8
TILE SUNDAY OKEGOXIAX, FORTLuiXD, DECEMBER 19, 1909.
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POETLAM), SCXDAY, DEC. 19, ISO.
ENGLAND'S PBRTTrKBATION.
It Is clearly Impossible to persuade
the English people that the vast naval
preparations of the Germans mean
no menace to the British Empire,
i While the Conservatives of the United
Kingdom certainly are more Inclined
to match Germany's increasing naval
armaments with additional Dread
noughts than the Literals are, yet
even the Liberals feel the force of
public opinion to an extent that com
pels naval construction on an In
creasing ecale. Tet of course Ger
many's policy Is within her national
right: But the British people cer
tainly look upon it and from their
standpoint they are excusable as an
investment in sea power, "intended,"
as a leading English Journal expresses
it, "to secure the naval supremacy
of the world, via the downfall of Eng
land, Just as German military su
premacy was established forty years
ago, on the downfall of France." The
same Journal recalls the confession
of Bismarck, In his memoirs, that,
during the time he was in office, he
advised three wars, the Danish, the
Bohemian and the French; and it
adds: "We are scheduled for attack;
the British Empire today, holds the
position successively occupied by Den
mark, " Austria and France." This, it
Is clear, is the general opinion In the
United Kingdom.
President Butler, of Columbia Uni
versity, In a recent plea for inter
national peace, said: "The English
people believe that since a great navy
Is building in Germany It must be
Intended for offensive use; and
against whom could the Germans
possibly Intend to use a. navy except
against England? Their neighbors,
the French and the Russians, they
could readily, and with less risk, over
run with their great army. The
United States is too far away to enter
Into the problem as a factor of any
real importance. Therefore the in
ference is drawn that the navy must
be Intended for an attack upon Eng
land. It Is worth while noting that,
on this theory, the German navy now
building appears to be the first of
modern navies intended for military
uses. It alone of all the world's
navies, however large, however costly.
Is not a messenger of peace."
President Butler is inclined, how
ever, to be optimistic, placing his
hope, rather than his confidence, on
the moral forces of the world for
prevention of war. But without ref
erence1 to this push of naval prepara
tion on the part of Germany and
England, It is clear' that even recent
history does not bear out his optim
ism. War has been an Inevitable
event In the life of every recent
generation, not less or scarcely less
frequent than In former times. Every
nation Judges International law for
Jtself; and expediency and power are
the only conditions that govern the
conduct ' of nations towards each
other. There are few observers of
Judgment who do not believe that the
next world-conflict will be a naval
ttruggle between England and Ger
many. It will greatly concern the
United States, as it certainly will
every people on the earth though
our part must be merely that of spec
tators, friendly to both, or not un
triendly to either.
The naval problem is one of the
chief elements In the elections now
pending throughout the United King
dom. In many quarters there is al
most a panic, which the leaders of
the Liberal party are doing their best
to minimize.
SHADE TREES AD PROGRESS.
In yesterday's Oregonian " L. C. O."
voiced a loud protest against the cut
ting down of the beautiful maples in
Seventh street in front of the Uni
tarian Church. One cannot help but
respect the love that twines tenaci
ously about a tree planted in town
or country; still it will be well for
Idealists to remember that in a fast
growing city like Portland you can't
often combine business with senti
ment. If you could do it always, trees
would still be growing at Third and
Washington where Portland Presby
terians first erected a house of wor
ship. Broad-spreading maples are not
In harmony with fourteen-story, half-a-mlllion-dollar
steel structures nor
with modern Y. M. C. A. buildings.
Less than thirty years ago folk
who could not express the family
wealthy with less than seven figures
had their spacious homes and hand
some lawns with bordering shade
trees on North Fourth street. Today
there are not many persons of such
marked esthetical taste as to demand
withholding of the axe in that neigh
borhood. Stately elms and Portland's
new Chinatown would be a misfit.
Looking back only five years, nearly
all of us can see arboreal ornament
around the residence of the late Syl
vester Pennoyer. Department stores
and deciduous trees do not go well
together. The community would
rather have what "L. C. O." calls the
"glittering baubles of electric light
ing." And the community is going
to get them.
However, lovers of nature need not
despair. We shall have the green of
Ihe park blocks on which to rest our
tyes for a gTeat many years to come.
We may hope to retain the little grass
plot in front of the postoffice. includ
ing a fine specimen of the Gigantea
Sequoia growing there for some time;
Uncle Sam moves slowly In the matter
of adequate public buildings. And
then across the street there are the
Corbett elms whose delicate tracery
of fresh young leaves In the Spring
tima these last forty years and their
fullness of foliage In the Summer
have been the delight of thousands.
