefore, for us to
ask whether there is any reality out
side of thought. "How about the
red-hot poker which burns my fin-
mr?" sneers the grinning skeptic
Well, how about it? What he credu
lously calls a poker is a bunch of
color, shape, size and heat. He
knows thus much of it and nothing
else. He fancies he also knows of
a substratum to which the heat,
weight and so on cling, but he de
ceives himself. As to the effect of the
poker on his finger, It is a color, a
pain and one or two other sensations.
Nothing more. The poker that burns
and the linger that is burned resolve
themselves into states of conscious
ness. When you try to make anything
else out of them you find yourself
dancing on nothing. Anyone who de
sires iurtner light, or darkness, on
this branch of our theme may read
Tennyson's Ancient Sage and he will
jmbamy get all he wants. If any
thing exists outside of thought it does
not exist for us, and there- we pause
' with our heads against the wall.
i.runung mat we know our
thoughts, or states of consciousness,
and nothing else, it is easy enough to
tell the Los Angeles lnauirer what
material things are. They are groups
of thoughts which cling together so
tightly that we cannot pull them
apart. A double eagle, for example,
includes the thoughts roundness, yel
low, heaviness, value and a dozen
more. Lacking any one of these
thoughts, the group would not be a
double eagle any longer. It would
be . something else. Altering the
thought "yellow" to gray and "twenty
dollars' value" to half a cent, with
one or two other little changes in
consciousness, the coin becomes noth
ing but a piece of lead. Fortunately
for our currency system, such alter
ations are rather difficult to make,
but that is of no consequence. It is
no harder to change gold to lead
than it is to make two and two equal
five. What are called "material" im
possibilities are no more baffling
than admittedly mental ones. Where
the thoughts come from which cling
together into objects we can only sur
mise. What causes them to arise in
consciousness? Nobody knows and
the chances are that nobody ever will
know. It seems to us exactly as if
something outside of consciousness
caused them. This seeming is un
doubtedly an illusion, but for all prac
tical purposes it is real. .' Although
nothing around us can possibly be as
It appears, nevertheless, we are bound
to act as if the dream were true.
PROHIBITION IN OREGON?
"The East Oregonian, at Pendleton,
makes the Interesting prediction that
the "states of Oregon and Washington
will go dry ; within a few years," and
wants to know "what Portland will do
when the awful catastrophe comes?"
Probably Portland can stand it some
how. But how can prohibition be en
forced here, or anywhere, if there is
no effective local sentiment for it?
It may be and is easy enough, In
small communities' where conditions
of life are simple and everybody
knows what everybody else is doing
and saying, and where everybody also
is quite sure that liquor Is a bad
thing for his neighbor; and it is cer
tain, too, that if any community
wants prohibition and votes for It,
It ought to have prohibition. Certain-,
ly, for that is the very essence of local
option. But how about the town or
city that doesn't want It, and votes
against it? Will the law be rigidly
enforced there? Is it enforced now
in such places? It is not, and it can
not be.
Last June there was a prohibition
election In East Portland and it , was
defeated by a considerable vote. No
doubt, if the West Side of Portland
had been Included, the adverse vote
would have been proportionably
larger. It is fair to assume, then, that
if the state of Oregon at large shall,
within a few years, declare for pro
hibition, the City of Portland will
give a majority, probably a large one,
against it. Does any one fancy that
In such circumstances there would be
no liquor sold in Portland or, indeed,
that it would not be sold freely?
The campaign of the Anti-Saloon
League, which has been largely in
strumental in bringing about local
prohibition In Oregon, has been wisely
conducted, since the league has pro
posed only that there be prohibition
In localities where the law could be
made operative. Why should the
league invite- defeat and disaster by
endeavoring to force prohibition on a
large community that doesn't want it?
The league sees,, this, if some others
do not, and it is going slowly. We
may get-prohibition some day, when
the state at large is dry as a bone
and there is universal sentiment out
side of Portland that the city should
and must be included. But is that
the situation now, or is it likely to
be the situation soon?
MARKETING CHERRIES.
