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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1908)
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Beck with Special Ai-ncy New lorlt. room" 4S Rv Tribune building. Chicago, rooma Olo-jlJ Tribune building. PORT LA M, SfXPAY. PEC, to. 19- CHEISTMAS AIX THK TTKAR. Some features in our common cele bration of Christmas might be al tered without substantial loss to the joy of the occasion. The Vciice of Assessing underlings in public offices and elsewhere to give costly presents to superiors is not very beautifu - The monev which buys the silver loving cup or the gold .watch for the great man at the head of the department might better be spent on shoes for the chil dren at home. Men in high positions who accept such forced levies from their subordinates ought to do ashamed of themselves, well knowing as they must that no love promptathe gift, but rather cringing fear. The practice of using Christmas gifts as indirect bribes has spread astonish ingly with the general commercialism of the holiday. The man who wishes a favor, the officeholder who seeks to keep his place, everybody who feela obliged to pay court to one above him. buys a Christmas present and gives It under the guise of affection, but in re ality it is a bribe and nothing else. The Oriental custom of openly offer ing money to judges and rulers is a ureat deal better than our way of buy ing favor with hypocritical pretenses of friendliness. If the business of exchanging pres ents with the secret purpose of out doing each other in lavish display or purchasing political or social advance ment were all there is in the Christ mas spirit, the sooner we abolish the holidav the better. But it is not all. It is not even a fraction of the true Christmas spirit. Wasteful or thrifty giving Is nothing better than an ex crescence which has grown out of the proper celebration of the anniversary of the Savior's birth as cancers grow in healthy tissue. Powerful as the tendency is to make Christmas an oc casion for a show of wealth and flun keyism. it has by no means crowded out the real spirit of the season. We still make holiday at the Winter sol stice to commemorate the birth of the Prince of Peace. For a day or two we hear the voices of the angels in Bethlehem singing good will among men; for one night, at least, we see the beams of the miraculous star and follow its light to the manger, where tie babe smiles his blessing on the world. There is a truce proclaimed in the war of clashing interests. The cruelty of competition is covered with a white veil of kindliness. Greed for gets to pursue Its prey and avarice loosens its clutch. For twenty-four hours all men are brothers. The ban ished Prince of Peace is admitted for one day to his kingdom and rules tt benignly. Love displaces hate, misery meets everywhere with compassion, and from one sunrise to another the wad old world actually becomes what Jesus told us it might always be. Then the slump ensues. Our Christmas exaltation Is like the spiritual flights of a certain old ex horter. famous in the pioneer days of the Methodist Church. '-Brethren." he would sob. "sometimes when I've cllm to the mountain peaks of glory and stand there Happing my wings in the Joy of salvation, it Just seems to me as if I could UTt myself up and sail straight to Abraham's bosom. But the minute my feet get off the ground and there's nothing under me but the thin air of faith, down I flop to the deepest gulfs of backslidden sin." It Is the same way with all of us. On Christmas we climb far up on the mountain of human kindliness and flap our wings in the pride of a great achievement, but the next morning we backslide and our latter state is worse than the former. When Christ mas is over we begin to hate and fight a little harder than ever to make up for lost time. The holiday spirit Is a grand and beautiful thing while it lasts. The pity is that it cannot last longer. It is fine to stay up on the mountain pea!: and flap our wings for a few hours, but how much finer it would be to stay there and keep on flapping forever. Perhaps it is a little unjust to say that in our backslidden post-Christmas conditi6n we are worse than we were before. There are signs abroad that the real Christmas spirit has be gun to permeate the whole year. Some thing of the sort ought to happen after twenty centuries of the gospel, and there Is evidence that it has hap pened. Scientists tell us that during the nineteenth century the world made more progress in material comfort than it had during all the preceding ages. Why may not something of the same sort happen in the spiritual realm during the twentieth century? Why should not great geniuses arise to solve the spiritual problems which have always baffled us as Darwin and Kdison arose to deal with the prob lems of matter? How to make all the year -an unbroken Christmas is one of these problems. Kven now thou sands of minds are at work upon It. though apparently it still awaits its Xewton. Pessimists tell us it cannot be solved. but they are a discredited tribe, for they have faid the same of every difficulty that mankind has met. In many particu lars the mystery of human misery has already been unriddled. Other parts of it still are dark, but surely we may hope for the full light before long. Jesus taught that earth could be made a place where all men should be at . Pace and all should find perpetual Joy in the abounding flood of the love of God. That was his