Q . THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN. PORTLAT, SEPTEMBER 26, 1909. ;
TRIBUTE
The following1 address'on "Sixty-five Tears
of Willamette University." by Edgar B.
Piper, an alumnus of 1SS. waa read at
the necent dedicatory services of Eaton
Hall at Salem. Sunday. September 1. It
is herewith printed by request:
IF it Is expected tonight that I shall
undertake the task of the- historian
and tell the wonderful story of Wil
lamette University and he M years of
Its memorable existence. I shall have to
disappoint you. I am but imperfectly
equipped for a duty so responsible and
honorable, though I have as filial a love
for my Alma Mater as any of her sons
and am as deeply imbued a any with her
traditions and with pride In her Ions and
worthy record. It has seemed to me al
ways that the old school was something
more than a fenced-in rectangle covered
with a more or less ornate group of build
ings filled with musty tomes and dusty
blackboards and bleak classrooms and
echoing hallways and reverberating with
the monotonous Dealings " of a tinpanny
belL To the true alumnus there is also
the tingling memory of the stolen bell
clapper and the calf in the steeple arid
the whittled benches and the joint ses
sions of the literary societies and the par
alyzing summons to the high Impeach
ment court in the faculty room after
chapel. If you have not breathed the air
of such a life at the old school you have
not lived, and if you do not remember
with smiles and tears all the episodic
events of earlier and happier days, you
do not deserve to live. I have no purpose
In thus recalling to your mind the experi
ences you have enjoyed, or may have suf
fered, as the case may be. to suggest that
there was not work serious and effective,
to be done in the university curriculum
There was, indeed,' as the record dis
closes; but there is the human spirit al
ways to be reckoned with In the life of a
school, and its manifestations are various
and surprising. You do not remember the
hours passed in diligent and anxious
study, or the long and uneventful periods
of recitation and declamation In the class
room so much as you do the old campus
and the barren athletic grounds -and the
shady trees and the running streams and
the old fence, and the excursions through
the fields with the botany class hunting
flowers and finding sometimes a compan
ion for life, and the hurry and the worry
and bustle and excitement of commence
ment days and the partings, per
haps forever, at beginning of va
cation with sworn friends made
during the Imperishable college years,
you forget your Latin and your
calculus and you are not sorry for prob
ably you will never need them; but you
never are old enough or callous enough
or far enough away from the dreams and
loves and hopes of youth and life, to fail
to be thrilled by the faded flower that
drops from the worn text-book or pained
by the chance account of the vicissitudes
that may have ovortaken some college
day friend.
There waa the door to when I found no
kev.
There was the veil through which I could
v not see. .
Some little talk awhile of thee and me.
There was and thea no more of thee and
me.
The moving finger writes; and having writ
Moves on; nor all your piety nor wit
Shall lure It back to cancel half a line.
Nor all your tears wash out a word of It.
Some of us have been gone for many
years; and we may be pardoned perhaps
if we should think that there are no days
like the old days: but we are not unmind
ful of the growth and development, and
progress of the passing years nor of the
Imperative demands so adequately met
that there shall be a large and more rep
resentative university, a more -complete
equipment, a more exact and scientific
teaching method, and a larger and more
thoroughly trained faculty. All these
things we see and admit, and all of them
we shall do our share to support and pro
mote. But we cannot, we will not forget
the past. If then I turn my face toward
former years, and appear to be forgetful
In some degree of the future, I offer in,
justification my assigned subject, and de
mand from you complete and ungrudging
acquiescence.
e
Slxty-flve years of Willamette Ulnver
slty! Sixty-five years. Longer than the
ordinary span of human existence, far
more prolonged than the average record
of personal achievement, brief and Insig
nificant only in the vast and mysterious
cycles of God's eternity. If you project
your mortal mind and your Immortal sym
pathies back to the earlier era of a strug
gling and doubtful missionary existence
In Oregon, you may understand something
of the sentiments that Inspired our Chris
tian forbears to found the old Oregon In
stitute. Here at Salem were the feeble
beginnings of a maturing civilization.
Here in the silent wilderness of the un
known West was to be the capital of &
new and marvelous 6tate. Here was the
seat of the mighty effort to convert the
Indian end to found a Christian empire.
Here first burst Into flame the epark of
an unquenchable American patriotism;
and hereabouts was first raised the glor
ious flag of an emancipated and liberty
loving American people. Here at the first
shrine of a solemn religion by a devoted
Christian company was to be built the
first and noblest temple of a higher and
broader learning. Here on a basis of deep
and sincere piety and seal was to be in
. structlon In books and In the precepts of
a true religion, suited to the needs and
' intelligence and faith of the sons and
i daughters of strong men and good wom
en. Here was to be and Is a lasting mon
ument to labors and deeds and beliefs of
the fearless and faithful missionaries who
had braved the dangers and trials of a
long journey across the perilous plains or
through strange and stormy seas to erect
the cross of the Saviour of men among
the mystified and wondering denizens of
forest, stream and valley. Iid these ven
turesome and God-fearing men underesti
mate the magnitude of the task' they es
sayed, or did they overestimate the beau,
ties and wonders and attractions of the
far-off land that, drew them so Irresist
ibly from comfortable homes and easy ca
reers to precarious lives of toll, trouble,
tragedy and tears? We do not know, but
it matters not. We are sure that If they
had foreseen every obstacle and under
stood perfectly every danger, they would
nevertheless have donned their armor,
unfurled their flag and Journeyed Joyous
ly forth to victory and death shouting the
songs of Zion and raising their Ebenezer
where It could have been seen by all men.