The Salem cherry fair, which has
closed a very successful three days'
session, is valuable chiefly as an ed
ucational institution for fruitgrowers
in Willamette Valley. As an adver.
tising medium it must have a very
limited influence for the reason that
the people who visit the annual fair
are mostly residents of the Valley at
ready and are not homeseekers. By
means of descriptive articles and pic
tures of the exhibits, published in the
newspapers and various magazines,
the fair serves as an indirect advertis
ing agency and is worth while, even
when considered from that point of
view alone. But it is through the
information and the Inspiration which
the fair gives to the fruitgrowers of
Willamette Valley that the most good
will result. The cherry-growing in
dustry is now in its infancy, if one
may Judge of future production by
comparing present acreage of mature
trees with the total area of young
cherry orchards that have been
planted in the last two or three "years
As one of the speaKers said at the
opening of the fair, within ten years
the Willamette Valley will be pro
ducing more cherries for commercial
purposes than all the rest of the
United States. This may very easily
be true, for this part of Oregon is
the best cherry producing section of
similar area in the Union. Here have
been originated all but one of the
varieties of cherries known to com
mercial packers. Here the cherries
grow to greatest perfection and in
greatest quantity. No pests attack
the fruit to render it unmarketable.
Though an occasional season may be
experienced when a part of a crop
may be injured by rain, this occurs
so seldom that it is not a serious
handicap to the industry. Given open
markets and there is scarcely any
crop that pays better than growing
cherries of the varieties suitable for
canning.
The problem of securing and ex
tending markets is one of the most
important tasks to which the cherry
growers must give attention. The
annual cherry fairs will arouse in
terest in the production of first-class
fruit and the Agricultural College
and the horticultural societies will
teach the growers how to care for
their trees in order 10 secure the best
results. But the marketing problem
1.4 one that will require much thought
and perhaps concerted action. It is
perhaps better that the growing of
a crop and the marketing of it be
conducted as two separate undertak
Ings, but the experience of Hood
River apple-growers seems to demon
strate that by co-operation the pro
ducers can market their crop them
selves at better prices than they can
get through the agency of men who
make a business of handling fruit.
During the present season cherry
growers in the vicinity of Salem have
engaged in a controversy with the
managers of their cannery (a con
troversy of the merits of which it is
not necessary to speak) and it seems
quite likely that as production in
creases and the market must be en
larged the growers themselves must
work together in devising a means by
which the best outlets for their crops
can be found.
Today the only market for cherries
Is the cannery. The, price received
for fresh canning fruit must always
be less than will be received for fresh
fruit if a market for the fresh fruit
can be found. Because of the size,
flavor and texture of Oregon cherries
and because of the further important
fact that they are free from worms,
there should be a good market in
Eastern cities for the fruit Just as it
comes from the tree. The question
to be determined is whether the fruit
can be loaded into refrigerator cars
and placed in Chicago and other
Eastern cities in good condition and
at prices which will induce the East
ern consumer to buy. This is a ques
tion which the growers, through their
organization, must, investigate and
determine.
If fresh Oregon cherries can be
placed on sale in large quantities in
Eastern cities, we shall not only have
a good market, but shall have a most
excellent advertisement for our un
surpassed fruitgrowing state. When
the marketing problem has been
solved we shall have on display in
front of the stores In the East boxes
of cherries as attractive and pleasing
as the exhibits seen last week at the
cherry fair at Salem. The people
who eat the - cherries will have a de
sire to come to Oregon to live
' BRYAN'S FATTLTY MEMORY.
Mr. Bryan wishes not to be mis
understood. , He has discussed the
Brownsville case, certainly, but not
as a, candidate; only as an editor.
Two years ago, when the Brownsville
agitation -was acute the Commoner
boldly declared that "if the facts were
as stated. President Roosevelt was en
tirely Justified."
If we understand Mr. Bryan now.
he declines to be held accountable as
a Democratic candidate for what he
has said as an editor. The Commoner
is the mere personal organ of Mr.
Bryan, citizen, journalist and trav
eler, and in no sense authorized to
speak for the Democratic party or
lts Presidential candidate. Is that it?
Candidate Bryan will discuss those is
sues only presented by the Demo
cratic platform, and will Ignore all
others. But can he?