message to us, that was his gospel. It has been per verted, obscured. forgotten, but in these latter days it begins to shine stgaln like a star of hope, like a sun rising on a world of nightmares. For two thousand dark years we have ben sleeping, dreaming dreams of de spair, but now the dawn is breaking. The Intellect of man has at last come face to face with his old enemies, hunger, disease and vice. The fight is on and there, is none to mediate be tween them. It Is a light unto death, and seeing that there is a good God in the heavens above us and a Savior born on earth, who can doubt where the victory wiH abide? RAISING TEACHERS' SALARIES- The School Board has decided to submit to the taxpayers of this city, at the meeting next Wednesday even ing, a proposal for a graded increase of from 5 to 13 per cent in the sala ries of the public school teachers of this district. This plan will, if adopt ed, increase by the larger per cent the salaries of the teachers who are now the better paid members of the force and apply the smaller per cent of increase to the smaller salaries.. This was exactly what happened when the lost Increase of salary was given to teachers. Those already fairly well paid, and whose work, though considered more responsiuic, i.-, leis exacting, both in the time and effort given to it, than is that of many of the grade teachers, received the bulk of the Increase. This is mani-e-o-tiv ,.r,tiiKr and It should not again occur. The work of the teachers is increasing all along the line; it costs .t oc miii'h for a teacher in the eighth grade, or any other grade, to live as for a principal or an assistant, in h hiirh school. The difference in responsibility in the various posi tions was taken into consio.ern.uuu n-Vw.n ih jKilnrv schedule was first ad justed. Since the Increase in salary is asked chiefly on the nasis 01 in creased living expenses, it is manifest that it should. If allowed at all. be ap plied impartially all along the line. If the increase Is to be 2 0 per cent the advance asked by the teachers, or 15 per cent, or 6 per cent, let it be applied Impartially. If it is not to be an equitable adjustment. It should be voted down. MIDGET STRIFE IN VENEZUELA. Holland. Venezuela. ar".:::: .. . Warships J'J llo,. Total armed forces 51,81j Aouu A1 ?"'.. " "1lT.9,194 $2,210,913 Such are the respective sinews of the midgets that are amusing the world with threats and flourishes, y-.., -,.i in -nmnlptelv satisfied that Queen Wilhelmina should under take- chastisement or me uuuusu, bellicose Castro. The Venezuelan president has acted like a ,razy man in International comity, and has of fended and Insulted several foreign countries, although none of his acts have amounted to downright declara tions of war. It has been expected that Castro soon or late would in volve himself in serious difficulties with some foreign power, and at last this appears to have come to pass. It is eminently fitting that Holland i i,i v.u tho individual among the nations to give Castro a drubbing. The United states nas n"""'1" against him, but chose not to engage in a brawl, and therefore ignored him. But now he is "tackled by one of his own size." and Uncle Sam looks on with complacency. All Uncle Sam in tv,t fm..nq 1 that Holland LIU A V i ... - - shall have respect for the Monroe doctrine, and not use tne cuin.ii-i a pretext for territorial aggrandize ment. . x-.,t.K. rr 4ha enmhatanta will bo able to strike the other's vitals. Vene zuela cannot, of course, reacn i Netherlands, and the most The Neth erlands can do Is probably to make a naval demonstration off the Vene zuelan coast and capture, now and then a vessel. Should actual hostili ties break out and Holland declare a blockade of Venezuelan ports, en forcement of the blockade along the 1000-mile coast line would require a considerable naval force. The principal Venezuelan ports, however, are within easy distance of Curacao, Dutch islands off the Venezuelan ports. Coffee is the chief export of Venezuela, and shipments are soon to begin. Holland's actions, therefore, appear to be well timed. Meanwhile a revolution is In progress, and Hol land can perhaps depend on the Venezuelans to dispose of Castro themselves. Castro will find the Dutch hard customers to fool with. They have world-renowned grit and stubbornness. All the power of Spain in Its zenith could not break ihe Dutch. Great Britain found a most difficult problem in South Africa, even though the Dutch were not in cited by tyranny and assassination as in the. days of Philip. SAVING A'I SPENDING. Professor Charles Zueblln, of Chi cago University, lectured recently be fore a body of three hundred womep of New York on "Saving and Spend ing." What he had to say. dealt not with the small savings of the weekly wage that prudence so persistently urges upon the masses, but the lavish spendings which have come to prove the American people a Nation of was trels reckless almost beyond belief. In the course of his remarks he ridi culed mercilessly society's expendi tures in New York, and ,of the house keeping waste of that great city he declared: "There is enough waste from the back doors to feed the whole city of Paris." Of American extrava gance he said: "One million dollars is the only mathematical unit of com putation that we now use," adding that most social functions were de signed only for display. These statements are startling chief ly because they represent incontro vertible facts The word "wastrels." as applied to the