8
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIA, PORTLAND, MAY 8, 1910.
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rORTLAXD, SUNDAY', MAY 8. J01O.
PARLIAMENT AXD KING.
Hereditary prerogative of the
Lords has been forced upon the at
tention of Great Britain as an active
issue of politics in the present contest
between Lords and Commons. The
similar prerogative of the Kingship
has not been enlivened hitherto into
a political issue, owing to the popu
larity of King Edward, which grew
out of his ready submission to the
popular spirit.
The late King was a shrewd poli
tician, especially throughout the pres
ent crisis. He adhered assiduously to
the role of neutral between the war
ring factions of radicals and conser
vatives. The anti-royalist sentiment
found Itself silenced during his reign.
So favored was he ly the body of the
electorate that. the conservatives tried
continuously to make out that the
Asqulth party was designing en
croachments on the King, and this
the Liberals denied with much
warmth. The same supremacy which
the Commons assert over the Lords
belongs ultimately to the Commons
over the succession or disposition of
the kingship. Tet the conduct of the
monarch and events of politics have
not raised this question against him
. as they have against the Lords.
The new King is confronted with
a perplexing situation, that gave much
concern to his father. Though he is
not so popular as the late King was,
yet his subjects are desirous of af
fording him full opportunity of mak
ing successful emergence from the
severe clash of factions. He has as
sumed the title of King according to
"the old-time hereditary procedure.
I The British are sticklers for due and
, ancient form, and there will probably
, not he re-assertion now of the rule,
that has been evolved from centuries
( of strife, that "an English monarch
' is now as much the creature of an act
of Parliament as the pettiest tax
t gatherer in his realm." Nor is there
V 1 U.-1.1 a - .- . i - . ,
of Parliament to divert the succession
, of the kingship to the monarch of its
, choke. The elective kingship princi
i: pie. however, is firmly established in
British law and precedent.
Dispatches say that the death of
King Edward will perhaps defer the
struggle tnat was scheduled for this
.. Summer between Lords and Commons
' over the right of the Lords to veto
acts of the Commons. This may be
true, yet it will be doubted. While
radicalism is evidently in the ascen
dancy, still the British people at base
are attached to old customs and forms
; and this chane In the succession may
.! make them conservative again for the
" time. It cannot be supposed, how
ever, that the Literal-Irish govern
ment will be deterrea from Its deter
; mination to place before the electorate
the issue of abolishing the veto of
the Lords as tc money bills and of
.-allowing the Lords to delay other
kinds of legislation during only two
t sessions of Parliament that is not
. more than two years. This would so
nullify the authority of the Lords that
the Commons would be empowered to
enact any law, regardless of the Lords
and without reference to the elec
torate. It -would give the Commons
power to enact home rule for Ireland.
On May 26 the present recess of
Parliament was to end and the contest
was to begin over the reform resolu
: tions of Asquith in behalf of the Com
mons and the resolutions of Rosebery
in behalf of the Lords. The Asquith
resolutions, besides being as outlined
; tn the foregoing, .would also limit the
duration of Parliament to live years.
: Those of Rosebery declare the ne-
' cesslty for "a strong and efficient sec-
: ond chamber": assert that such a
chamber can best be obtained by "re
.: forming and reconstructing the House
of Lords." a necessary preliminary to
which "Is the acceptance of the prin
; t-iple "that possession of a peerage
" shall no longer in itself give the right
to sit and vote in the House of Lords "
... The Lords will first pass on the Rosc
' berr resolutions and then are ex
pected to reject the Asquith resolu
tions. Next will follow a request by
- Asquith upon the new King for "guar
. antees," and then election of a new
" House of Commons. The guarantees
would he assurance from the King
that In case the Liberals should win
; the elections, the Crown shall appoint
sufficient number of new peers to
outvote the Conservatives in the
. House of Lords.