He cannot, of course. It is prob
able that Mr. Bryan forgot entirely
that he had ever committed himself
on the troublesome Brownsville ques
tion and was quite willing to take
advantage of the supposed negro de
fection from Taft on that account.
But he did not dare openly to sup
port the action of the President in
dismissing the negro soldiers for fear
of offending the solid Democratic sen
timent of the South, Just as. the Den
ver convention evaded the whole sub
ject, and for the same reason.
The solid South can be led any
where by Bryan so long as it is left
to nurse its pet boil in its own way,
but It cannot be fooled, or cajoled, or
bullied or in any way induced to give
the negro question any new or dif
ferent treatment. Denver, therefore.
let that matter alone, and so will
Bryan, for he must. But he is in a
tight box, since, to please the South,
he- commended Roosevelt two years
ago; and to please the negro voters
of the North he told Bishop Waters
so the bishop says that Roosevelt's
action was unjust.
Politicians, like some others, should
have good memories.
WHERE REFORM SHOULD BEGIN.
The death of 13-year-old Gust
Slabb, at Tacoma, Friday, from in
juries caused by a toy pistol, makes
the fourth fatality in the State of
Washington as a result of the care
less use of toy pistols on the Fourth
of July. The death roll from the
same causes will not be completed
for several days yet, as some of the
victims cling tenaciously to life. Four
deaths In the comparatively small
population of Washington and over
one hundred already reported in
other parts of the United States, show
the futility of making an appeal to
parents or guardians of youngsters'
who are too young to appreciate the
dangers of Fourth of July- ammuni
tion. Every year the spectacle of
romping, healthy youngsters suddenly
transformed into maimed and dis
figured corpses, or overtaken by the
still worse fate of being obliged to go
through life blind or hopelessly crip
pled, makes a strong appeal to the
American people, but thus far noth
ing of consequence has been ac
complished.
There is no decrease in the death
rate or in the number injured,
through this Insane method of cele
brating Independence Day. Fathers,
mothers and guardians in the belief
that their charges are immune from
the fate that has stricken other chil
4ren, continue to permit their own
youngsters to shoot toy pistols, bombs
and other dangerous weapons of
patriotism. Having thus demonstrated
quite effectually that it Is Impossible
to stop the slaughter by appeals to
those who are In the best position to
insist on a change, it might be possi
ble to secure a lessening of these
tragedies by going to the fountain
head of the trouble.
The toy pistol which is responsible
for nearly all of these Independence
Day deaths is utterly worthless and,
in fact, is used for no other purpose
than to make a noise. There is, ac
cordingly, no good reason why the
manufacture of these deadly weapons
should not be prohibited. The par
ents and guardians of the children
will not prevent the use of the pistols,
but if the manufacture were pro
hibited, a large number of young lives
would be saved untold misery and
suffering prevented. The experiment
is worth a trial.
FEWER TRAINS. FEWER ACCIDENTS.
It is gratifying to note that the
number of passengers and employes
killed on railroad trains for the quar
ter ending July 1 Is smaller than in
any quarter since records have
been kept. The total of forty-four
employes killed in coupling accidents
is also the smallest for any quarter
since 1902. Statistics of this kind
make much more pleasant reading
than those which recount an increased
number of rail tragedies, but their
value for purposes of comparison is
questionable. .It is impossible to de
termine by these statistics whether
employes have been exercising greater
vigilance thaa formerly, whether there
has been improvement in the life
safety appliances, tracks and equip
ment or, in short, whether these fig
ures reflect any improvement in oper
ation that has tended to reduce the
number killed and -wounded on the
railroads.
It is a fact that needs no explana
tion or demonstration that there will
be fewer accidents when a small
number of trains are moving; than
when the number is increased, and it is
not improbable that the greater part,
if not all, of the apparently increased
safety in traveling is due to the
smaller number of trains, employes and
passengers involved In the travel fron
which the statistics given are com
piled. If there has been a gain In
proportions, it is undoubtedly trace
able to higher average ability on the
part of the operatives than was ob
tainable a year ago when the roads
had pressed into service every man
who sought a position.