These small "oases" are in happy con
trast with the monumental piles of
steel, concrete and terra cotta around
them.
On the west side of the river, the
plateau is small; on one border the
river, on' the other steep hills. Future
growth will be perpendicular, not
horizontal. Whenever a tall building
goes up, shade trees must come down.
This plateau is going to be commer
cialized. Sentimentalists may grieve,
but they can't call a halt in the march
of material progress.
THE CAPITAL, OP SISKIYOC.
- Treka is to be the place the capi
tal of the new state of Siskiyou, to
be formed by secession of counties of
Southern Oregon and Northern Cali
fornia. Those counties are to secede,
because Oregon and California are
not active nor progressive enough for
their ambitions. Yreka. the oldest
town In the region which is to con
stitute the new state, and the deadest
town, these forty years, in all the
world. Is to be the capital of new
Secessia the young, abounding, ener
getic and progressive new state.
Let us congratulate our friends, and
congratulate Yreka. The good little
old placer mining town of many a
year age is an ideal place for the
capital. It has been utterly dead
these fifty years. All surviving
travelers of the olden time remember
It. As a reminiscence It is great.
Some gold was obtained round about
there fifty to sixty years ago. Then
It was a hard or tough town. But
with exhaustion of the placer mines
Its glory departed. The arid and
barren ridges of the region in Sum
mer, rocky, dusty, without vegetation,
except such few stunted shrubs as
may be able to contend with reluctant
and niggard nature; in Winter flood
washed ravines and bottomless mud,
with rocks and boulders to increase
the obstruction and complete the dis
order barren land, burnt alternately
by the sun. and again overwhelmed
with rain and snow and slush, and
sunk in bottomless mud, utterly deso
late, like the land described by the
great prophet of the Captivity, upon
which were stretched out the lines
of confusion and the stones of empti
ness! such is the scene chosen for the
capital of the new state of Siskiyou,
which is to secede and set up for
itself because Oregon and Cali
fornia are not progressive enough for
the choice and master spirits who
would be first iri the new common
wealth. What is especially interesting Is
the fact that the secession Is resolved
upon 'because the old states of Ore
gon and California are not progressive
enough for the soaring ambitions of
those who expect to be erulers in the
new state. v
Now, however, there is a lot of
people of good common sense In
Southern Oregon and Northern Cali
fornia who don't want a new state,
a separate state; who know the
project Is impossible and only laugh
at It; who are not politicians seeking
opportunity of office, but are content
to perform the duties of citizenship
and enjoy its proper rewards. There
will be no state of Siskiyou, because
enough people of the region don't
want it, and laugh at the "blokes"
who talk about it.
TUB LIBRARY AND THE SCHOOLS.
Among other things provocative of
reflection- which Miss Isom, librarian
of the Public Library, says in
her annual report the reader will
find the remark that thousands of
school children in Portland "do not
come to the ' library, do not know
where It Is, have no books excdpt the
textbooks which they will soon give
up, or the horrors which are on sale at
the too convenient news stands." Of
course Miss Isom does not mean that
the news stands sell nothing tut hor
rors. She only wishes us to under
stand that the horrors are fairly
abundant and that the school children
probably knew a great deal more
about them than about the books in
the Public Library. While reading
her Incisive and not too wildly ex
uberant comments on the mental out
look of our school children, the mind
is haunted by a question .that will not
down. "What Is the mental outlook
of the principals who preside over the
schools where the pubtls wander in
such deeps of intellectual gloom?"
Do they know where the Public Li
brary is? Do they ever visit It? Do
they read any books except textbooks
and the horrors of the news stands?
If they do, how does it happen that
the children fail so completely to
catch from them a spark or two of
the divine fire?
Persons who are somewhat ac
quainted with the mental state of
school teachers lament their lack of
what is called "culture." They do not
mean that the teachers are unac
quainted with the art of Botticelli or
the order of the Panathenalc Proces
sion as Phidias recorded It on the
frieze of the Parthenon. What they
mean is that some teachers are Ig
norant of the simplest facts of com
mon knowledge outside of their text
books and that they care nothing
whatever for the commonest and best
histories, poems and novels. If this
Is true. It Is sad and discouraging.
Of the grade teachers In Portland
everybody knows that it is not true.
The case of some of the principals is
more dubious, and if their satisfied
ignorance of all that cultivated peo
ple care for is as wide and deep aa
observers report. It is no wonder that
the children under their supervision
know nothing of the situation and use
of the Public Library. Portland 13
now so near the point of ceasing to be
a country village and becoming a
large city that It seems almost time
for her schools to begin to shuffle
off a little of their bucolic stupidity
and try to impart to the pupils a por
tion at least of the things which in
telligent people living in a metropolis
are supposed to know.