So that the new monarch lias a
complex role to play in the clash of
' political factions. Should he plant
himself as opposed to the Liberal pro
gramme the cry will go up for su
premacy or the Commons over Crown
ss -well as over Lords. But it is more
probable that the new King will study
- Try avoid this crisis. His long line of
predecessors have probablv taught
him by example the wisdom of re
training from political conflict. Such
action might precipitate a demand for
r-assertion of the old Parliamentary
- right of disposing of the kingship"
though with what intensity would de
pend on circumstances that cannot bo
foreseen. Parliament has deposed
; Kings and set others in their places,
t though only in extreme emergencies'
as when in 16SS the throne of James
II was given to William and Mary,
, In 1399 that of Richard II was coii
; ferred upon Henry IV and in 1327
-13d ward II was deposed In favor of
his son, Edward III.
It Is early yet for the appearance of
t" The sea serpent, but, pending the ar
rival of that Summer visitor, some very
fair fish stories are drifting in. The
- eteamer Oshkosh. which arrived from
Nestucca the other day, is reported
- Co have encountered a, school of sal.
r.-rnaa in which the fish were so plenti
ful that free movement of the steamer
was impeded. The vessel, in fact,
found the royal chinook so plentiful
that in forcing her way through them
a crimson wake was left behind. Al
though salmon are selling at extrava
gant prices in the Portland market,
the Oshkosh crew apparently made no
effort to open a passageway for the
steamer by lifting a. few tons on deci.
With salmon so plentiful that there
does not appear to be room for them
in the Pacific Ocean, there is every
reason to believe that the Columbia
River will this year harvest a record
breaking pack.
EQUAL RATES FOR THE SAME HAUL.
The ideal basis for railroad rates Is
a uniform unit 'of charge per mile of
haul. That may be what the two
houses of Congress have in mind In
their long-and-short-haul amendment
to the railroad 'bill, in some approach
or other. But the commerce and the
upbuilding of the country have not
grown on this theory, and, should It
be applied, the readjustment of trade
centers would be stupendous and in
many cases ruinous. President Taft
had. this in mind last Wednesday in
ot. Louis when he said:
The problem of fixing railroad rates is a
most difficult one. and the man who says
he knows how to do It is the only one in
the community who thinks so.
There has been introduced into the
House a modification of the ions; and short
haul clause. Some people seem to favor a
mileage basis for freight rates. I would
view the adoption of such a principle with
a great deal of anxiety.
I am afraid those jrentlemen who are
most emphatic in thinking that is the eas
iest solution of the question, these gentle
men who come from the interior, will find
themselves in the same position as that son
of Erin who sat on the limb and sawed it
off.
Cities have been built, trade "zones"
have been created and commercial In
stitutions have been established by ap
plication of the doctrine hat a railroad
may meet the competition of cheap
water transportation by charging less
for a haul to a port of commerce than
for a haul of similar or shorter length
to a point not favored with water
traffic.
Theper-ton-per-mile rate has never
been applied to the railroad polity of
this country, although it is the admit
tedly ideal unit. Should the water
competition principle' of ratemaking
be abandoned, there will be yet to
reckon with factors of gradients, and
traffic volume and distribution in com
plex array.
It Is clear that should the present
system jjf ratemaking be abandoned
for this other, the trade centers least
upset -will be those on the seaboard
and those on navigable waterways of
the interior. '
Complexity of Interests involved
make this a delicate matter for Con
gress or the Interstate Commission to
handle. Perhaps, in abstract justice,
equal rates should be charged for the
haul the country over. That is a
question for inland trade centers to
decide. And the ones that favor it
should be very sure in advance that
the uniform rate system -will not give
their trade to other localities or will
not spread their trade over large areas
which they now hold tributary.
The proposed system will not give
centers that have only railroad traffic
the cheap rate advantages that other
centers derive from their ocean or
river highways.
rHOPHECY AXD niU'lLLMK.NT.
The transportation problem, local
as well as transcontinental, has ever
been the chief problem of our de
velopment as a state. "Shut In from
all the world without" for half "a cen
tury, the sparse population of Oregon
drew upon such resources as every
where abounded in such measure as
supplied its immediate noodo nnH
waited, at first ill content, but later in
dreamy isolation, for the coming of
the long-deferred transportation era.