Unskilled and untrained men, per
haps not infrequently placed in charge
of over-worked equipment, quite
naturally could not be expected to
make as good a record as the "pick
of the profession," which is now, to
a considerable extent, at the disposal
of the railroads. ' Lack of busi
ness has enabled the roads to weed
out the undesirables and the best men
with the best equipment will natur
ally make a better showing than
could be made by inferior men and
over-worked equipment. The rail
roads are now in a position to insist
on good habits and good work from
the men they employ, and drunken
ness has become almost unknown
among active railroad men. If these
conditions can be maintained - after
prosperity returns and more, trains
ere moving, we may witness' a perma
nent improvement in the accident returns.
A FORBIDDEN SUBJECT.
The Pennsylvania judge who has
ruled that the writings of Emanuel
Swedenborg are immoral has lgnor
antly allied himself with vice. - It is
safe to say he has done it ignorantly
because in all likelihood he knows
nothing ' about that great religious
genius or his teachings. Sweden
borg is one of the immortal lights
of the moral and philosophical world.
Emerson has included him among the
very few men whose names shine out
like stars in the darkness of receding
time, and whose teachings illuminate
the whole universe of thought. Every
body who is capable of forming a
rational opinion upon the subject
agrees with Emerson. It is not to be
expected that a petty rural magis
trate in the benighted State of Penn
sylvania should understand Sweden
borg, but it is amazing that such
person should have the Impudence
tc proclaim his asininity to a won
dering world.
The specific paragraph of Sweden
berg's writings which this egregious
Dogberry has condemned relates to
a subject that has of late excited
growing interest among thoughtful
people who wish well to mankind
The Ladies' Home Journal, for ex
ample, which appeals to an audience
exceedingly select, one might almost
say timorous, has discussed it not
without frankness editorially and
has urged, parents and teachers es
pecially to do exactly what the mis
judged Swedenborg school to which
our sapient cadi denied a legacy has
been doing in its classrooms. The
only difference is that the Sweden
borgian3 give the instructions with
profound reverence under the sanc
tions of religion, which is somewhat
In their favor, one would think.
The ignorance which this judge
displays and .which he would Impose
upon the whole world, is the cause
of miseries innumerable. It is said
that the false views upon the subject
of unmentionable diseases which pre
vail in this country are to be laid to
the charge of a certain German phy
sician whose lectures were mistrans
lated. He was supposed to teach
that it was necessary for men to ex
pose themselves to these contagions
in order to keep their health. Of
course no German physician ever
taught such nonsense, but the, result
cf the misunderstanding is that some
ninety per cent of the adult males of
the United States today suffer from
ineradicable consequences. This fig
ure is set by physicians and clergy-'
men who are quite likely to know
what they are talking about. The
almost universal ill-health of Ameri
can women of a certain age Is to be
ascribed largely to the same cause
acting Indirectly.
These facts are indisputable. Keep
ing them in mind one would say that
if there' is any subject under heaven
upon which instruction . is impera
tively demanded it is the one which
the erudite Pennsylvania judge would
penalize. Concerning this theme our
National false modesty, our provincial
squeamishness, has cost us terribly
dear." We pride ourselves upon . a
prudery which has infected the blood
of the population with ineradicable
poison. Here as elsewhere darkness
and evil are allied. There should be
a call for light.
SUBMITTING CHASTER AMENDMENTS.
The decision of the Oregon Su
preme Court declaring that the Port
land bond issues voted in 1907 are
valid is based upon several constitu
tional provisions and one act of the
Legislature. A brief view of these
will show the status of our initiative
and referendum amendments as ap
plied to municipalities. In 1902 the
people of this state adopted the ini
tiative and referendum amendment,
applying to the state as a whole. With
the general provisions of that amend
ment every one is familiar. In -1908
the people adopted a constitutional
amendment commonly known as the
"home rule" amendment, which pro
vides that the legal voters of every
city and town are granted power to
enact and amend their city charter.