Among those things is a fair knowl
edge of literature and especially an
acquaintance with the use of reference
books. We are perfectly well aware
that a man may go through the world
successful!!-, make a large fortune and
go to heaven when he dies without
knowing anything whatever about
either literature or art; but we also
know that such a man misses the
larger part of the rational enjoyment
which life might have afforded him.
He is out of place in a world of en
lightened people. He is by his ig
norance isolated and exiled from in
telligent converse. Now if the public
schools have any definite purpose
whatever It Is to prepare children to
pass their lives as Intelligent and re
flective members of decent society.
The schools are not supported to
reed up a race of hermits or boors.
American citizens who do their duty
to the country must possess a certain
modicum of mental cultivation and
they must be capable of rational
thought. Neither of these qualities
can toe acquired in any effective de
gree without some acquaintance with
literature and especially without learn
ing to distinguish between worthy and
unworthy books. Both kinds are ob
tainable in vast abundance and the
person who does not know the differ
ence' between them Is not likely to
become a reliable 'dependance in
politics or civic life.
Worse still is the failure of the
schools to teach children how to use
reference books. In the lower grades
very little actual knowledge can be
Imparted. Even graduates from the
high school do not know some things
which might possibly prove useful or
agreeable to them in later years. But
all pupils in all grades can be taught
how to use books of reference as soon
as they know how to read Intelligently.
Wise men have remarked that it does
not matter much how little a person
knows If he only understands where
to Jook things up when he needs
them. The solemn truth is that not
one child In a dozen who goes through
the public schools knows how to use
even the dictionary to any purpose.
As for cyclopedias and such works as
concordances, they are outside the
sphere even of his' dreams. Yet for
practical utility concordances, cyclo
pedias and dictionaries are the most
valuable books In the world. A per
son who knows how to use them has
endless information .at his command
and that with very little trouble.
Since the library offers to teach chil
dred this very desirable branch of
knowledge, It seems strange that the
principals of the public schools do
not hasten to co-operate with it.
AX A8SAITL.T OX THE OCOLT.
Were .there a man In existence who
knew half as much about this world
as the humblest spiritualist thinks he
knows about the next one, every uni
versity on earth would hasten to offer
him a chair. People who do not know
the latitude of the North Pole can
reveal the deepest mysteries of life
on Jupiter and Saturn where we are
to reside when our journey through
this vale of tears is happily completed.
Men and women who can not explain
the simplest natural phenomena are
ready to tell all about the action of
mind on matter and unveil the pro
found secrets of medlumshlp, hyp
notism and magic, both black
and white. It is marvelous how
easily the ignorant obtain knowl
edge which Is inaccesible to
the wisest students. It is little short
of a miracle to see how many people
who do not know the laws of falling
bodies nevertheless know the complete
code which rules the inhabitants of
Paradise. It seems to be the easiest
thing conceivable to discover all about
a world nobody has ever visited. But
the same Intelligences whose acquaint
ance with heaven Is so intimate and
searching could not master the Pytha
gorean theorem if they were to be
hanged for it.
We are inspired to make these mel
ancholy reflections by the perusal of
a book which a pitying friend has sent
from Tacoma to correct our mistaken
Ideas . concerning spiritualism. It Is
entitled "The Great Psychological
Crime." The author's name does not
transpire, but the editor Is Florence
Huntley, already known to fame as
the writer of that profound scientific
work, "The Dream Child." One in
voluntarily suspects that Mr. Huntley
Is really the author, not merely the
editor, of "The Great Psychological
Crime," and that it is modesty alone,
excessive modesty In our opinion,
which prevents him from laying claim
to his merited glory. The book Is one
of those pseudo-sclentlflc productions
written by ignorant men which seek
to keep up a delusive appearance of
rigorous logic and strict accuracy by
aping the lingo of lawyers' documents.
Thus our author, in speaking of Pro
fessor Quackenbos, of Columbia, says'
that he "proceeds to reiterate, elabo
rate, elucidate and expound the sub
ject of hypnotism in a clear and force
ful manner." In another place he tells
how "A meeting of select and intelli
gent gentlemen was recently held in
the City of Chicago for the express
purpose of listening to an address from
one who has never as yet achieved the
honorable distinction of ordination."