A quarter of a century ago comple
tion of the first direct transcontinental
railway startled the people from the
stagnation that had overtaken them,
but still did scarcely more than stir
the sluggish waters of waiting oppor
tunity. It was only when lines of
local transit began to be developed
lines that brought the farm in closer
touch with the market that the new
life, long promised to the Wiiiomoi
Valley, was executed.
The electric lines to Oregon City,
to Estacada, to Gresham, tapped the
sources of our nearer market supplies
and distinct growth was witnessed
along these lines and in the towns at
which they terminated. Still it was
slow growth, compared with the re
sources that waited development. Then
came the Oregon Electric, reaching
out to Salem and to Forest Grove;
then the United Railways effort; and
now comes James J. Hill, the great
railroad builder, with the suggestion
of electric lines that will in time place
every section of the Willamette Val
ley in touch with every other section,
so to speak, and all in touch with
Portland as the great commercial cen
ter. "There are here two or three mill
ions of acres, that are unsurpassed in
the world for climate and soil," said
Mr. Hill, speaking of the Willamette
Valley. All of this expanse is di
rectly tributary to Portland, while
from the fertile acres of Idaho. South
eastern Washington and Eastern and
Southeastern Oregon, the great North
Bank Road, Its feeders and the feed
ers that in a few years will gridiron
these vast areas will come the wealth
which Is born of traffic, the combined
.products of mines and fields and or
chards and stock ranges to feed the
commerce cf the farther world.
- Surveying the possibilities of the fu
ture from this standpoint, it is easy
to acquiesce In the view of Mr. Hill
that we "have good cause to be thank
ful that Portland Is located where it
is."
OREGON'S BANKING STRENGTH.
New wealth poured into Oregon
banks at the rate of more than $12$,.
000 per day during the months of Feb
ruary and March, as shown in an of
ficial statement Just issued by James
Steel, State Bank Examiner. In the
5 7-day period between January 31 and
March 2 9. there was a gain Indeposits
in the Oregon banks of $7,336,948.11.
of which more than $6,000,000 was
credited to the National banks. In
undivided profits, dividends unpaid,
surplus fund, and nearly every other
item which would Jn any manner re
flect prosperity, there were substan
tial gains scored by both the state and
the National banks. It was in the
National banks that the most flatter
ing show4ng was .made, and the sin
gle Item of deposits compared with
those for all of the National banks, in
the United States, makes a most in
teresting exhibit.
The report of the Controller of the
Currency covering the same period as
the report of the Oregon State Bank
Examiner, gives . the condition of
7083 National banks at the close of
business March 29, 1910, and also for
January 31, 1910. This shows loans
and discounts amounting $5,432,
093,194, a gain of $202,589,719 as
compared with the figures for Jan
uary 31. The deposit accounts of
these banks had a total of $5,227,
851,556, or approximately $37,000,000
more than in January. It is in this
deposit item that the remarkable
showing of the Oregon National banks
appears most prominently, for, while
the 70 8 2 National banks scattered
throughout the United States, had an
average gain of but little more than
$5000 each, the average gain in de
posits of the Oregon banks was $90.-
000 each. In other words, more than
one-sixth of the total gains in deposits
made by 7082 National banks was
made by the 74 Oregon institutions.
The total deposits of the Oregon Na
tional banks were more than $51,000,
000. Although this state is hut scantily
populated and new in development,
the average deposits per bank are
practically the same as for the entire
number throughout the United States.
As this phenomenal gain in deposits
in the Oregon banks was made in
what is usually considered the dull
season, the showing will be much
more favorable in April and May. The
record-breaking sales of timber and
farm lands and the immense expendi
tures made by the transportation com
panies make it a certainty that the
next bank statement will have gains
much greater proportionately than
those which have just been noted.
Oregon has to a marked degree al
ways succeeded in financing most of
her local enterprises with money
which flowed into the state in pay
ment for our agricultural and timber
products, farm lands and mines, and
with new wealth coming into the
state on a scale never before reached,
our independence of the East . w-ill
be more pronounced than ever.
- THE OREGON TRAIL.