At the same election a new section
was added to the constitution declar
ing that the initiative and referendum
powers are further reserved to the
legal voters of a municipality, and
that the manner of exercising said
powers shall be prescribed by general
laws, except that cities and towns may
provide for the manner-of exercising
such powers as to their municipal leg
islation. The Legislature of . 1907
passed a general law under the
amendment Just referred to, prescrib
ing the manner of exercising the ini
tiative and referendum powers. This
general law was made to apply to all
cities and towns in all matters on
which such city or town has not made
conflicting provisions. This general
law provided, among other things,
that amendments to a city charter
may be proposed either by the City
Council or by initiative petition.
Acting under all these provisions of
the constitution and general laws of
the state, the Portland City Council
proposed and submitted to the people
of Portland certain charter amend
ments authorizing the Issuance of
bonds for various public improve
ments. One of the amendments
adopted was that authorizing sale of
$3,000,000 bonds for Increasing the
capacity of the Portland water sys
tem. Bellevirjg that the amendment
had not been legally submitted and
adopted, Francis I. McKenna brought
suit to enjoin proceedings for the is
suance of the bonds. After an argu
ment upon demurrer. Judge Cleland
held the charter amendment Invalid
for the reason that the City Council
had no authority to submit it to the
people. Other questions were pre
sented, but this was the vital issue
upon which the case hung. The Su
preme Court reversed the lower court,
holding that since the City of Port
land had made no provision relative
to procedure under the initiative and
teferendum conflicting with the gen
eral state law upon the subject, the
terms of the general law applied to
Portland, and that the City Council
had authority, under that law, to
submit charter amendments.
The decision of the Supreme Court
is therefore based upon the original
initiative and referendum amendment,
the "home rule" amendment, the
amendment authorizing a general law
governing the exercise of the initia
tive and referendum in cities and the
act passed in pursuance of that au
thority. When all these legal provis
ions are taken into consideration, the
power of the City Council to submit
charter amendments seems clear.
EXPERIENCE.
That inexperience is the most com
mon cause of business failure is a
fact well known, and yet so fre
quently disregarded that it will bear
occasional comment without fear of
wasted effort. Not young men alone,
but men of mature years as well,
need to be cautioned against ventures
into enterprises entirely unknown. It
is an old saying, the truth of which
is universally acknowledged, that ex
perience is the best teacher, and yet
it is not so generally understood that
experience prescribes a course of
study that must be followed with
fidelity if the coveted diploma of
success is to be secured. As there
are some who would obtain college
degrees without doing the work re
quired, so there are others in the
great school of experience who at
tempt to grasp the laurels and re
wards of achievement without learn
ing the lessons experience teaches.
In the olden times, when wealth was
counted by thousands, all young men
were willing to begin at the bottom,
but in these latter days, when mil
lions are units in the measure of
riches, there is too frequent evidence
of a desire to spring to the summit
at a single bound. Sons wish to begin
in business where their fathers left
off; daughters expect homes of their
own as good as those their mothers
enjoyed only after a life of toil and
self sacrifice.
The sudden leap from the first
round of the ladder to the top-most
is a feat sometimes successfully, ac
complished, but much more fre
quently the. effort ends in failure and
discouragement. To fall heir to
business of which he is ignorant has
been a misfortune to many a young
man who might otherwise have built
up "an enterprise as large as that
which he brought to ruin. By in
vesting his savings in an enterprise
of which he had no practical know!
edge, many a well-to-do man has
brought himself to poverty in his old
age. Acts which look easy when per
formed by an expert prove disas
trous to the amateur who attempts
them.
Appreciating the value of expe
rience in making a young man self
reliant, F-merson deplored the ease
with which the college-bred city man
becomes discouraged and said that "a
sturdy lad from New Hampshire or
Vermont, who in turn tries all the
professions, who farms it, peddles,
keeps school, preaches, edits a news
paper, goes to Congress, uys a town
ship, and so , forth, in successive
years, and always like a cat falls on
his feet, is worth a hundred of these
city dolls." The experience gained by
the varied labors of the farm, the
knowledge which comes from the
.work of the schoolroom and the pul
pit. all go to make up the qualifica
tions for success in the editorial
sanctum and the halls of legislation.