Clearly Mr. Huntley's Ideal of literary
excellence is to use as many words as
he possibly can to express his mean
ing. This Irritating verbosity makes the
book almost unreadable, which is a
pity, for In spite of Its ludicrous style
It really contains a good bit of com
mon sense. Like most men of his
kind the author pretends to know all
about the spirits and their ways of
doing things, but this can be forgiven
him so far as we are concerned. If
he slanders the ghosts, that is their
affair. AVhat Interests one, after it
has been digged out of the rubbish
heaps in the book, is Mr. Huntley's
notion of two opposing "principles" in
the world, the first constructive, the
other destructive. Of course there Is
nothing new about this concept. It is
older than the hills and reappears in
diverse forms all through history. Now
It is Satan fighting God, now Ormuzd
opposing Ahrtman, now darkness In
conflict with light. The notion is per
sistent, and it corresponds to an obvi
ous natural fact. There is something
In the world, whatever it may be,
which hinders and usually blights the
efforts of men" to better their condi
tion. Matthew Arnold spoke of Mr.
Huntley's "constructive principle" as
"The power not ourselves which makes
for righteousness." To the opposite
tendency the British sage did not
assign any definite name, but perhaps
It was what he meant by "Philistin
ism." In Mr. Huntley's opinion a person
commits the "Great Psychological
Crime" when he subjects himself to
the destructive principle. Others have
said the same thing. In fact it is the
commonplace teaching of all religion.
But our author applies the Idea in an
ingenious way which Is new, so far as
we know. He lays down the premise
that we live under the constructive
principle when we keep complete con
trol of our own "will and sensory
organism." We submit to the destruc
tive principle when we let anybody
else control us. Thus he lays a founda
tion for a victorious assault upon
spiritual mediums and the whole tribe
of hypnotizers. Hypnotism Mr. Hunt
ley defines in his erratic way as "the
process by and through which one
person obtains, holds and exercises
control of the will, voluntary powers
and sensory organism of another per
son." It sounds at first like an in
dictment for petty larceny, but it
t
serves as a definition well enough when
one has skimmed off the superfluous
verbiage. ,
Very likely hypnotism amounts to
the control of one person's volition
by another. Mr. Huntley then pro
ceeds to define mediumship in the
same way. It is the control of the
medium's volition by a spirit. Here
Is where his extensive and accurate
knowledge of heaven serves our author
most admirably. He could do nothing
without it, vhile with It he does won
ders. He demonstrates that the ghost
who controls the- marvelous Eusapia
Palladino performs precisely the same
deed as the professor at the dime
museum who hypnotrzes his subjects.
So far so good. Now both the person
who submits to be hypnotized and the
medium who yields to her "control"
deliver up their volition to others.
They are. not masters of their own
wills any longer. They have therefore
subjected themselves to the "destruc
tive principle of nature" and are on
the highway to mental perdition.
We think the facts of experience
bear out Mr. Huntley's conclusion fair
ly well, whatever may be said of his
manner of reaching It. There Is this
to be said, however, at least by those
who believe in vivisection. Under the
distracting phenomena of spiritualism
some truth or other lfes hidden and
the only way to find It out seems to
be through mediums. Is it not Just
aa well to go on sacrificing them until
we have discovered the elusive secret
of their performances? To be sure
they are likely to lose their, wits in
the process, but is the loss serious
enough to deter a conscientious in
vestigator? Yet after all this discussion, this
flood and waste of words what does
it come to? Nothing, and less than
nothing. The darkness is impend
trable; and if the light within you
is darkness,- how great Is that dark
ness! CBEATIOX OP OREGOX COTTNTTES.
A notable contribution to the his-i
tory of Oregon was made yesterday
by Frederick V. Holman. president of
the Oregon Historical Society, in an
address before that body on the crea
tion of the counties of Oregon and
the origin of their names. Copious
extracts from it are published on
page 3, section 6, of this issue of
The Oregonian. The address will be
published in full In the Historical
Society's Quarterly. It is well worth
preserving not only by those espe
cially interested In the early settle
ment of the "Oregon County" and the
movements that made for empire, but
by the, multitude who wish to know
what our local names, Indian and
American, stand for.
Wonder how many residents of
Oregon can tell whence came the
word Multnomah? Mr. Holman traces
It from Its first appearance in print
(Lewis and Clark original journals
as "Mulknomau") through various
modifications up to the present or
thography. So with Tillamook, Yam
hill, Umatilla, Clatsop, Clackamas,
Coos and other Indian names that
could scarcely be recognized by the
present generation if printed as the
first explorers and early chroniclers
wrote them. He tells the story of
every new county In the order of its
creation, from Polk in 1845 to Hood
River County in 1908. It will be
news to many people to read that
the Oregon County, after the pro
visional government was formed in
1843, was divided into four districts
(counties). One. of them stretched
from the Willamette River to the
Rocky Mountains, a distance of nearly
a thousand miles. As late as 1862
all of Eastern Oregon was within the
boundaries of Wasco County.