There are many signs that Ameri
cans are beginning to take a. more In
telligent interest in the history and
natural features of their country than
they did formerly. The feeling that
we have nothing here worth traveling
to see and that nothing has ever hap
pened west of the Allegheny Mountains
which is worth reading about is pass
ing away as knowledge of the many
marvelous beauties of Western Amer
ica increases and the truly romantic
history of the region becomes more
widely known. The old notion that
the natural scenery of the United
States lacks "human interest" or that
it is devoid of the enchanting veil of
tradition arises for the most part from
ignorance. Switzerland and Holland
would be devoid of traditional halos
for a person who knew.nothing about
what had happened there and the
same is true of the territory of the
United States west of the Mississippi.
scarcely a spot in that wide region is
without its tragedy or its x mantle
episodes and portions of it, like the old
Oregon Trail, for example, fairly
throb with historic life.
Charles M. Harvey's article, "On
The Road to Oregon," in the May At
lantic forms part of a rapidly growing
literature which concerns the affairs
of the Far Western country, a literature
as different as possible from Mark
Twain's "Beyond the Mississippi," and
the tales of Bret Harte. Books which
combine accuracy of statement with
deep interest of narrative have been
published lately upon the Columbia
River by Professor Lyman, of Whit
man College; upon the history of the
State of Washington by Professor
Meany; upon the Old Mississippi, the
history of the Hudson's Bay Company
and a multitude of topics of the same
sort and their number proves that they
find readers. The time is at hand per
haps when the people of the United
States will find their own country as
interesting as Europe and part of the
enormous sums we spend every year
in travel will go to obtain knowledge
of our home scenery and cities. The
human race seems almost Invincibly
determined to care nothing about the
things which really concern . it and
spend its time, money and thought
upon the remote and impossible, but
as we evolve doubtless we shall be
come more sensible in that particular.
Mr. Harvey's article displays deep
knowledge of his subject. It is diffi
cult to see how more facts atout the
Western country could be stated in the
same space or arranged in a more
pleasing style. Of his accuracy it is
needless to speak since his well known
studies of the history of the Coast
region put it almost beyond the possi
bility of criticism. He does not even
fall into that adoration of - the Whit
man myth which it seems very diffi
cult for most people -who write upon
Oregon to avoid. The Independent, of
New Tork, has lately revived this pa
thetic fiction with a vigor which indi
cates that it will probatly never die.
The advertising exigencies of Whitman
College would probably make it cer
tain of immortality, even if the human
mind were not a born lover of men
dacities. But careful as Mr. Harvey
has been In his statements he says one
or two things in his Atlantic article
which excite a little surprise. The re
mark that Marcus Whitman in the
Winter of 1842-3 "made a daring ride
from his post on the Willamette across
the mountains and prairies to the
East," is an example of what we mean.
Whitman's post at Waiilatpu was a
long way from the Willamette. It
was from that isolated and threatened
place in the Inland Empire that the
determined missionary set out in the
rigor of that memorable Winter.
Whitman's purpose was to wring a
little aid for his missions from the
Eastern managers of the church
funds, but he did not succeed. In
1S43, when he joined the great migra
tion at Independence on his return
trip, ho was almost penniless. The Ap
plegates had to relieve his hunger on
the way to Fort Hall. Except as an
incitement to emigration, Whitman's
famous journey, heroic as it was,
seems to have been fruitless. The
course of events went on unchanged
at the missions. Difficulties with the
savages steadily increased and finally
culminated, as everybody knows, in
the tragic, death of Whitman and his
wife. It is useless to try at this date
to fix the blame for this unhappy
event, but it seems to be scarcely
doubtful that if the missionarv so
ciety which sent Whitman out to the
Oregon country had sustained him
properly the massacre never would
have occurred. The very fact of his
isolation and neglect tempted the In
dians to carry things with a high
hand in dealing with him.
Mr. Harvey says in another place
that Nathaniel Wyeth "was the first
Amrican who crossed the Continent
from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
Taken literally this may perhaps be
true, but it must te very literally :.
deed. Lewis and Clark did not begin
their formal expedition until they had
assembled their men near St. Louis,
one must admit, but the fact that
they traversed the entire Continent
does not seem to be disputable. John
Jacob Astor's expedition under Hunt
set out from St. Louis In 1811. but
Hunt must have gone to that city be
fore he could have left it for the
W'est and it is rather straining a point
to say that he did not cross the Con
tinent. Difficult as it might be to
prove that any person before Wyeth
ever went from the Atlantic "to the
Pacific in a single continuous journey,
still Mr. Harvey's statement chal
lenges crsjicism so daringly that it
ought to be modified.