American people, represents the manner In which they handle their vast resources of forest, their game and the large surplus that remains of the products of their fields and orchards after the great market able surplus is disposed of. and the enormous sums that are dissipated In vainglorious display: Of this latter form of spending, Profesjor Zueblin -ifo.i .nnRnimious examples in C. K. G. Billings' horseback dinner at Sherry's, and the $50,000 Bradley Martin ball at the Waldorf. Such ex penditures as these are defended upon the ground that they give $50,000 worth of returns upon materials used, and in employment all along the line, and they contribute to the social en joyment the basis of which is good fellowship. These defenses Professor Zueblin breaks down by answering in substance, that it is not society. In the largo or general sense of the term, that is called to whatever enjoyment there is in such a function as this ball represented, but only a very small fraction thereof, and that nobody goes to such a function to enjoy his fellow men. They go to see and be seen for display; not for fellowship; that, so far from being social, such a func tion is distinctly unsocial, glaringly anti-social. He even eliminated the plea that in the choosing of a fancy costume individuality was taxed and expressed, declaring that "it would not tax the gray matter of even the Four Hundred to choose fancy cos TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 20, lSOS. tumes, so trifling is the effort necessary."-. Professor Zueblin is not an ctdvo nf uiHnr In the painful way that begets niggardliness. Saving to in sure the financial independence of children, he regards as possibly the worst form of that virtue that a man can cultivate, since it exalts selfish ness. And thrift, though a virtue In- kiA in , v. nnhnlMltiff of fam- lly and National life, is a virtue that I is likely to become too Interesting, i and to degrade into greed and I the vice of miserliness. Citing Russell Sage as a conspicuous example of thrift of this char acter, he said: "This man stinted all his life to leave a great fortune to a wife who had no chance to culti vate the art of spending." Finally, correlating the two arts of saving and spending the latter in his estimation being the more difficult of the two to acquire and use wisely Professor Zueblin said: "The two must be cor related. The spender must spend while saving. One cannot be learned without the other." The problems presented were probably too deep to be readily sounded by the audience that heard them, but they will, never theless, furnish wholesome food for thought, and later for discussion by members of the Society of Ethical Culture, before the woman's confer ence of which the address was made. MURDER MANIA CURE. Gun-bearers have been the foes of tyrants and usurpers In all ages, and by them have been lmonsonea, tor The makers of the Federal constitutions in this coun try sought to protect the imerty or o-nn-honrers bv declaring: in Article 2 of the National Constitution: A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be Infringed. - - In the Oregon constitution. Section 27 of the bill of rights. says: The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the nte but the military shall be kept In strict aubordinatlon to the civil power. Constitutions do not, however, give ii,t tn far-TV -wearjons concealed. L 11C Ufiiifc w ' . . In every state, laws prescribe punish ments for persons wno carry muutu guns or deadly knives. Practically all murder maniacs sm iui . cealed pistol. There are many of them in this country. Could they be .,i rrnm obtaining (runs anal ammunitibn they would be, in nearly every case, harmless, rnat is nuw nroblem for city councils and state legislatures. In Portland a councilman nxa iu r.aA on nrrllnance declaring that no person shall buy a weapon without first obtaining rrom tne tniei ui ir lice a certificate of good character. If there were any danger, as in cen ..i nnot that a tvrant should seize the Government, that ordinance would enable him to disarm his enemies, it is more to the point to inquire whether murderers are always known v-- thoir Heed as bad characters. and whether a chief of police would recognize them as such. Jim Finch could not have been denied a gun for that reason, since he had always been a peaceable citizen. ao nau , ,,.,cr Chester Thompson, slayer of Judge Emery. Besides, Finch could have bought a weapon in any one ui the numerous suburbs of Portland for his murderouB act. A resident of Albany nas proposed a bill or legislative enactment pro hibiting the "carrying, ownership or possession of dangerous or deadly weapons," unless licensea ay inn County Court. A state law would cer tainly bo more effective than a city ordinance, being of wider scope in niif-a H nn nut it could not prevent interstate commerce in deadly weap ons any more than a state law can nmhihit sWnmpiit of llauor from one state to another. If the National Government should put severe restric tions on shipments of weapons, we fancy a howl would go up from per sons who use them for right pur poses The city of Portland cannot elimi nate gun murder by the proposed ordinance, though in some cases It might withhold guns for a short time from a murderous person. The state can go further in restricting sale of weapons, but cannot prevent their im portation. The Federal Government can put rigid restrictions on ship ment of weapons, but not on their sale. None of the agencies