There were giants in those days, and
they used their strength as .benevolent
giants should. They came first In com
panies of en or a dozen, and then In
fifties and by the hundreds, and then In
yet larger numbers, until at last the
church spire and the school tower be
came accustomed to their lonely vigil In
the frowning forest and where once had
been the Indian tepees and council tents,
the farmhouse and the cross-roads store
appeared in the peaceful valleys, the en
during signs and permanent proofs of a
civilization that had come to stay. In
such primitive conditions as these, in the
days when your grandfather and mine
were sturdy youths and your grandmoth
er and mine were blushing and tremulous
maidens, Willamette University had its
origin. Do you wonder that with such
a beginning it has had a history and
name and fame and fortune that far ex
cel In wealth of memory and veneration
and love and respect and loyalty the en
dowment of any other educational Insti
tution in the entire West? When first
the notes of the tingling bell of ths Old
Oregon Institute rang out on the unfa
miliar air, in 144, It was more than two
TO WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
thousand miles removed from the site of I
Dimiiiip ntrrjrlae. I have been 1
greatly Impressed by a striking Illustra
tion as to the Isolation and remoteness of
Willamette University, then the Oregon
Institute, made In the address of Mr. C
B. Moores, on the occasion of the laying
of the cornerstone of Eaton Hall. Decem
ber 16, 1908. so much Impressed that I
venture to repeat a part of It here.
When the Oregon Institute was born the
total white population of Oregon could have
been seated within this halL On August 16.
1S44, when the first session of the "Oregon
Institute" was opsned. there were In exist
ence only five of the 60 institutions of col
lege grade that are now operating under
the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, not Including the Ohio tVesleyan
University and the Iowa Wssleyan Univer
sity, both of which opened their doors in
that year. Then Boston University, and
Cornell and Johns Hqpklns and Stanford,
and Berkeley, and Northwestern, end Syra
cuse, and Vanderbtlt, and the 1 Diversity
of Chicago, and Bryn MawT, and Bmltn.
and Vassar and Wellesley. and the Univer
sities of Denver, and Illinois, and Kansas,
and Minnesota, and Nebraska, and Texas,
and Wisconsin, and other great schools en
dowed with millions of wealth and swarm
ing with tens of thousands of students were
not onlv unknown, but unthought of.
In that year there were in existence Just
'two colleges west of the Mississippi. Tulane.
at New Orleans, and the University of St.
Louis, at St. Louis. Aside from these. In
all that great empire extending from the
Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, that vast
expanse comprising two-thirds of the terri
tory of the rated States, there was not a
single Institution of college grade, there was
not-a single mile of railroad, and schools
and ohurches and orchards and wheat fields
were almost unknown In all of that bound
less territory that today teems with all the
evidences of an advanced civilization, and
boasts its millions of men and Its billions
of wealth.
So said Mr. Moores. What more con
vincing 'tribute could have been paid to
the far-seeing wisdom of the practical
devotion of our fathers? They were far
out of the current of Intellectual and re
ligious growth that was then flowing
strongly and serenely through the states
of the East and Middle West. They knew
only vaguely and uncertainly of the Na
tional spirit that was but then beginning
to take recognizable form and to assert
Itself Impressively and powerfully upon
our common American life. Tet they
saw -with clear and true vision the prob
able course of events here, and they pre
pared to take advantage of them. They
bullded for themselves, but they wrought
also for posterity. They sought to pro
tect and support the visible structure of
faith and religion with an unconquerable
fortress of learning and Intelligence: and
they fixed there and then in position,
also, the keystone of an invincible arch
of fraternity, patriotism and civilization.
Religion, faith, duty, ambition, love of
truth, love of knowledge. Jove of home,
love of country, all had to do with the
scheme for the making of a great col
lege In the Pacific Northwest. Religion,
the same religion that brought light from
darkness, hope from helpless misery,
knowledge from unlUumined Ignorance
and freedom, liberty and equality from
the tyrants' cruel oppressions; the same
faith that inspires the lowly to glory In
a martyr's death, and the lofty , to kneel
at the Master's feet; the same fluty that
commands the soldier to bare his breast
to the enemy's deadly .bullets and the
meek and gentle sister to bathe his
fevered head on his dying pillow; the
same ambition that creates kingdoms and
dethrones Kings; the same love of truth
that brought Galileo to the Judgment
seat, burnt Bruno at the stake, excom
municated Luther and Kindled the fires
that drove aw.y the mists and supersti
tions of the dark ages; ' the same love
of knowledge that burnt the midnight
lamp through the unrewarded years and
scanned the unresponsive heavens for a
sign; the same love of home that arrest
ed the fugitive steps of the wearied and
repentant prodigal, and that drives the
hardy pioneer with ax and plow and
rifle to the virgin plains where he may
plant his household gods; the same love
of country that sends the ipatriot to the
cannon's mouth and plunges him to a
hero's death with a cry of triumph and
defiance on his lips. These Indeed were
present at the outset with Willamette
University as they are today, the char
acteristic marks and the steady Impulses
of Its onward march.