PASSING OK THE RANGE.
The early settler who engaged In
small farming was the most potent fac
tor in civilizing the West. Following
on the heels of the cattlemen and the
Indians, he has by easy stages moved
forward the frontier all the way from
New York to the Pacific. The East
and West movement fairly well com
pleted, he is now shifting that imag
inary line to the north and south. In
that great empire in Central Oregon
some of t!.e cattle barons are making
their last stand, but it, will be of
brief duration, for the new railroads
now entering the country will bring a
multitude of settlers w.- will speedily
take up the great range over which
the cattle herds have roamed for dec
ades. In Idaho the same economic
change is taking place. A recent
Lewiston dispatch announces the
withdrawal from the Nez Perce and
Camas Prairie region of Bales &
Jones, one of the most extensive cat
tle firms in the Northwest.
Encroachments of settlers on the
vast domain over which the herds of
cattlemen have ranged for years have
narrowed the scope of their operations
to such an extent that they are
"crowded" for room, and will shift to
the secluded Big Hole country in Mon
tana to make a last stand : -ralnst the
coming settlers. . This last stand In
that wild land, however, will soon be
over, for the same influences that have
steadily shifted the frontier line from
New Tork west will follow the over
lords of the range into their new loca
tion. ' There Is no more "frontier" in
all the West. It has been supplanted
by a new order of industry, and the
country and the Nation are distinct
gainers by the change. Experience has
demonstrated that while the small
farmer as a rule does not engage in
stockralsing except on a moderate
scale, nearly every farmer- in a rich
agricultural district turns off a few
animals each year.
It is not improbable that in the ag
gregate the output of the hundreds of
farms that have taken the place of one
of these big ranches will equal and
perhaps exceed that of the ranch,
while husbandry will have produced,
in addition to the returns from the
stock, something more than a good liv
ing for the farmer. The stock thus
turned off In small numbers by indi
vidual farmers as a rule is superior to
the usual range standard. The crying
need of the Northwest is more set
tlers; the break up of the big ranches
goes far toward providing n :w homes
for them.
OLD-SEW LESSONS OF TUBEUCtLOSIS.
Great movements are the fruits of
long periods of cumulating knowl
edge. People rise to an emergency,
generally only after protracted wrongs
or suffering. One of the striking ex
amples of this truism is the present
day war upon tuberculosis a war for
which civilized people have been
strengthening the sinews of their
knowledge for ages, especially during
the century wherein the germ theory
of disease has become fixed as a max
im of life and death.
Many of us imagine that our pres
ent knowledge of tuberculosis infec
tion is of recent origin. We remem
ber that twenty or thirty years ago
there was supposed to be little danger
of one person's taking the dread dis
ease of consumption from another.
Now we know that this consuming
sickness is most malignant in this re
spect. And we learn further that
Old World centers were well informed
of this menace a century and a half
ago.
Smollett, the celebrated English
author who was contemporary with
that time, has left in his "Expedition
of Humphrey Clinker" a narrative of
his day's terror of consumption and a
description of the desperate safe
guards taken against its spread. At
this time the germ theory had made
considerable progress among medical
men and scientists. In 1762, Antonius
Plenciz, a Viennese physician, had
made the most illuminating statement
of this theory that the world had yet
seen. He declared all infectious dis
eases due to micro-organisms, either
of plant or animal nature, and his
brilliant discoveries opened the way
for today's knowledge of disease and
Its preventives. Air, he suggested,
was a medium of germ transmission.
This was not a new theory at that
time, but the presentation of It was
the most convincing that had yet been
eeeh.
Smollett was a physician by forced
profession and a literary writer by
choice. Evidently he was Informed of
the Plenciz discoveries, since he was a
traveler on the continent and was well
versed in scholarly affairs of his day.