of Gov ernment can withhold the right of possessing weapons, if constitutions mean what they say. The problem Is a very perplexing one. One thing that certainly ought td be done is to withhold weapons from vicious or lawless persons. That is evidently what the Portland ordi nance alms to do. But the authority supervising the obtalnment and pos session of guns the Chief of Police would be unpopular. The best of all remedies is tha hanging of murderers. When slayers were disposed of promptly on the gallows there was respect for life and law. The big Increase of murders in this country ultimately will bring Its own remedy, since society is bound to protect Itself from violent mem bers. Maudlin sympathy with the "insane," the "irresponsible," and the victims of "brain storm" soma day will end, and juries will convict. The cause of wholesale murder lies In tha wretched condition of public senti ment, which leads Juries to acquit. If public sentiment would demand con viction, juries would send the crimi nal insane to the gallows, where they belong. The first reform should come in public sentiment. If the public conscience will not hang murderers it will not withhold from them pistols. It cannot even " be depended on to convict persons who carry concealed weapons. More laws are not needed so much an an improved public mind to enforce laws that are old on the statute books. GATES AJAR. It Is no uncommon thing for mur derers to refuse spiritual consolation on the gallows, but not for the reason assigned by Henry Harvey. He re fused to be prayed for, according to the accounts in the papers, because he "wanted to go to hell for a special purpose." What that purpose was, unfortunately, remains a mystery. Would it not be worth while for some enterprising medium to try to unravel this mystery? In Bernard Shaw's play the hero selects Hades as his place of residence for reasons which are clearly stated and which seem in pome degree satisfac tory. The company there, he claimed, was much more lively than anything to be found in the upper realm, while the usual occupations of the inhab itants were vastly more interesting. It may be doubted whether the negro murderer. Harvey, preferred to go to Tophet for this or any similar reason, but many persons of lntelll genoe far superior to his have been somewhat disenchanted by the pros pect of the occupations and amuse ments commonly said to be found in heaven. The old Scotch woman who thought of tha better world as a place where she could sit forever in her arm chair and darn stockings had an un usually bright idea of its charms; Most of us Imagine it as a rather glar i.. it -nrlth streets of shining gold. which would be most distressing to the eyes, and whose inhabitants seem to have nothing to do but sing psalms and play upon the harp. Certamly this emplos'ment, exciting as it might v. e o oontnrv or two. Would grOW wearisome in the course of eternity. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, in ner lime book called "Gates Ajar." gave a very attractive description of heaven as she conceived of it. The psalms were i.h on h nonnla occupied them selves much as they do on earth. Is this delightful book ever read now adays? RECORD HOARD OF GOLD. The Bank of France at the close of business Saturday a week ago, held the unparalleled stock of $685,000,000 in gold, and, as it was still drawing in supplies from all over the world, the hoard by the end of the year will un doubtedly be in excess of $700,000,000. This marvalous accumulation of bul lion seems all the more remarkable when it is remembered that France, with its 40,000,000 of population, has at no point in its European posses sions a single important gold mine. All of this vast accumulation must ac cordingly be drawn from other coun tries which, of course, must he in debted to France, or for other reasons feel warranted in sending gold to Paris on demand. Yet the United States, with all of its great gold mines, and with more than double the popu lation of France, -with resources latent and developed far in excess of any thing the French have ever known, has never got together such an enor mous gold reserve as is now taxing the capacity of the vaults of the Bank of France. The secret of this ability to accumu late gold and draw it in from all parts of the world is undoubtedly found in the remarkable thrift of the French people. Always spending less than their income, and steadily refusing to go in debt for anything, this econom ical nation has repeatedly surprised the world with its ability to supply gold at a time when it was practically unobtainable elsewhere. During the panic 'of 1907, when the United States, the richest nation on earth, was un able to secure sufficient gold. to keep the wheels of trade moving, it was Paris that came to our relief, partly with direct shipments to this country, and to a greater extent with ship ments to England and thence to tha United States. Even England, which has been famous as a storehouse for gold, was obliged to call on tha French for gold during the Boer war, and Russia has borrowed from France such vast sums that that country is ... nimid tnrrpA to finance any loan that Russia needs in order to protect those already made to tne itussiana. Just at this time there is keen ln- nnt t.nmiTnii with, anxiety, as mitLi to the 'reasons for this hoarding of gold by France. That country nas been brought very close to war with Germany several times in the past few years, and there is still much un