If you were to seek from some friend,'
advice as to the history of the Pacific
Northwest, he might, and probably
would, tell you to go to any library
and take down from Its shelves a vol
ume of Bancroft or Lyman or Gray or
Snowden or Laut or any of a hundred
other writers who have found In the
musty records of the past century a
varied chronicle of astonishing Interest
and value. But you can do better if
you will. Consult any one who knows
the record of Willamette University and
the Methodist Church and he will tell
you truthfully that the history of these
two mother and daughter Is tbe his
tory of the entire time since 1830. They
tell us that, In the United States,
church and state must forever be sep
arated, but I tell you that In the mag
nificent American commonwealth the
great Northwest, ' church and state
were, and are forever. Insepar
able. Once the state was the
Methodist church; today the same pow
erful church is largely the state
through its army of sons and daugh
ters who have been educated at Wil
Jamette Linlversity. Of course, all this
sounds like empty boasting made to
please your fancy and stir your vanity,
but It is not. It Is the solemn recog
nition of a demonstrable truth. You
have but to inspect the roster of Wil
lamette University and you will dis
cover there the names of a hundred,
aye, a thousand, students and alumni,
and of faculty and trustees as -well,
who have played conspicuous roles In
the drama of our unparalleled growth
and development. It Is the roll of honor
for Oregon a record of successful
achievement and of duty well done. I
had almost said that it was the whole
record, but I would be Just to all; yet
no man. who through many years de
sired to work and strive in Oregon
dared to disobey the voice of the Meth
odist Church;, and all sought the ap
proving attention of Its listening ear.
So that all who hoped for public con
sideration or. Indeed, private favor en
deavored to be in harmony with the
great designs of the church. Today
none who has any public end to attain
or who cares about a correct standard
of personal conduct dares to challenge
the church's opposition. It Is barely
possible that you have had a notion
that tho church and the university have
lost some measure of their Influence
and power, since others too have en
listed In the common army of our ad
vancing civilization. But look among
the captains and the kings; there you
will find the waving plumes of many
helmeted sons of Willamette and of
the church. Look at the bench of the
three Northwest states; there you will
discover that the scales of Justice have
been maintained at even balance
through the learning and Integrity and
the nice sense of equity that distin
guish the name and. fame of many
graduates of Willamette. Look at the
bar, and observe the long list of cap
able 'lawyers who have championed the
cause of the weak and erring, and
who perhaps have also sought judicial
favor for some client not weak but cer
tainly erring, yet who have done what
they had to do with energy, eloquenoe
and conscientiousness.
Look at tho physicians men who
have braved the dangers of swollen
rivers and impassable roads to reach
the bedside of a stricken patient and
who have ministered to the ailments
of the poor, the unfortunate and the
miserable, often without hope of profit
or even of thanks, and who by their
i skill and knowledge and patient re-
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search have added vastly to the sum of
human comfort and happiness.
,Look at the pulpit.' Scan the scroll
of the Methodist preachers, or rather
of preachers educated by the Methed
1st Church, which may.be another story.
They may not all stay in the Method
ist Church, Indeed, but they are still
preachers of the word; and what Meth
odist will begrudge any other church
the loan or gift of talent and train
ing mind, I do not say godliness or
religion that It may much need. The
Methodist pulpit has been and Is
adorned by many preachers of light,
leading and learning, but it has more
than these. It has others, many others,
of pervading spirituality and of God's
beautiful grace. Men who have lived
lives of unselfishness, self-denial and
poverty, that they might follow In the
steps of the Great Teacher. Men who
have blessed the cheerful sacrament of
a happy marriage only to turn away to
assuage the widow's grief and dry the
orphan's streaming eyes men wl
have rejoiced with you In your rejoic
ing, sorrowed with you In your sor
rows and toiled with you in your toils,
and have sought always, through storm
and stress and weariness and dismay,
to point out the one true way to live
rightly and die happily. Such is the
Methodist preacher1 the man. the
brother, the counselor and the friend.
So may he receive at last the crown
that is his Just reward, and that, God
knows, he will never get from mortal
hands.