Without experience in the practical
problems of men and affairs, the
statesman, however learned in books,
will lack effectiveness. To know how
men, common men, think and feel,
one must have borne their burden
and lived their life. The rail-splitter
of Illinois and the rancher of the
Dakotas knew by experience the feel
ings and desires and needs of their
people. We have heard much, lately,
of the college man in business, in
politics, and elsewhere, but we have
not seen, nor are we likely to see,
many demonstrations or the success
of the college man in either business
or politics unless the road to achieve
ment leads from the bottom up.
In the world of industry there is
a vast difference between promotion
of combinations and management of
the concerns that produce the goods,
The successful manager is one who
has learned the details of his bus!
ness from beginning to end. The
manufacturer of woolen goods knows
wool from the scouring vat to the
bale of cloth or blankets. The sue
cessful merchant has sold goods over
the counter and knows how cus
tomers can be won and kept. The
wholesaler knows the needs and
methods of the retailer from expe
rlence. The editor of a great paper
once wrote his news and editorials
and set his type and printed his paper
all in one room. Nine . times out of
ten the man who begins at the top
in journalism, merchandising or man
uracturing, rapidly finds his way
ignominiously to a place a little lower
than the bottom.
in these days when we hear so
much of the cry "back to the farm,
one cannot help wondering whether
the city business man who buys land
and plants an orchard with pleasant
dreams of great horticultural success
is not doomed to as great disappoint
ment as the farmer -who exchanges
his ranch for a city business with the
details of which he has no special
knowledge. Undoubtedly a city man
with plenty of money can keep
farm going, but can one who has not
learned the small affairs of farm
operation by actual experience make
a farm pay? Can the man of mod
erate means and in middle life leave
the turmoil and strain of a rushing
business career, and go out upon
ranch, and personally conduct it with
success without having served the
apprenticeship that comes to every
farmer boy? Can he take out of
farm more money than he puts in
can he leave to his children more
acres than he had when he started
In other words, does the rule that
inexperience is the most common
cause of failure apply to the business
of farming? In a very few years we
should have an answer from those
thousands of city men who are now
seeking release from care by turning
to a more quiet and, in their opinion,
less strenuous life on the farm.
The new groves which which Park
Superintendent Mische would supplant
the magnificent firs in Holladay Park
might be all right fifty or seventy-five
years hence, but there are so few of
us that will be here at that time to
enjoy them that it seems hardly
proper to cut them down and leave us
with nothing to take their places
until the new trees grow. The foliage
which attracts nine out of ten East
ern visitors in Portland is that of the
grand old firs that began reaching
heavenward in that long departed age
f when our beautiful river "heard no
sound save his own dashings." A
perusal of Miss Mateel Howe's apos
trophe to Portland's trees in her prize
winning essay ought to make anyone
think twice before laying an ax to
any fir tree that could' possibly be
left standing in the city limits. The
cement sidewalks, paved streets and
carlines have levied toll against these
attractive monarchs of the forest,
but those in the park are immune
form this kind of vandalism, and
should not be subjected to other at
tacks. Scientific breeding, fine tracks, light
sulkies and high-class drivers com
bine steadily to reduce harness horse
records. At Terre Haute, the most
famous race track in the country, on
Friday, Minor Heir, 'a green pacer,
broke a world's record by reeling off
the two first heats in a race in 2:01
and 2Jlhi. the two fastest heats
ever paced in a race. The Eel took
the third and fourth heats in 2:05
and 2:08, and Minor Heir the fifth in
2:07. All of this happened in a raoje
for pacers eligible to the 2:25 class.
When 2:25 pacers begin putting in
miles around 2:01 and win races in
three heats averaging only a shade
over 2:03, old Father Time should
take to thetall timber. If Minor Heir
continues to improve as most horses
do as they work eastward over the
Grand circuit, he will prove the sen
sation of the season.
Some enterprising member of the
next Oregon Legislature might make
himself famous by drafting a com
plete code governing aerial naviga
tion in this state. Apparently it will
soon, become necessary to determine
and declare the relative rights of
balloonists, aeroplanes and the various
other kinds of air ships. Of course,
the old rule of the road, keep to the
right, will be applied to air naviga
tion, but the new method of travel
presents many new problems, such as
the best rule to adopt where It is
desired that one air ship should go
over the other Instead of passing to
one side. Then a ode of flag sig
nals and lights must be adopted and
put in practice. Oregon has taken
the lead in many phases of legislation.