rest over the Balkan Peninsula. If it is fear of trouble with Germany that is causing this hoarding of the yellow . . . ' ,l nn vnavr hdilTTlA SPY! metal, tne siluhuuii ous for other countries. France would undoubtedly need all of this gold and much more to proteet her private banks and finance the war In case Tn such an event. the United States, and in fact all of the rest of the world, would ieei some effect of this massing of gold. The United States could In fact be serious ly affected if a number of European countries which have large invest ments in this country should suddenly be obliged to protect their own dwin dling gold reserves against the French drain. r.n. ii iwon drawing heavily on England and Germany, and if either of these countries should feel called on to get together an extra sup e n vhiinw metal for an emer gency purpose at home, they would most certainly make a aemana o mo TTnitoii states for a considerable amount of gold. The extent of the damage which such demands might cause this country would depend on the siza of the withdrawals. It is cer tainly within the power of the for eigners to fix the discount rate at a figure that would Induce liberal sell ing of American securities and at tendant demands on us ror goia iu payment. hi: was a bachelor." from Clatsop County of the death in his cabin on a lonely ranch, where he had uvea in seciuaiuu 30 years, of Judson A. Meek, a native of California, 51 years old. Lying on his cabin floor, fully dressed,- his booted feet under the cold stove, a few dollars in his pocket, he had to all appearance been dead a week when a neighbor, who cnancea xnt 'ij, fnnnii him. This brief record of tho close of a life that was existence merely, and that had covered the more than half a century, ends with the words that head this article. Of course he was "a bachelor a man to whom the tender ties of life were i,niniwn a mji.n who found commun ion with his own starved, undeveloped nature surriclent ror nis narrow nccua, a nian for whose existence of half a century neither himself nor the world was in any way benefited. He was a bachelor certainly. Why mention in connection with his bare and unprofitable existence a fact that the announcement or nis lontij m and death so amply attested? Thirty years ago, so runs the rec ord, this man built a cabin on land that was probably a gift from a ben eficent Government under the condl- (nna nt n nf Its land laWS. He W8S 21 years old then. In and out over the threshold of his cabin door he went n4 pgma o inno rlav after dav. year after year. Neither the welcome of a wife's voice nor the nappy ciamor ui children fell upon his ears at his ap proach. Finally he came and went no more. Early decrepitude had over taken him and, prone upon his cabin floor, clad in his rude garb of every day, his booted reet unaer tne- tmio in m-hsi ho hmi not strna"th to keep a fire, he died as he had lived alone. Perhaps to save the world a nuisance, perhaps from some emotion of pity, his body was carried by friendly hands to a home, the counterpart in tsola- lnn on1 lAnallnaaa nf the One that he had so long inhabited. Pity can, hardly reiuse to urup icoi " 1 1 - ence so void of life and a passing so utterly bereft of human care. A narrow, selfish, useless life has here left a record that, is scarcely mora than a blot upon each successive page as it was turned by the finger of Time in passing. Men in some of the walks of life have lived bachelors all their years and, passing, have left a heri tage that has made tne worm wi richer and the better, in tnat tney una it a i WhitHur Siinff not leSS uveu 1" 1 L ,T.fcv.- sympathetically than did Longfellow, but his sweetest meioaies were i a. family life, of which he was a part, and the strongest notes In all his lays had for their inspiration rreeaom ana love of human kind. Phillips Brooks huH nr, immarliate family ties, yet he was in close touch with humanity, per formed a noble work among nis lenow men and went to his grave universally loved and mourned, leaving tne worm better than he found it. Washington Irving's message through hi3 pen ed ucated and exalted his own and suc ceeding generations. Men like these, ana otner ijpes ui intellectual development can live in the family sense, outside of home and Its precious endearments, and still leave a record of usefulness behind thom Tnt nnr the man of ordinary attainments the ' man . whose lot is cast in rural life or In relatively isolated environments. Living alone, his nature, perhaps narrowed to the horizon of self m tne oeginnms, becomes stunted In ' expression and in due time barren of Joy and im nuriHrnm to the svmDathy which comes of the human touch. In the onora nf M vi n ?H t i nn sl home in a re stricted sense is made possible through the genial presence ana aaiiy greetings of friends. But In rural solitudes this Is impossible, and the man who se cludes -himself under such conditions fails in his first duty to himself, to the community, to his country and to the world. When such a man dies as he has lived alone a correct diagnosis of his final ailment might be ren dered in the words, "cirrhosis of the eoul." one view of divorce. It seems to be difficult for many ministers to approach the subject of divorce without bias. Our common marriage ceremony is a survival from a very ancient rite, much older than history, which "was formerly more elaborate than it is now and a great deal more sacred. The training and mental habits of the clergy cause them to