If the state has needed a Senator or
Governor, it has often drafted him
from the Methodist Church; or If It has
felt In a critical hour the necessity of
having in Congress a representative,
vigilant, intelligent, industrious. In
formed on all great public questions
and alive to the particular Interests
of his constituents and withal both
modest and scholarly, it has turned to
the faculty -of the old university; and
Indeed In times past it has called Into
service In that high capacity more than
one recruit from the student body. In
every honorable calling you will find
some familiar name from tna scnooi
some one, or Indeed many, who have
drawn their real impulse for and per
manent Instruction In the right man
ner of living and doing from the old
school on the shores of the placid Wil
lamette. see
I will abandon a purpose formed to
mention no names in this address how
can I be Invidious among a multitude so
distinguished and worthy and will lay a
chaplet on the brow, now forever. In re
pose, of Sam L. Simpson, a gifted alum
nus of W'lllamette. He was the author
of that lovely lyrical gem "To the Wil
lamette" quoted. His work lends a pecu
liar luster to the glory of his alma mater,
for he has written other poems that
should not be forgotten." Sam L. Simpson
was born to sorrow and misfortune, yet
his mind was ever serene and pure, and
his musical voice sang with a strong
and. sensitive note. There Is hardly a
poem In the language more cadent or
metrical than "To the Willamette," and
any of the greatest poets might have
been proud to claim It as his own. There
are many great preachers, great, law
yers, great doctors, great Judges, . great
statesmen, and great gruslness men, but
only a few too few great poets. If
Sam L.. Simpson achieved little In the
rushing world of affairs. It was because
his nature was in tune with the infinite
and entirely out of harmony with the
sordid, pushing. hustling. grasping
scheme of finite things. He never under
stood them; he never cared for them; he
never strove against them; his gentle
and lofty spirit saw with his soul's eyes
only the beautiful and toe wonderful,
and the spiritual and the tuneful all
visions that to .him were realities and
were transformed Into sensate and mov
ing Images by the magic of his consum
mate literary art. What shall we say of
his failures? Nothing they are burled
with his dust What shall we say of bis
sorrows? Nothings they are gone. What
shall we say of his temptations and ve
nial trespasses? We remember only to
pity and forget. What shall we say of
his retiring life and quiet death? Only
that which Is pleasant and kind and lov
ing. But what must we say of the work
he wrought the shapely shaft he chis
eled out through laborious days and rest
less nights to be placed at the summit
of all poetical effort In Oregon? We
ought to say that every one of us will
contribute In some way to the laudable
project for the collection of Simpson's
poems that they may be presented to the
world; permanently and properly fixed In
their' high place In the annals of Wil
lamette University.
I have no forebodings as to the future
of Willamette University. I- have been
indeed, a little concerned in days gone
by at the unmistakable trend of modern
higher education toward scientific and
classified instruction, and I have seen,
as you have seen, the remarkable growth
of other institutions that have devoted
themselves largely to training of students
in special and technical knowledge. It
has almost seemed that the' day bed
passed when It was sufficient for a col
lege or university to undertake to furnish
a student with what might be termed a
liberal education. The old theory was
that the broad function of a college or
university was to provide the styjdent
with a complete training In letters and
in the humanities and at the same time
to be responsible for the full and correct
development of his moral character. What
has become of the old-fashioned school
that undertook to lead the Immature and
uninformed young man or young woman
along proper paths of duty, conscience
and Individual accountability? What has
become of the old-time teacher that es
teemed It his highest prllege and his
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VUsMm, HIM'X
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HALL, WILLAMJETTTS UNIVERSITY, SALE-, OR.
most sacred obligation to Instill in every
pupil's mind true views of personal con
duct and honorable service? Where Is
the college professor of other days who
gave the world always a beautiful ex
ample of high thinking and plain living?
He cared nothing for riches and little for
honors aside from his lofty calling. He
had a noble. Ideal, and he truly sought
to realize it. You knew him, and to you
as to me he was an everyday type. I will
not say he Is gone, but I will say that
he has been largely displaced by the
specialist and the scientific investigator.
The latter-day college or university fac
ulty is made up In great part of many
talented men who have won distinction,
even renown. In the pursuit of a single
Idea or in the development of a single
branch of knowledge, or invention or dis
covery. It Is his vocation to Impart to
the student instruction along the line of
the particular subject of research to
which he may have devoted his life. He
may have made it his prime business to
qualify himself to- each baoteriology, or
entomology, or dairying, or ethnology,' or
the history of allegory, or the true theory
of hieroglyphics, or pattern making, or
domestic science, or pomology, or poultry
husbandry, or landscape gardening; and
he feels It incumbent on him to concern
himself only a very little about the mor
als and behavior of the young men and
women who are in his classes. He Is not
f.here for that purpose. No one expects
tilm to do it; every one Is anxious to
vlearn from his lips or by praotical dem
(onstration with extensive appliances or
-'complicated apparatus, the newest and
'latest results of his individual studies,
and experiments, or of the experiments
and studies of other highly qualified spe
cialists in the same scientific work. He
(may be and probably Is a man of upright
life. He may have, probably he has, a
t, perfectly lawful conception of the rela
tions of every Individual to every other.
to the church and to the state. He may.
land probably does require good order.
manners and studied politeness in nia
classroom. But his sense of responsibil
ity to his pupils ceases when the door
I vanlahinff class, and Is re
h t,. , oav. recitation
or lecture hour begins. He Is In no sense
to blame; he would be astonished If he
were to be asked why ne nas not. iiw
lowed the members of his classes to their
homes with an Inquiry as to how they
were spending their time, or with an
admonition that it should be well em
ployed outside the necessary hours of
study. John Corbln, widely known as a
literary and dramatic critic, has written
a most Interesting book entitled, "Which
College for the Boy?" It is an illumin
ating revelation of modern college life
and modern college methods. I quote a
few sentences from his chapter on
Princeton University since It very nearly
Illustrates the points I have been striving
to make. .