Nine years after Plenciz published his
researches, Smollett wrote the crown
ing work of his career, "Humphrey
Clinker," while death was slowly
creeping upon him near the town of
Leghorn, in Italy, On the subject of
consumption he wrote: v
Snares are laid for our Jives In every
thing we eat or drink: the very air we
breathe is loaded with contagion. We ean
?.t.V?. ?!''P .t",,tho,ut rl"k ot Infection'.
Z lnI c"onr place ,s rendezvous
of the diseased -you won't deny that many
disease.- are Infectious: even the consumri
tion Itself is highly Infectious. VheT a
person dies of It in Italy, the bed and
bedding are destroyed, the other furniture
is exposed to the weather, and the apart
ment whitewashed before it is occupied
by a living soul. You'll allow that nothing
receives Infection sooner, or retains it longer
than blankets, feather beds and mattresses
hdeath! how do I know what miserable
objects have been stewing In the bed where
I now lie:
When one considers that the germ
theory was not then widely under
stood and that communication and
prevention of disease were still a mys
tery, except with a relatively few per
sons of unusual scientific acumen,
one realizes that long periods of suf
fering had brought the people of Italy
to the knowledge that the bedding ot
a consumptive patient should be de
stroyed, in order to make away -with
a source of fresh sickness. Experi
ence, after all. is the wisest teacher,
and acquaintance with germs is ac
cumulated experience. It used to be
a mysterious custom, and a proved
preventive of disease, to prepare the
initial bandage of the infant with a
severe heating process. Round this
practice grew superstition that has
been cleared away only In recent years
by the world's having learned that
heat destroys germs of sepsis and
sickness.
a cit;y again destroyed.
Cartago, the ancient capital of
Costa Rica, scarred and humbled by
the recurrent earthquakes of nearly
four centuries, has again trembled and
crumbled before the seismic destroyer.
Of the scant 5000 which numbers the
population of the unstable city, 600
are said to have been swallowed up
in the gaping fissures opened by the
unseen disturber, or crushed beneath
the falling walls of the doomed city.
Memory recalls in this connection
a picture, in an old school geography,
purely imaginary, as were all illus
trations of such catastrophes before
the day of photography, illustrative
of the scene at Caracas in one of the
many earthquakes that have shaken
and shattered the Venezuelan city.
The picture was of toppling buildings
and heaps of ruins; of awful- fissures
opening in the earth, into which de
spairing human beings, with arms up
lifted imploringly and mouths open as
If In shrieking or in prayer, were sink
ing; of mothers holding their Infants
aloft In the forlorn hope that the lit
tles ones might escape the all-destroying
wrath of Nature, while flames,
bursting out in every direction, com
pleted the picture as of the inferno,
to which in the creed of the time and
place all the damned were to be con
signed. Photography, with its presentment
of the actual scenes of earthquakes
of modern times as of San Fran
cisco, In which a stately city went
down before the combined fury of
earth and fire; and of Messina, where
in not alone a city, but a densely pop
ulated province, was scourged to ruin
and desolation by the same forces of
Nature in revolt has given a no more
striking picture than that which con
veyed to the imagination o! the chil
dren gathered in the old school-houses
of a past generation the story of earth
quake and Its awful possibilities.
By the reflected light of this old
picture a crude wood cut at best
it is possible to see the ancient capital
of Costa Rica crumbling again into
ruins; its terror-stricken inhabitants
fleeing, or trying to flee, not knowing
which way to go: the yawning chasms
opening to receive them; their af
frighted attempts to turn back; the
representation of the holy maternal
Instinct that held with frantic clutch
helpless babes high above the heads
of not less helpless mothers; the
flames behind, the toppling walls be
fore what words could convey as has
this old picture the terrors of earth
quake and of fire.
A MEMORIAL, TO BITNYAN.