emphasize the primeval sacredness of marriage, losing sight of many facts which make the relation very different today from what, it was among Nature-worshiping tribes many thousand years ago. In those times a woman was essentially a chattel, and for her to seek a separation from her husband was the same as an assault upon his property rights. Moreover, since the man valued his female pos sessions chiefly for their labor power, to divorce a wife was much like giving away a horse or cow. Things are altered now. A woman does not necessarily sell herself when she marries. She retains the control of her person and her earnings, and therefore divorce can no longer be construed as an Infringement of the right to property. It is notable that divorces have multiplied almost in a direct ratio with the Increasing recog nition of woman's status' as a human being instead of a chattel, which seems perhaps to Indicate tnat our old Aryan respect for marriage was one form of our respect for property. But minis ters are slow to alter their opinions. They are prone to overlook fundamen tally new conditions, and even when forced to admit that conditions have changed on earth they can always as sert with perfect safety that there has been no change In heaven. In that sphere, they often allege, marriage is held just as indissoluble as it ever was. Some deem it a fault in ministers that they seek to decide earthly ques tions by heavenly precepts, some a merit. But the fact that they do so is unquestionable; at any rate so many of them do that the minister forms a rare exception who will or can, take up a question like divorce and treat it solely from the point of view oi Hu man welfare. Dr. Joseph Krauskopf, the eminent Philadelphia rabbi, seems to be such an exception. When he un dertook to preach on divorce the other day, he did not inquire what anybody else thought about it, or what liter ary men in Greece, Egypt or Palestine had to say on the subject three or four thousand years ago; he asked simply how It affects men and women who have to live on earth today. His meth od looks sensible and his question seems fairly pertinent. Even if di vorce was generally ill-advised in Pal estine when the Gospels were written. it does not necessarily follow that a woman ought to be compelled to suffer the abuse of a drunken husband now. Dr. Krauskopf finds that by far the larger number of our divorces are ob talned by women whose husbands have been unfaithful, and he Interprets this fact In a way which Is truly hopeful. It does not signify, in his opinion, that marital infidelity is more common now than formerly. On the contrary, it is perhaps- less common, but women are not so willing to condone it as they once were. "They find it more and more insufferable," declares Rabbi Krauskopf. This seems to Indicate that women's standard of morality is ris ing in this particular, which can hard ly be bad for the race. If the rabbi's statistics are to be trusted, our multi plying divorces therefore are really a good sign. They denote that a genuine moral uplift is taking place in one sex at least. Very likely the other will follow suit. In most of our moral as well as econ omic advances, woman has set the ex ample and man has dangled after her with his eyes turned longingly back t6 the flesh-pots of Egypt. Still, in the end, he has forsaken the flesh-pots and followed his wife to the higher plane. He has done this in the mat ter of dueling, drinking liquor and wearing decent clothes; In relations with women he has hitherto made a great pretence of accepting the stand ard his wife has established, but his hypocrisy was pretty transparent. Our numerous divorces. Rabbi Krauskopf thinks; show that patient womankind is tired of hypocrisy and has begun to demand genuine marital fidelity. There are abundant reasons, over and above purely sentimental ones, why she should. Unfaithful husbands might possibly be tolerated if they merely broke their wives' hearts, but since we have learned that they convey In curable diseases to the mothers of their children and the children, too, the case against them looks pretty black. Dr. Krauskopf believes that freedom of divorce will operate to subject men and women to a common standard of morality. He may be right. If wo men cease to marry licentious men, evolution will do the rest. The loose liver can then leave no offspring and his kind will necessarily perish. It is literally true that women can make of the human race whatever they choose. In body, mind and spirit. The difficulty is to get them to choose. A system of peonage through which laborers are kept in debt to tho em- ploying force of a i manufacturing company maae to au intents purposes slaves has, it Is said, been discovered near Summit, a town some 30 miles from unicago. a siotmuo hHS been built there, In which the debtors of the company are confined at night, armed men keeping guard to prevent the escape of the Inmates. Where Js Upton Sinclair, that he Is not on hand to follow this clew? Has his sense of smell become so Diuntea by the prodigious tax that was laid upon it when he trailed about Pack ingtown collecting material for "The Jungle," that he can no longer follow a trail? If not, he should cut short his visit to San Francisco and post pone further protest against the ex cessive charge made at the hotels there for a breakfast ot snreaaea wheat biscuit, and hie him back to Chicago, and out to Summit, where materia. 