"There are in America." says Mr. Cor
bln "two tvpes of Institutions of higher
education, which. If not mutually exclu
sive, have hitherto been at least highly
antagonistic One teaches the few sub
jects' which are of general and funda
mental value, the other many and diverse
subjects highly specialized. One places
chief emphasis on the training of mind
and character, the other on science. The
distinction is vltaL In this present day
In America much stress Is laid upon util
itarian achievement. Thoughtful folk
everywhere feel the need of an Infusion
of larger and deeper ideals. No nation
can maintain its eminence without a gen
erous share of the faculty of doing things,
but beneath and above this is the larger
life of the spirit, which Is more import
ant than any material success; nure Im
portant, even, than any lnteileotual suc
cess; for what shall it profit a man if
he gain the whole world and lose his own
soul? Only the Inner spirit of mankind
can raise the world higher and still
higher."
see
It Is true that Mr. Corbln In making
this remarkable contrast- between the
tendencies of two great groups of col
leges had in mind the small college as
opposed to the larger university; but It
appears to me to be exactly applicable to
the so-called college of letters which is
only another name for the small college,
and the greatly endowed universities that
go in for every variety, class, style and
description of technical or . specialized
and classified Instruction. I have no pur
pose here to offer any criticism of any
institution that has fallen in with the
latest fashions in latter-day education,
and has sought to adorn the bony frame
work of a dry curriculum with a few
fancy frills and flourishes of scientlflo
polish and technical finish. It Is quite
true that the drift has. been largely away
from the old-time classics to the new
time pragmatics. What Is the use, we
hear, of worrying about the seven-year
Journey of Aeneas from Troy to Rome?
You can make It today in seven days or
leas. Why bother about the labors of
Ulysses, who almost lost his head over a
lot of mythical and Impossible sirens? It
is difficult to understand why Ulysses
so nearly fell a victim of their wiles, if
they look anything like the pictures that
xirey handed down to us from artists Just
a little older and a great deal poorer
even that the Old Masters. It Is puzzling
too. to understand why such a row was
made over Helen as to lead to a nine
years' war, though it did, Indeed, produce
the wonderful llllad. We know it is won
derful because we were told so every day
when we were wrestling with the roster
of the ships, and the life and adventures
of the wooden horse, and the heroic deeds
of the brave Hector, and the gloomy sulk
ings of Achilles and the many griefs of
Priam and the bad Jokes of Thersites,
and were daily disclosing the really won
derful nature of Homer's great epic by
such wonderful translations. Ah, Indeed,
there were many lions In the path of the
aspiring student of the old days, and It
Is doubtful if very many of us appreciated
the real merit of classical literature, the
1844-1909
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a.
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majesty and beauty of the Homeric verse,
the dignity and power of the Homeric
expression, the rolling thunfler of the
Homeric vocabulary. But nevertheless we
got there our first Insight Into life, lan
guage and letters, moved around in an at
mosphere of culture and learning and
were taught how to understand and as
similate great prose and greater poetry.
It was and is never intended or required
that the student should. know Greek and
Latin except in its barest, outlines; It is
intended and required fhat by going to
the roots of all knowledge, the very be
ginning of literature, he shall have
learned how to read the greatest books
of all languages In their translated form
with appreciation and Intelligence. If the
foundation shall be laid strong and deep,
the superstructure is easy to build. Read
ing maketh the full man, study and re-:
flection, the profound man, writing the
exact man, and speaking the ready man,
and all of these together the man who
conquers the world. But something, every
thing depends on the student. What can
any college or university do without a
loyal, earnest and enthusiastic student
body? No Institution, no course of in
struction, no method of training, no
equipment, not all the books and not all
PRESIDENT TAFT SMILES WAY TO HEARTS
OF BOTH YOUNG AND OLD IN WINDY CITY
Unruffled by Opposition of Bankers Effects of Address on New Tariff Law Still in Doubt Fielder Jones
Sadly Missed by Chicago.
BY JONATHAN PALMER. '
CHICAGO, Sept. 25. (Special.)
Whatever may be said of Taft the
President, It is not to be denied
that Taft, the man, made a great hit
In Chicago. It is estimated that "nearly
1,000,000 persons saw him, one-third of
whom were schoolchildren. One of the
remarkable phases of his progress
from place to place and from function
to function was ' his ready adaptation
to the situation. He won the hearts
of the schoolchildren with his sincere
return of. their vociferous greetings.