The project to erect a memorial
building to John Bunyan at Elstow,
the village where he was born and
where he lived most of his life, will
Interest every American who cares for
great men and great literature. It is
easy to foresee that contribtions to the
memorial from this country will be
generous, for nowhere else in the
world Is Bunyan more loved or his
works more read than in the United
States. W'e have learned to include
the Pilgrim's Progress among the im
mortal classics of English literature
and the life of the Tinker of Elstow,
who gave it to the world, is almost as
familiar to us as that of Washington
or Emerson. A carper might say that
Bunyan's life, is better known as a
whole than in its details, but that "re
mark could be made of almost any
famous man. A number of stories
have, in fact, clustered about his
memory which are commonly believed
because it seems as if they ought to
be true about such a character, al
though upon examination no evidence
can be found for them.
For example, now that the press Is
occupied with Bunyan on the occa
sion of the proposed memorial in El
stow, we read In various accounts
that he belonged "to the stern Crom
wellian forces." There is no founda
tion for the tale that Bunyan fought
in the army of c .omwell agcinst King
Charles. Indeed, if he fought at all
in the parliamentary war, it is likely
that he was on the King's side. He
never displayed the slightest disloy
alty to the Stewarts. After the res
toration his submission to Charles II
was little short of abject, so far as
politics went. In religious matters, of
course, the case was different. Bunyin
never took much interest in politics
or any other earthly affairs except the
mere business of r-.aklng a good liv
ing by his trade. His mind was en
tirely occupied with the concerns of
heaven and hell. One imagined that
this world always appeared a little
vague and unreal to, him. It is cer
tain that he had little or no sympathy
with revolutionary politics and was in
spirit much more of a loyalist than a
rebel.
The stories of Bunyan's twelve
years' imprisonment are also stretched
a good deal in common report, though
he himself never told anything but
the truth about it. He need never
have gone to Bedford Jail at all if he
would have riven the justice who
tried him his word that he would stop
public preaching. The law under
which he was punished was aimed
not so much at suppressing relirious
differences as at quieting sedition,
which was rife in England at that
time. Much Of the Cromwellian dis
content lingered among the sectaries
and found expression at their gather
ings. It was deemed wise to put a
stop to what might have become a
public danger and Bunyan's preaching
therefore fell under the ban with that
of every other minister not belonging
to the established church. The mag
istrate who tried him for defying the
law was his friend and did all he
could to persuade Eunyan to mitigate
his rebellion. But the heroic tinker
would not promise to hold his tongue.
He replied to the justice that he
would preach as long as the Lord
gave him breath and accordingly
there was nothing to do but to shut
him up.
Still his imprisonment was not ex
cessively severe. Time and again he
visited his family at Elstow, while he
was theoretically languishing in Bed
ford jail. He even found opportuni
ties to preach and made a trip to Lon
don now and then. Hence, while we
sympathize with Bunyan as with all
the mighty confessors for freedom of
speech, we are not disposed to weep
much over the horrors of his impris
onment. It was more like that of a
modern trust magnate convicted of
theft than that of the typical martyr.
In jail he had most of the comforts
he had been accustomed to and was
well supplied with writing material
and such books as he wanted. It will
not i.e forgotten that his great work
was composed during his half farcical
Imprisonment. Many books he did
not want. The Bible was almost the
only literary work with which Bun
yan was familiar, but of that book his
knowledge was amazing. He seems
to have known it by heart. From one
point of view the Pilgrim's Progress
reads almost like a mosaic in Scrip
tural texts. He has one at his pen's
tip for every emergency, to illustrate
every point he makes, to comfort his
hero in every trial and deepen his
joy in every triumph. The sty: ! of
"The Pilgrim's Progress" is good be
cause it is that of the Bible.
Outside of the Scriptures Bunyan
was an Ignorant man, but he was
not a beggar by any means. The
common belief that he was a thrift
less dreamer needs modification. From
his youth he was a good man of busi
ness. He knew how to make money
and to save it. His house was com
fortably furnished and he kept his
family in easy circumstances. Ir his
own somewhat morbid imagination
Bunyan was a vile wretch whose de
pravity went beyond the power of
words to picture, but as a matter of
fact he was a pretty good citizen.