1 for another storv from real life awaits exploitation . The statement that George Gould does not want his sister Anna to separate from her present husband for fear "she will gtt another divorce and make a more unfortunate marriage" has no basis outside of-the imagina tion of an attorney driven to his wits' end tq find reasons that will justify the French court In giving the Castel lane children Into the custody of their father. The plea Is wholly without basis, even in possibility, for did not Anna Gould rake the gilded slums of Paris over and draw from thence two husbands, each of whom was worse than the other, and both the very worst that could be dawn from that reeking social cesspool, known as the decayed French aristocracy? As bad as either of these may yet remain in this cesspool of avarice, malice and all uncleanness, but not worse. Oh, no. A few days, ago we heard through the news dispatches that Tom Rich ardson had invited fifty school chil dren of Chicago to come out and see Portland at Portland's expense. Then it transpired that somebody had been misinformed. Certainly somebody was misinformed. Tom Richardson would not make the blunder of planning a free junket from Chicago to Portland and return for only fifty chil dren, and thus run the risk of offending all the million or so who were not invited and couldn't come. It must be that Mr. Richard son asked them all. Certainly he did. Portland will be glad to see them, and will cheerfully pay their way if it doesn't cost too much. If any anxious citizens have been losing sleep over the question whether Mr. Taft will be able to conduct tha affairs of the Executive office after Mr. Roosevelt goes to Africa, his ad dresses during the past few days should relieve them of all concern on that account. While Mr. Taft will quite likely be less demonstrative than Mr. Roosevelt has been, indications are that he will be no less zealous in demanding progressive administra tion of Governmental affairs. The Dallas basketball team, which Is to tour the Middle West this Win ter, will have a splendid opportunity to advertise the enterprising city from which It hails. The members and managers of the team will meet large numbers of people who will be anxious to learn something of Ore gon. The name of their team will become well known in the cities they visit. The trip was wisely planned. May it be successful In every way. If all employers of wage-earners should engage their help upon the assumption that the men will get the greater part of their pay by exacting tips, as the Pullman Company does, there would soon be an end to the whole senseless practice. The public tolerates it because only a few em ployers pursue such a policy. Eventu ally we shall have laws forbidding tipping, unless the Pullman Company corrects the evil of its own accord. The Dunning ordinance, restricting the sale of firearms to persons bear ing a good-character certificate from the Chief of Police, would not prevent any murderous person from buying a gun In Vancouver, or Oregon City, or St John, or Lents, or Troutdale, or Linnton, nor from receiving it by mail order from any other city. Rus sia, apparently, has a fairly , good police method of restricting sale of firearms. Democratic journals of Oregon are saying that what the Republican party of Oregon lacks and is in cry ing need of is leadership. Republi cans of Oregon resent the insinuation. It Is a reflection on the magnificent leadership of Bourne, U'Ren. Cake, Idleman, Tom McCusker and Hal Pat ton. The Republican party of Oregon has leaders." It lacks followers. If the Washington office-seekers can only be persuaded that ex-Senator Turner is correct in his opinion that Mead will remain Governor until Mr. Cosgrove qualifies, there will probably be a decrease in the number of polit ical pilgrims bound for California for the purpose of brightening the last days of the Governor-elect. It Is indeed strange that a homicide committed in the presence of a larga number of people should be the cause of a long trial. If the Hains brothers had been laborers they would have been acquitted or convicted long ago. Tho length of a trial sometimes de pends upon the length of a pocket book. Two negroes and one Chinaman were hanged at once at New V'cst minster. If Multnomah's twelve mur derers were over there, they could be disposed of in four installment; of three each. Before preparing his sermon on Statement One Dr. Clarence True Wil son had luncheon with Paul Wess inger, ' A. A. Bailey and Ferdinand Reed. That ought to make it a good sermon. Washington County papers report Dr. Large as already distributing his welcome Christmas gifts. The doctor. Santa Claus and the stork make an irresistible "spike" team. London people are seeking to de stroy their famous fog by electricity. Such iconoclastic experiments in this valley would be shocking. The brave man in the hold-up, un like the brave man who reads about it, doesn't have time to remember his bravery. Don't pity the overworked plumber; he will feel no pity when he sends in his bill. TOPICAL VERSE. lieaiiy for Chrlrtmas. Houston Post. Three days after Thanksgivins; I thought I had a hunrh I would never want more turkey For breakfast, dinner, lunch. But now I feel a yearning. An empty sort of place. And, honest, I'm ashamed to Look a turkey in the face! A Christmas Protect. Puck. Say. artrls when Christmas comes alomr. What is it makes you choose The gifts that are not worth a song. And which no man can use? It's true I like to smoke, Marie, Yet nothing quite so