Will it also in this?
The auxiliary cruiser Buffalo, which
sails from San Francisco next month
with supplies for the fleet, will carry
600,000 pounds of flour and 600,000
pounds of potatoes. It Is not stated
in the dispatches that these supplies
are from Oregon, but as San Fran
Cisco has been Importing about 1,000,
000 pounds of flour and nearly the
same amount of potatoes from Port
land every week for the past two
years, it is probable that the fleet will
enjoy an excellent grade of biscuits
and potatoes of the Oregon brand.
Rev. Mr. Mathews, of Seattle, is at
tempting to exact pledges from the
Legislative candidates for the sup
port of a number of laws which he
thinks should be passed at the next
Legislature. The candidates are in
clined to resent the interference of the
clergyman in their political fight, but
If the Seattle ministers are no more
successful in picking winners in pol
itics than the ministers of some other
large cities less than 200 miles from
Seattle, there is no occasion for alarm.
Over in Seattle the attorneys on
the opposing sides of a divorce case
had a special trial judge appointed,
tried the case before him, wrote the
decree for him and, in fact, did "the
whole thing." Evidently the courts
over there are getting ready to act
upon The Oregonian's suggestion that
it would be just as well to attach a
divorce coupon to every marriage
certificate, so that the parties could
fill it out and tear it off whenever
they got ready to separate.
Several thousand men have volun
teered to go to Africa with Roose
velt on his hunting expedition. Mr.
Roosevelt has declined their offers.
But the way is open and there is
nothing to prevent their going on
hunting trips of, their own, unless
they are afraid.
Mr. Taft has written a magazine
article condemning our system of
Jurisprudence for its delays and Its
encouragement of technicalities. When
he gets to be President he will have
a splendid opportunity to make a
lasting name for himself by reforming
the system.
The open-air treatment for tuber
culosis i3 becoming so common that
the suggestion is naturally presented
whether it would not be a good plan
for all people to sleep in the open
air, whether afflicted with the white
plague or not.
Mr. Bryan takes no special trains
nowadays, but travels as an ordinary
passenger. He probably figures that
that $50,000 annual appropriation for
traveling expenses will not be avail
able until after March 4, next.
When citizens or Fairbanks, Alaska,
"passed the hat" and raised J2000
for the orphan child of a dead
stranger, it may be said that the law
of humanity "runs north of 53."
They who propose to cut a high
way through the Kamm tract, on
Fourteenth street, will probably learn
more of Jacob Kamm's resistant and
belligerent qualities.
Despite the increased cost to tax
payers, there is a popular sentiment
that you can't get too much Bull
Run water.
The A,merican athletes are not do
ing much to the English athletes.
Well, we licked England in 1776 any
way. Mr. Hearst calls Bryan a chameleon.
Perhaps Hearst would be improved
himself if he changed his color a lit
tle. Mr. Hearst says Mr. Bryan is a
chameleon. That's the unklndest
color of all.
Don't let an occasional cloudy day
make you think the Summer is over.
Bonl wants his children and with
them some more money.
SILHOUETTES
BT ARTHUR A.f GRBBNB.
IT IS better to love a young housemaid
than an old empress.
Women who are merely
their hell in old age.
pretty find
Heaven Ain't Xothln' Like Thl.
In a shady corner down on the pier
Two tired hobos with a can of beer
Were wishing for things which they
didn't have
Longing for things which they couldn't
have.
Said the first: "I'd like, if I had my way.
A million dollars with which to ray
For a free-lunch picnic every day."
Then the other answered, being wise:
"I don't agree with youse wishln' guys
Always wantin" what you can't get.
I ain't a-hankerin' much, an' yet
If I had my wish I'd like to be
Afloat on a raft on a boundln' sea.
On a switser raft in a sea of beer
With a ham-and-egg coast a-loomln" near.
"Then I'd like to wreck on that kindly
shore
Of the far-off. island called Have-Some-More,
Where the bun-trees fringe the silvery
strand.
An' I'd like to lay on the restful sand.