What is published in The Oregonian
today represents only a part of Mr.
Holman's research. The entire ad
dress would fill a small volume. He
gives the exact boundaries of each
county, together with all the legis
lative facts, obtained in several in
stances from the manuscript laws of
Oregon deposited in the state archives
but never printed. As will be ob
served in the tracing of the Indian
names of counties, the work has re
quired careful search of all genuine
historical matter relating to the state,
often where no indices, could aid. It
involved an immense amount of time
and labor, for it is done most thor
oughly. This commonwealth Is Indebted to
Mr. Holman for the service he has
just rendered. There are few men
able to perform this labor of love and
still fewer in these busy days who
would be willing to do it for simply
the honors. But it is done. The
state is the gainer. When the stories
of the counties come to be written,
as surely they will be, the historians
will accept this work as authoritative.
DELEGATED SOCIAL. LEADERSHIP.
The fact that Mrs. Taft finds it nec
essary, on account of ill health, to
delegate the duties of hostess of the
White House to her sister, portends a
social handicap upon the present Ad
ministration that Is not without signifi
cance in determining its popularity.
The struggle made by Mrs. Harrison
to keep the social pace set by Mrs.
Cleveland, who came to the White
House in the first glow of a young
womanhood and in bridal array, is
remembered with a throb of pity and
sorrow, since the effort was unavail
ing and cost her life.
Again, in marked contrast was the
social side of Cleveland's second ad
ministration with that of President
McKinley's. The wife of the latter
was an invalid when he was Inaugur
ated. She was little more than a pa
thetic figurehead in the social realm,
lived scarcely comprehending the
great loss she sustained .by the as
sassin's bullet and died in kind seclu
sion a few years later.
Of Mrs. Roosevelt It may be said
she played the part of the first lady
of the land with taste and discharged
the duties of the position with dignity,
though she was never accorded the
popularity which was attained by
Mrs. Cleveland. She did not, however,
let the duties and anxieties of her
station wear upon her . health nor
depress her spirits, but came through
practically two administrations in
Washington in" good health and ready
to take and enjoy a season of travel
in Europe.
Mrs. Taft seems to have properly
gauged her strength at the start and
has refrained from putting' it to too
severe a test. Her continued seclusion
from the social life of the capital
would prove a disappointment. No
substitute, however skilled, can win
the recognition that comes spontane
ously to the President's wife. The
contrast between the social life of
which the White House is the center,
under the leadership of Miss Rose
Cleveland, the President's sister,
though flawless from the standpoint
of dignity and proficiency, and the so-"
cial life Inaugurated by Mrs. Cleve
land is in evidence of this fact.
In the -present case, Mrs. Laughlin,
of Pittsburg, sister of Mrs. Taft, may
meet all the requirements of amiabil
ity, tact, affability and dignity, she
may be smiling, gracions and well
dressed. But she is not Mrs. Taft.
And since undeniably the social life of
the Administration Is an important
count in its popularity, it may be
hoped that the seclusion of Mrs. Taft
from Its leadership will be but temporary.
A SEW CIRE FOB PXECMQXIA.
Exhaustive experiments have lately
been conducted In the department of
pathology and bacteriology in the
Tufts Medical School, in search of a
remedy for pneumonia. These experi
ments have proved successful to a
gratifying degree. The treatment
settled upon by bacteriologists calls
for Injection of a vaccine prepared
from the germs which cause pneu
monia, but which have previously
been rendered innocuous. Because
of this, the vaccine has been named
"pneumococcus."
In testing this remedy the type of
patients that succumb most readily to
the disease those known as "alco
holics" -were selected for treatment.
Out of thirty-four unfavorable pa
tients treated, all but six recovered,
while In the case of forty-nine pa
tients of the ordinary type, all recov
ered but two. Furthermore, In fifteen
per cent of these cases the crisis of
the disease was passed in three days.
Instead of the usual nine days.
While pneumonia does not cause
the consternation here that its very
name .arouses in less-favored locali
ties, it is still a disease to be reck
oned with in the "unusual season"
that now .and then gives unwelcome
variety to our climate. In localities
subject to sudden changes of weather
the remedy evolved from these experi
ments will be invaluable. In this
case, as In most others that have for
object the relief of human suffering
and the preservation of human life,
philanthropy has come to the assist
ance of pathology by finding means to
make the experiments of the latter
available. Through the assistance thus
rendered, physicians whose duties
lead them to the bedside of patients
suffering from this dread malady are
supplied free of cost with the new vac
cine. Under these conditions, the rea
sonable expectation is that mortality
from pneumonia, in the cities of the
Atlantic seaboard, will be greatly de
creased during the present Winter.