One of the finest bits of his speaking
during the day was his beautiful
tribute paid to these same school
children after he was out of the range
of their hearing. It was plainly the
honest expression of a deeply-moved
man.
Mr. Taft had a "come-on-boys' stymie
of circling his hat in the air as he rode
through the crowded streets to the
West Side ball game. He radiated un
affeoted cheer and left the crowds he
passed In a rare good humor. The per
sonal element figured In the mood of
the people more strikingly than ever
before featured the forward march of
a Chief Executive In Chicago. At the
game between the Cubs and the Giants
Mr. Taft was a dignified and Impartial
rooter, and he entered into the spirit
of the occasion like a practiced hand.
Not Ruffled by Opposition.
But while the President won his way
with the force of his personality, he
found himself In an atmosphere of op
position on matters ' of state. While be
was in the very act of priming himself
for his speeoh in favor of postal savings
banks, the hundreds of delegates here
for the convention of the American Bank
ers' Association were placing themselves
on record In unqualified terms against the
establishment of such an institution. Mr.
Taft did not let this opposition ruffle
him and when he claced his name on the
register of the bankers he Jocosely added
In the line intended for occupation the
words "President of the New Central
Bank, possibly." It was a delicate way
of saying that under certain circum
stances he could give his approval to the
central bank proposition.
It Is a debatable question whether the
President has strengthened or weakened
himself In the popular estimation here
by his talk on the new tariff law. His
position Is challenged by many Influential
thinking men, who express the opinion
that Mr, Taft want unnecessarily out of
his way In his conciliating comment.
They hold the effort to cement the party
factions against the coming Congressional
election was too patent. Interviews with
many well-known Chicago Republicans
reveal a lukewarmness toward the Presi
dential pronouncement that was hardly
expected. If the sentiments voiced here
are a true index of what the people are
thinking and feeling farther West, it is
said the President has a task of oratory
and argument before him that will tax
his genius.
' American Tarnier Changed.
The change that has come over the
spirit of the American farm was strik
ingly illustrated at the annual plowing
match Just held at Wheatland. This
annual event used to be a focal point for
the politicians of the state. Legislators
and men of political ambitions were wont
to rub shoulders with the men of the
soil who came in farm wagons, spring
wagons and on horseback for a festal
day. The plowing match was a fit com
panion piece for the county fair. It was
a great clearing-house in other days for
the political Ideas of Northern Illinois.
Careers were made and unmade there.
What happened this year? There were
no ' horseback riders save a farmhand
here and there who wanted to see the
experts plow. Bandana handkerchiefs
were not In evidence. Even the spring
wagon was scarce enough to be con
spicuous. The farmers came In auto
mobiles, some of them scores of miles.
Every one of them carried a daily news
paper with him. Those who couldn't at
tend the match Inquired by telephone
about It progress and probable outcome.
As the song goes. "It Was Not Like That
In the Olden Days."
For half a dozen years Alvln Stark had
won cups In the plowing match. This
time he not onlly did not win, but he
was not luaky enough to land a place.
Address 01 iuagar xs: riper on ine uccasion 01 uio oiy
Fifth Anniversary.
the teachers anywhere, can put Intellect
In the vacant mind, character In the Im
moral nature, or energy in the lazy body.
The college furnishes the opportunity, the
student must do the rest.
I have In mind the struggles one young
man endured in this Pacific Northwest
50 years ago to get for himself an educa
tion. He lived near Olympla, on Puget
6ound. It was a wild country; settle
ments were far apart. There were few
schools, none worth the name, except in
Oregon, where there was an academy at
Forest Grove and a unlversty at Salem.
This young man was born in Illinois In
1S3S. At the age of H he came across the
plains with his father's family and settled
in the wilderness of the Oregon country.
In the Winter he attended for a few
months a poorly equipped school. But for
most of the time the boy, giunt in frame
and muscle, did a man's work with ax
and plow. At night, when he could, he
read the few books within his reach. His
father, though a pioneer, was a man o3
vlgwrous mental make-up and no little
reading. But he did not need to tell his
son the names of the best books, for the
son knew intuitively. Somewhere he got
hojd of Milton's "Paradise Lost." He
not only re-ad it again and again, but he
committed ft to memory. It will perhaps
astound you to hear from me-that today,
after more than a half century, If you
quote to this man one line anywhere from
that immortal epic, he will take up the
next from memory, and go on indefinitely.
At the age of 17 he enlisted as a pri
vate in Coldnel Shaw's militia company
and fought Indians, and fought them
well. In the bloody outbreak of 1855 and
1S57. The war over, the young pioneer de
termined to get an education. He got to
gether his few books and fewer clothes,
put them on his back and started for Or
egon, walking. He walked the entire
distance over the poor roads and the
rough trails of that early day, swimming
more than one stream, and somehow get
ting across the Columbia near Kalama,
and again over the Willamette at Port
land." His first destination was the home
of some relatives in Clackamas County.