Then I'd have trained monkeys pack to
me
The fruit that grew on the sandwich tree.
An' I'd eat my raft an' drink my suda
An wouldn't wear a stitch of duds."
'Jest to eat an" sleep never turn my
hand
No, I -uess that wouldn't be very grand.
When you're wishln', cove, why don't you
yearn
For somethin' useful? Instead of burn
Tour energy up a-longln', you stiff.
For a million dollars to buy things with."
, What the Seeker Found.
In the sunrise of life a youth said
boastingly: "I will attain greatness. I
will mount to the high places of earth,
above the grovellers, and will know the
taste of wealth and power and happi
ness." In the flush of the morning he strove
for all these things. At high noon he had
acquired wealth and in the afternoon
power and fame came to him.
It was as he had said, save that he In
common with all the generations of men
failed in the quest for happiness. There
had been friendships and passing loves,
handclasps and embraces and all the toj'B
of life which money buys, but none of
these secured for him the thing he sought.
In the evening he sat by an open grave
and pondered. Wayfarers saw him there
and wondered much. "He is one of the
mighty of earth," they said. "He has
lands and tenements and goods. He has
friends and serving-people about him.
While we seek in vain, surely he has
found happiness."
They could not know that his proud
houses sheltered blasted hopes, that tares
grew in his gardens, nor that the acolaim
of the mob Jangled harshly in his ears.
They did not see his yearning, the dead
dreams within htm, the ashes in his heart.
His search had ended at an open grave.
He drew his cloak about him and, shiver
ing, descended into it while the crowd
moved by.
At last the youth grown very old In his
search found the rare boon which he long
had sought.
The mediocre always condemn that
which they do not understand.
The Woman Who Talks.
Winks Mrs. Lobster is saying some
terrible things about your morals.
Blinks Yes? Well, she was always
fond of telling her reminiscences.
A Doubt.
Sometimes I think that in the realm
Where night doth never come:
There cannot be so great a joy
As he has felt whose soul recalls a night
Wherein there shone a moon
For him and one he loved.
I sometimes think that those who cherish
Memories of life's benign beginning.
Will never know the bliss
Which we are taught is held in store
For such as die and live again.
Served Him Right.
"Good morning," said the Devil as he
opened" the door of Hades for the Cheer
ful Idiot, "Is this hot enough for you?"
IS THERE A
MATERIAL, WORLD f 1
Perplexed Correspondent Aska
Ques-
tionsy Elsewhere Answered.
LOS ANGELES, Cal., July 12. (To the
Editor.) I am always much Interested in
The Oregonian's editorials. To a poor,
ignorant soul like myself there is much
food for thought in all you write. In
an editorial June 30, "Creed and Deed,"
you let forth a gleam of light, Just a
peek. I would like more light and,
while your further reference to the sub
ject would intensely Interest me, I would
not ask your valuable time and space
if I were not sure many other readers
would be deeply interested.
I am not a Christian Scientist, but
have read some of their creed. They
maintain that God never created matter
in any form, and because God created
all that ever was created, therefore, mat
ter never has been created, and has no
existence; that there is no space, space
being a trick of the human mind.
In conformity with the above. Christian
Science maintains that we do not see
objects and things in the form .in which
they really exist!
Now I quote the folowlng from your
editorial: "It would be interesting to
hear, him (Dr. Lapham) prove that the
external orld 'the fleeting show for
man's Illusion gi'en is what it seems
to be. If he can, he will succeed where
all others, ancient and modern, pagan
and Christian, have failed. Beyond
question the hypothesis concerning mat
ter which Mrs. Eddy has adopted is the
only tenable one. Since Kant, there
has not been a respectable philosopher
who held any othar."
Will you not go further and explain
the phenomena? What is this illusion?
Professor Brown's Metaphysics does not
explain. Perhaps you can, so an ordi
nary mind can grasp an understanding
of what is a material thing, if it is not
an object to see and to feel. And 1f
there can be a conclusion that objects
and things are not seen by us in the
form in which they really exist, then
there must be some conclusion as to their
real form, and what is it? I confess I
am in very deep water, but perhaps I
have made plain the information wanted.
GEO. ADAMS.