AX EXGIISHMAX'S HOME.
Major Du Maurier's play, "An Eng
lishman's Home," caused deep heart
searchings among the British when it
was acted some months ago, but in
this part of the world we have never
been privileged to see it on the stage.
It was not even available in print un
til lately, but now the Harpers have
published it and anyone who thinks
it worth while may peruse the drama
at his leisure. The reader will find that
it is not much of a drama after all,
but rather a satirical homily thrown
into the form of a dialogue. The au
thor's purpose, sticking out in every
sentence, is to show how dull and con
temptible the ordinary pursuits of" life
are, and how nobly patriotic it is to
be drilled and disciplined into a fight
ing man. The central figure in the
play is a Mr. Brown, who has made an
ignoble fortune in trade and has now
retired to a country home to disport
himself at dlavolo. It is his most
ardent aspiration some time in the
far future to acquire an elegant adept
ness in that inglorious game. His chil
dren. Including two or three sons, are
fat, vulgar, earthy creatures who pass
their days in sordid office work and
at night cultivate music halls. The boys
gamble, drink and long incessantly for
holidays. The girls do nothing at all.
The play Is formally divided into
three acts, but two would have been
better. The first half describes llr.
Brown's ' home in the country. The
second portrays what will happen to
it when the German invader . arrives
in all his horror. The home of Mr.
Brown is not wicked. It is merely
sordid, stujtld and Individualized to
the last limit. Each member of his
enviable household thinks of himself
alone. No thought ever enters any of
their heads of country, or social ques
tions, or what other nations may be
contriving. They live as if the world
.began and ended at their garden gate,
and nothing could ever disturb the
serene round of their Inane enjoy
ments. There is a great national strike
on when the play opens, but It does
not interest the Browns an atom ex
cept as It prevents the newspapers
from arriving. Of course Major Du
Maurler makes dramatic use of their
current Ignorance. It enables him to
bring the Germans on as a complete
surprise. They are in Mr. Brown's
garden before he dreams that war has
broken out.
The Browns are fond of athletic
sports in the old, degenerate Roman
way. It is also the modern college
way. They delight to look on 'and
shout while somebody else exerts him
self. They willingly wager their ses
terces upon the brawn of better men,
but their own brawn is buttery. No
part of their physical structure Is
well developed except their .vocal
chorda. These are as tensile and en
ergetic as those of an American col
lege boy. The Browns recognize the
invaluable disciplinary effect of foot
ball, but they are quite resigned to let
others obtain' -the discipline. . Their
function is to look on and yell with an
interlude of gambling now and then.
It is the same with tennis, golf and
other outdoor exercises. They inhabit
the bleachers, but they take no part
in the .strife. If Major Du Maurler
had set out to depict a Byzantine mob
in the days of Justinian, he must have
employed the same elements, though
of course his canvas would have been
larger. If he had been trying to give
an idea of American college athletics,
it is difficult to see how he could have
drawn the figures otherwise. His char
acters are indoor loiterers, soft, indo
lent, irreflective. Like the Roman ex
quisites, they like to pat the muscles
of athletes with their Illy fingers, but
their own muscles, as well as their
brains, are too elegantly mushy to be
of any use.
Major Du Maurler drew the Browns
as a typical group. He intends to
make us believe that the ordinary suc
cessful, . comfortable, middle-class
British family is precisely' like them.
When he has compelled the specta
tor to gaze upon the Browns for half
an hour In all their despicable futility,
then he brings on the alert, capable,
disciplined Germans. They come from
a country where nobody is "harmless."
Geoffrey Brown explains to "the Ger
man commander that he is perfectly
harmless, never handled a gun in his
life, and is therefore to be dealt with
-as a non-combatant. The commander
-eplles with gentle scorn that in his
country nobody Is harmless, every
body is in fighting trim all the time.
The contrast between the efficient for
eigners and the bewildered British
simpletons Is painful, but very likely
It is wholesome, not only for specta
tors In the London theaters, but for
others also.
The idea that physical fitness can
be acquired by deputy is widespread.
It is well to be. taught the lesson that
It must be gained at first hand or not
at all. No nation has ever been long
defended by mercenary soldiers, it
makes no difference whether the mer
cenaries are native born or foreign.
When the men of a country lose their
fighting quality its end is not far off.
Carthage permitted her own citizens
to become a greasy middle class dom
inated by a band of huge capitalists,
and fought her battles with mercen
aries. When these sordid troops met
the Romans they melted away. The
athletic, disciplined, socialized Ro
mans were the Germans of that- day.