shocks As those cigars you bought for m At eighty cents a box. A smoking jacket suits me well It's quite a handy thing; Hut why select a pattern. Belle, They wear up in f-ing Sing? Thourrh slippers put me at my easa. And should be fairly large. Wy foot, lake notice. Fl. iente, please Is hardly quito a targe. Christina In the Country riaeefc Atlanta (-"onstltution. Christmas in the cjuntry places There You see the rosy faces; There the joy tho world entrnncln Joy that sets the world a-danctn'l Fine an' free the lifo-blocd races Christmas in the country places. Glad enough to hear It hummin'; Waited lonjr to .see it. comln'; Knows the place where we're ft-stayimr Fine to spend a holiday in! There is where amazin' grace Is Christmas in the country places. City has the good time, too. Yet, the country calls to you; There It Is you want to roam In the frosty fields ot "Home." Hearty handshake, friendly fares Christmas in vthe country placesl Pile the ample oak logs higher! Room for ona more at . the fire! Same old tales of Iong Ago Tell 'em! for we love 'em so! All life's trouble Jo- effaces Christmas in the country places! December Jingles. Chicago News. Ol' December cuius along, Heah him rip en blow; Lls'en to his blizahd song Dinah, close de do. Winteh's cummin' good en stronj; WId ets ice en snow, Goosebone say et will be long Dinah, close de d'i'. "Shop Early." Brooklyn Eagle. Unless you've a heart that is knotty and knurly, Tou'll try to see Christmas before It l here; Impressed by the motto: "Go out and shop earl" " . That strikes, like a Are gong, each listen ing ear. The saleswoman, paling, the little cash girlie. Half tired to death In a season of cheer. You've seen. Take this motto: "Go out and shop earlv," That strikes like a fire-gong each listen in e ear. Get busy before all the wild hurly-burly That brings to each buyer excitement and fear; Give heed to the motto: "Go out and shop early." That strikes like a flre-gons each listen ing ear Ave. go before floorwalkers start to be surly: Ere brains have got whirly, for reasons quite clear. There's sense In the motto: "Go out and shop early," That strikes like a flre-gong- each listen ing ear. Hair curly, eyes pearly, not one of 'em churl ', The salesgirls will greet you with welcome sincere. Ignore not the motto: "Go out and shop early." That strikes like a fire-gong each listen ing ear. The Old, Old Story. Ttlch. juicv. tender beefti;ak will be a. lux ury for even the rich this Winter. Cattle that produce it corn-fed cattle will be scarce. High-priced corn is to blame. To peka Dispatch. Indianapolis New What? Still another time?. Well, nowf And with the same excuse for it I Oh, It's no good to raise a row. There's not a bit of use for it. Why. Just recently they said 'twas true The corn crop' was quite plentiful. Which put us cheerfully all to The dolce far nlenteful; And Now they say these trout lea come Because the price of corn is htgal Forecasts) are mostly to the bum -Excuse us if our scorn Is high. But The porterhouse, the tenderloin And other cuts of desirable Have long demanded so much coin They've ceased to be acquirable. So Our interest In things like these Is purely academical. And we d not hand out any wheeie ' In manner that's polemical. Ah. Returned prosperity's a game Of far too rich a stripe for ua! When we crave meat we'll have the samst As heretofore It's tripe for us. The Main Issue. Nashville Tenneseean. Revision of the tariff no more loom up aa the one And most Important event underneatn th shining sun; Nor what Joe Cannon has to say nor wnat Bill Taft has planned Nor John D.'s airy porslllage upon the wit ness stand; No longer reck we of rebates nor Archbold's golden power The times have chaLged and such axe not the topics of the hour: They sink to deep oblivion before this thought that haunts Ttat every kid on Christmas day gwts every thing he wants All manner now of statesmanship Is null and void and nit Go. let the dippy Kaiser throw another ver bal fit; What member of the Cabinet that Billy Tuft's appointed Or whiit Sup'-enie Court Judges in the future are anointed: AfTairs of law and order, though Important to the state, t,lke "other leading matters, in their turn must stand and wait; The octopus no longer scares the trust no longer daunts If every kid on Christmas day gets every thing he wants. MY STARMOItn.E. By Margaret Talnier. If I were the fairy behind the niooti. Do you know what I would do? I'd build myself an automobile And ride the whole night through! I'd make my auto out of the slars. with little ones for the whep. Do you know what I'd call this wonderful car? I'd call It my starmoblle. II The sparks would always be lighted then With which to make It go: And the moonbeams would make a lovely road To ride on to and fro. And every night I'd go down to the world To see what they were about. And get back to the moon before morning came The' time when the stars go out. III. I'd ride to the North Pole on Chiittmas eve. And help Santa carry, his toys All over the world: but he'd only give To the good little glrie and boys. And all year around I could help him. too, To keep track of th'ee who were good. Becauw my mavhlne could travel, you know. Faster than reindeer rould. IV. Now. wouldn't you love to live with me. Away, way up In the sky? Every night we'd Jump in my etarmoblle And down to the earth we d fly. And we'd see so many wonderful eight. An whirling along we went. To live on the earth again I'm stir You'd never be content.