On the last day of his Journey he trudged
60 miles with hU heavy pack on his back,
passing through the struggling village of
Portland without stopping. He entered
college, and he paid his own way. He
worked in sawmills, taught school,
chopped wood, helped on farms, employ
ing his few spare hours In reading history,
the Bible and Shakespeare, and at 25 re
ceived his diploma as a collage graduate.
Two years thereafter, while serving as li
brarian In the Portland library he was en
gaged as an editorial writer on The Ore
gonian. His first notable work was an
editorial on the assassination of President
Lincoln. This man is now editor of The
Oregonian, as he has been for more than
40 years. All his life he has been a stu
dent. He has sought knowledge from
every source. H knows history and the
ology and literature as few men know
them. Much of his deep and varied store
His failure was due to the fact that Dob
bin, his faithful and dependable wheel
horse In other years, was not used to the
tooting and puffing automobiles. Dobbin
shied and plunged sidewlse and finally
balked. His countrified, conduct cost Mr.
Stark his fame as an overturner of the
soil.
Urban attendants used to love the odor
of the freshly plowed ground. This time
their nostrils were assailed by. gasoline
fumes from the motor cars and from the
traction plows that turned six furrows
at a time. Old Earth had no chance to
exploit her perfumery. As for politics
the farmers had had enough of that In
their dally papers. They respectfully
moved away when the subject was
broached.
Fielder Jonca Sadly Mhssed-
"I. wonder how It would have been
If we had had Fielder Jones and Johnny
Kling." '
That Is- one of the lines of specula
tion among the Chicago baseball fans,
who, for the first time in years, lack
the stimulus which comes from winning
a pennant with their favorite team. It
was foreseen some time ago that there
was to be no such heart-breaking fin
ish to the race as kept strong men
awake last season In this enthusiastic
baseball town. Consequently the mind
of the rooter was prepared in advance
for defeat. He met the issue philo
sophically and he Is Just as ready o
put his money on the Cubs and the Sox
next year.
It was hoped the presence of Presi
dent Taft at the first of the New York
Chicago series would prove an Inspira
tion to the home team and -would turn
the tide Just In time to overtake the
Pirates. The President smiled broadly,
often audibly, but It was no use. That
first defeat seemed the first stroke In
the knell of Cub hopes. When two
other whippings were piled on top of It,
the wise boy on the bleacher knew the
requiem was over.
With Kling on the ground In his old
fighting form, there are many who be
lieve anyother flag might have floated
over the West Bide grounds, but even
the renowned Fielder Jones, unassisted,
could hardly have brought the Sox up
to concert pitch. Nevertheless he was
missed throughout the season. When
Chlcagoans read the tribute to Port
land paid by William E. Curtis In a
local paper, they began to understand
why Fielder Jones found it more to his
liking to stick to his business knitting.
Even the most ardent admirer of
Portland, however, was hardly prepared
for the announcement that 'the next
Federal census is likely to show a
population of 275.000, treble that of 1900
as shown by the Government count.
Occasion was taken In a dispatch to
The Oregonian months ago to say that
the Portland method of dignified and
honest advertising was attracting at
tention among Chicago boosters. This
feature of the Curtis letter was read
with special Interest by live business
men here.
Chicago Justice Merciful.
How the operation of the Chicago
Municipal Court contrasts with the
workings of the old Justice shop and
constable system was well set forth
the other day to an Eastern Judge by
Chief Bailiff Hunter. If the full story
of those old Justice shops could have
been written when they flourished, the
tale would have rivaled any told by
Dickens of abuses In England. As Chi
cago looks back upon them now It
wonders why such outrages in ths
name of Justice were tolerated so long.
"We try," said Mr. Hunter, "to make
the court a humane Institution, mind
ful of the rights and needs of the
worthy poor. The other day a mer
chant who had sold a woman some
goods on time brought suit against
her. The deputy who was sent to serve
the writ found the defendant had four
children, her husband had deserted her
and there was scarcely anything to eat
In the house. Had he followed the
practice of the Justice shop system and
been prompted by the sort of motive
that used to move the Constable In his
palmy days, the deputy would have
turned his face to the Woman's misery.
He would have profited by her distress.
She showed him by papers In her pos
session that the goods were sold to
of knowledge is daily given to his readers.
This is his life labor. He la yet in vig
orous health after 60 years of Incessant
toil: toll that has. Indeed, been both a
dally pleasure and a necessity to him
and at the age of Tl he seems to have
many years of useful work ahead of him.
ee.
I have used the remarkable career
of this great editor to show how much
depends on the man and how little on
anything else. His opportunities and
advantages as a youth were meager,
yet his courage was strong and his
determination to do the best that could
be done with whatever there was to
do it with was indomitable. Whether
he could have done more under broader
and more pretentious tutelage It Is
Impossible to say; yet very likely not.
for he was an exceptional youth and
is an exceptional man. Such a man with
such a mind, such an ambition and
such a will would make his mark on
any age. I have-no design here to
make a plea for Latin or Greek; I do
not think that much is to be gained
by studying them or either of them for
their own sakes. But I have a very
definite Idea that the education that
cultivates and graces the mind,
quickens the Intelligence, stimulates
the spirit, elevates the soul and im
proves the character. Is the education
that you want your son and daughter
to have. If we look around us we see
more than one school with generous
annual state appropriations drifting
away from the old landmarks and tak
ing up with the new idea. I repeat
that I have no purpose to criticise them
or to hamper their work, which I be
lieve Is In the highest degree necessary.