When Rome permitted a disintegrat
ing individualism to replace the com
mon effort of her early history, then
she went the way of Carthage. In
spite of Nietsche and the other an
archists the inevitable outcome of un
restricted individualism is degeneracy.
The trouble with Mr. Brown was
that he thought of nobody but him
self. His wants were the only ones
In the universe that were of any im
portance to him. With his attention
centered completely on his own despic
able soul and body, he necessarily
began to rot. Since the main body of
the population was like him, all the
German troops ' had to do was to
knock into pieces a rotten nation.
Out of about 160,000 employes of
the Government who are protected
in their Jobs by civil service rules,
about 6000 are too old to perform
effective service. Some of these are
over 80 years of age and are without
physical strength .or mental alertness
to earn, on a common wage basis,
enough to keep soul and body to
gether. While there are many and
valid objections to a civil pension
list, these men not only live off the
Government but are as a dead weight
upon its efficiency in clerical work.
If retired upon pensions suited to
their actual needs, they would cost
the Government less and at the same
time enable It to secure competent
service. This view is entirely outside
of the principle of retiring upon pen
sions incompetents who have grown
old in such service as they have been
able to perform, at salaries that used
carefully might have left a small sur
plus for old age. Possibly, however,
from the standpoint of economy and
effective service, the civil pension
proposition presents to Congress the
most favorable horn of the dilemma.
It is certainly no credit to the Gov
ernment from a business standpoint
to have men of 80 tottering about the
departments and leaning upon their
desks for support while they make
feeble pretense -of work.
All the stores being open for -business
after 6 o'clock this week, a great
many Portland people who ''seldom
get Into the shopping district after
dark will see for the first time the
modern system of street illumination
recently adopted. Washington street
may be said to have completed the
Improvement. Morrison street is not
far behind, but the upper section
must wait for buildings now under
construction to be finished. Alder
street has made a good start and the
cross thoroughfares are rapidly fall
ing into line. It Is gratifying to note
that these new lamps are not glaring;
the diffusion of lighl Is agreeable.
The pattern having been set, it may
be expected that before long all re
tall districts will follow it. Upon the
visitor our well-lighted streets, with
the uniformity of illuminating design,
make an impression of enterprise not
easy to remove. '
There are still five' days left, but
don't defer a task from which there
Is no escape, until Thursday or Fri
day. . Really there is no excuse for
the rush certain to come this week;
the oldest resident can't remember
more favorable weather for shopping
than prevailed last week. Still there
are usually a few things neglected or
forgotten. So after church this morn
ing finish your supplemental list,
come down town Monday and go to
sleep at night with the Christmas
burden off your mind. But do not on
any account overlook the class whom
we have with us always.
The Oregon Historical Society is in
urgent need of a building of its own,
wherein to store its many treasures
of the past and keep open house to
its friends. It is indeed imperative
that this need be supplied in the near
future.
In the final distribution of honors
and emoluments when the new state
of Siskiyou shall be created, Medford,
seat of the great division agitation,
will be made county seat of Jackson
County. What?
"Imperial Caesar, dead and turned
to clay, might stop a hole to keep
the wind away." That seems the only
good that can come from the life and
carcass of the dead King of Belgium.
It is said that If Dr. Cook's money
had held out he wouldn't have had
this trouble. No business, it seems,
can get along, without money.
Is there any hiding place on this
globe for a man who tells a lie about
the North Pole? The small,, still
voice, if none other, can tell.
Zelaya thinks Taft bad medicine.
If Bryan were running again for
President, Zelaya would probably not
be so friendless.
Santa Claus was badly needed this
year a month ahead, owing to the
high price of Thanksgiving turkeys.
Besides, when you buy all the gifts
at once and at the last hour, you feel
as if you must be stingy.
Everything went well until Dr.
Cook began playing a fast game "with
a man named Loose.
This has been fine, weather, but
there Is another kind Just as good. If
not better.
SOT "THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE."
Analysis of Recent Circular of Jons. '
than Bourne.
Yamhill Xewa Reporter.
The News Reporter is thi wv It
ceipt of a communication from Senator
Bourne, urging that the people "defeat
the 'assembly' plan." The missive Is
addressed- "To the People of Oregon,"
and is a shrewd political paper put out
by one of the richest and ablest poli
ticians who has reaped benefits under
present conditions. The News Reporter,
nowever. does not propose to be duped
Into upholding a proposition because
Senator Bourne may insinuate that those
who support the "assembly" plan be
long to the "approachable editors," any
more than it will be the catspaw of an
cient Kr-hemlns- mahinn nnllrinians
do NOT favor past workings of- the
primary law. It holds itself free to
support-whichever it may deem the real
best interest of the people.
As to the statement in the circular
sent out. that "these enemies of fully
enfranchised citizenship In Oregon ha
had their emissary in almost every vil
lage in the etate during the past Sum
mer organizing the 'assembly' machine
wherever possible among officeholder
and approachable editors." the News
Reporter is absolutely satisfied it Is
untrue. If such a party has been here
not only has the News Reporter been
-considered unapproachable (for which
compliment It would be thankful but
the visit has been so secret that its rep
resentatives have failed to discover the
"emissary." and "officeholders" . hero
nothing knew about his presence. Evi
dently there has been none such at Mo.
Minnvuie and mo far as the Xews Re
porter knows the only organizer who
has been here from Portland In the last
two years was evidently a -personal
representative of Senator Bourne.
As to the elections held under the
primary law without any assembly. It
Is a noteworthy fact that Senator
Bourne was not the choice of a major
ity of the people of the State of Ore
gon, and further, that had it required
a majority to nominate he would never
have secured the position. Mr. Bourne
was successful because there were sev
eral candidates, and It is well understood
that he would have been the last choice
of nearly every person who voted for
each, of the others seeking the honor.
The facts are. Bourne received less
than 13,000 votes out of a total of about
42,000 Republicans. The 29.0W did not
want him, either as second or third
choice. He was made the . nominee
against the desire of an overwhelming
majority of the Republicans. That waa
not the people's choice at all, arid it
might have been much worse had there
been twenty candidates instead of five.
If the assembly will rectify this with
out doing away with the direct primary
or Installing the. political trickster, we
shall favor it. Senator Bourne notwith
standing. Gettlnsr Strong;.
John Jorkins la an early riser;
He practices an exerciser.
He spreads his arms this way and that
To make him strong and not too fat.
Now up, now. down, with strange con
tractions. He revels In distorted actions.
He stands with chest thrust out before; '
Now he lies prone upon the floor.
The pulleys run along the 'rope; '
He draws them to their utmost scope.
ne puns ana mows, ne pants and sweats.
And very stark and thin he gets.
I do not know when he'll get strong;
I trust he'll not delay it long.
I am not sure that by degrees
He'll grow into a Hercules.
He's hopeful that his writhlngs will
Bring prodigies of strength and skill.
But as hiB friend I'm feeling blue
Lest presently he break in two;
Or, with his limbs- all out of joint.
He'll fade to the extinction point.
To tell the truth, I dread the day
When he wears out and blows away.
Chicago News.
Still He Growled.
He growled about the weather if 'twas
comin' hail an' snow.
Or If the sun was sendin' all his ara-
-brands below;
An' the reason he was growlin', he waa
just born so .
Growlin' in the daytime,
Growlin' In the night,
Solemn In the thunder storm
An' in the weather bright.
He growled about the haTd times ha
raised a mournful song;
"The world where we're a-livin !s
a-treatin' of me- wrong!"
An' he wasn't half-way happy when the
good times came along.
He didn't roll in clover
When the world was bright an' gay;
Growled "he whole world over
Till he growled himself away.
Atlanta Constitution.
Watching; Christ nins.
Of course, I'm only five years old
An' ain't supposed to know much yet.
I must believe the things I'm told,
An" take the answers that I get..
I thought that Easter eggs were laid
By rabbits, but I now suspect
My folks-a big mistake have made
And that's a statement Incorrect.
I'm growin" up to a man,
I'm learnin new things every day.
I'm askin' questions when I can
An' llstenin' t what folks say.
My ears an' eyes are open wide.
But I ain't tellin" all. I know;
I once was easy satisfied.
But that was very long ago.
I ain't quite positive right now
That what I'm thinkin' is Jus' right.
But this I'm sure of, anyhow.
My Paw and Maw act strange at night;
An' they don't talk the way they did
At suppertime, an' wink an' smile.
Paw says: "Remember, there's the kid;
I'll tell you in a little while."
I think I've tumbled to the game.
But I am lyin' mighty low.
An' I am actin' jus" the same
As I did when I didn't know.
I'm bein good an' sittin' still,
Coz there are toys I want to get.
bui until unnstmas cay I will
xk.eep tracit or raw an Maw, you net..
Detroit Free Press.
Table Talk.
By methods darkly shown.
Give me Instead the magic art
That makes a table groan.
New York
Then and Now.
In Eden once a rib became
A woman, so they say.
And now it's ribbons that becomo.
of today!
Young's Magazine.
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