But I see in the situation In this state
the real opportunity and true aim for
Willamette University. It will be a
mistake for us to enter the lists against
such powerful opponents, donning the
same armor, and using the same
weapons. We have not the means, nor
equipment and above all we have not
the need to do It, Here Is a place In
the Pacific Northwest for a college
or university that shall offer the
student a sound education In mind,
morals and body, show him how to
work, make him a desirable citizen. In
spire him with worthy Ideals; Instruct
him how to live and If need be to die;
breathe lnt: him a broad and tolerant
humanity, and teach him to respect his
neighbor, love his family and fear his
God.
For the mothers of Sparta, are saying
forever
The farewell that rings like the elaahlng
of steel ;
And "With It or on Itf
words that
still quiver
On pale Hps, and win
till our bosoms
congeal.
And so what stall we o, tvt go down to
the fray
In the liistsr of youth said glory of
striving.
To die or to triumph wtiere fortune is
driving
With thunder and smoka through the
pitiless day.
her for $12. that being their commercial
value. She had paid $20 on them In
installments and still owed $6. accord
ing to the mathematics of the merchant.
"Back came the deputy to the of
fice after he had given the poor woman
some money with which to buy food
for her children. A Constable of the
old days would have brought her Into
court, probably a dozen miles from hnr
home, simply that he might earn his
fee. Under the new system the bailiff
could have no such inducement. He
reported the facts to me. I Immediately
got into communication with the mer
chant in the case. I told him very
plainly that I thought the goods had
been amply paid for and that he had
no equity In the property Involved
certainlly no moral equity. I finally
convinced him 1 was right, and he con
sented to drop the case and to con
sider the obligation of the woman sat
isfied. The unfortunate wife and
mother was saved the expense, the
trouble and the humiliation of appear
ing In court. It Is only one of many
similar oases I might cite to show how
the oourt 1 as abolished a cruel kind of
graft and persecution."
Patten Backs Up Hill.
Dollar wheat Is here to stay, If the
forecast of James A. Patten is correct
and the grain trade has come to look
upon his prognostications with respect.
If not with entire confidence. The pro
diction of Mr. Patten, made to a con
vention of men of the grain trade,
comeB as a sort of backing up of the
sensational speech of James J. Hill, who
admonished the country that It is time
for It to be taking bond of the future
for an adequate supply of the cereals
for domestlo consumption. Mr. Hill de
plored the lack of Intensive farming
and held up to view the spectre of a
home food scarcity of such dimensions
that the United States would become
an Importer rather than an exportor
of grains. Mr. Patten gave the grain
men another glimpse of the picture
when he told them how consumption Is
running ahead of production and how
81beria seems destined to take away
from us what European grain business
the country has enjoyed.
From Kansas comes the Information
that the farmers appreciate their ad
vantage and are preparing to take full
advantage of It. Not In need of ready
money to wipe out mortgages, they are
disposed to hold their wheat until they
can get such a price as they believed
the necessities of the situation will
bring them sooner or later.
"Until we know what the farmer I"
going to do," said Mr. Patten, "ws need
not expect low prices for wheat. The
question of demand does not enter
largely Into the transactions of the
grain trade. We are chiefly concerned
with the supply. When wt know what
the size of the crops Is we are pretty
well fortified for our operations."
Celvers in history are making some
interesting comparisons between Pres
ident Taft's trip and the "swing around
the circle" bv President Monroe in
1817. Mr. Taft will cover 13,000 miles
In eight weeks, riding In faBt special
trains. Mr. Monroe traveled 3000 miles
In 14 weeks, much of the distance on
horseback and by coaoh. His party con
sisted of two persons beside himself.
He came as far west as Detroit, where
he found the Inhabitants clamoring for
admission to the Union. He traveled
extensively through Ohio, which was a
state far on the frontier. When he
reached PittRhurg, on the return Jour
ney, he still was a long distance from
home.
President Monroe's special mission
was, to look Into the matter of Na
tional defenses. He had not yet de
clared the Monroe doctrine. He was
met here and there by bands of the mil
itary, saw sehool children, fireworks
and triumphal arches, ate chicken fried,
received the greetings of farmers In
the fields and was scolded by the
church people for traveling on Sunday.
He was not flanked fore and aft by
newspaper men and did not see the
chronicles of his movements in the
papers the same or the next day.
Townspeople received him "with great
respect and civility." It was a won
derful Journey In that day. In time,
trouble and discomfort, Pittsburg was
farther west to President Monroe than
Is Portland to President Taft. Indiana
was out of the question. Chicago Impos
sible, the rest of the West a dream.
!
n