There is no record of his ever doing
anything very bad even in the days
of his greatest wickedness. He some
times swore and was fond of outdoor
sports with other young men of
Elstow-, but that is all. As for vie 3,
he knew nothing abut it from per
sonal experience. His wickedness was
purely theological, that of a man who
has been caught in the vice tf a re
lentless creed and feels that fcj must
square his life with it. This re
quired in his case a good deal
of black paint on innocent actions, but
Bunyan was an excellent painter. His
fame as a preacher shows that. When
he went down to London to preach the
people gathered in such crowds that
he had to be carried to the pulpit
on men's shoulderr r er their heads
and his sermons were tfc talk of the
town. The stcries we read of the
effect of his exhort tlons remird us of
St. Patricl; offering salvation t the
Irish. But his eloquence is almost
lorgotten now. Bunyan's fame rests
upon "The Pilgrim's Progress." and
judging from the ijorennial attraction
of that wonderful book f -r -11 classes
of readers, he is as sure of earthly
Immortality as any man who. ever
lived and wrote.
Mary, Princess of Wales, soon to
be crowned Queen of England, is said
to be cold and haughty, as well as a
most ambitious woman. As Princess
Mary of Teck she was betrothed to the
oldest son of the late King Edward,
the Duke of Clarence. This young
man died suddenly in his early man
hood, and his betrothed wife quickly
shifted her affections to his brother,
now King George V. They were mar
ried in something over a year after
what was proclaimed her sad bereave
ment. Her aunt, the Dowager Em
press of Russia, had a similar experi
ence in marriage, with a similar re
sult that of turning her from a vi
vacious, sympathetic girl into a cold,
unlovely woman. She was, as Prin
cess Dagmar of Denmark, betrothed
to the elder brother of the late Em
peror Alexander of Russia, who died
of consumption after a long and pa
thetic struggle. Thereupon Princess
Dagmar was transferred to Alexander,
and made him a faithful wife after
the cold manner of the new Queen of
England. Ambitious, even implacable
in her determination to bend the af
fairs of state to her will, the Dowager
Empress is feared and hated in Rus
sia. . It can only be hoped that the
analogy between these two lives will
cease with the accession of Mary as
Queen Consort of England.
The inauguration of a most gra
cious philanthropy will be witnessed
today in laying the cornerstone of
the Old People's Home at East Thirty
third street and Sandy Road. The
generosity of the late P. J. Mann, ably
dispensed and administered by his
widow, renders possible "the establish
ment of this home in accordance with
ample means and well-laid plans. The
site donated by the Ladd estate is an
admirable one for. the purpose. The
late Henry W. Corbett gave the nu
cleus for the home, while generous
donations from other sources have
been added to the fund from time to
time. The whole has been carefully
conserved by Mrs. Mann, as president
of the Old Ladies' Home Association,
and, following out the wishes of her
late husband, she will supply what
ever funds are needed to complete the
work so auspiciously begun. The ex
ercises will be historical and devo
tional, and the public is cordiallv in
vited. Obviously there are "snakes" in the
Interior Department that should be
killed. Secretary Ballinger has suf
fered severely from their venom. He
will do a good Job by clearing up the
Department of its spies and sneaks.
It appears to be definitely settled
that a short fat man stole that $5000
from a local safety deposit vault,
which relieves the tall dark man who
usually figures in such episodes of the
necessity of proving an alibi.
Illinois Democratic legislators are
confessing to being bribed, and the
indictments against them are being
promptly quashed. Another famous
Oregon method thus gets a foothold
elsewhere.
Anyone may see the comet now, if
he is lucky, by rising at 3 A. M. Tet
there are some people who will be
content with hearsay evidence that It
Is there.
William J. Bryan is going to Mis
souri to help out state-wide prohibi
tion. Not very auspicious either for
prohibition; or for Democracy in Mis
souri. Five hundred people were killed In
a few seconds by an earthquake down
in Costa Rica. Tet there are people
in Oregon who whine about the rain.
Perhaps after all, that sewer-pipe
trust may not have such a terra-cotta
cinch on the Council. Though perhaps
it will be well to wait and see.
The Senate finally permitted Bourne
to circulate 60,000 copies of his
"speech at his own expense.
Mr. Hill should be given a free hand
while the spirit moves him.
Mothers' Day. But what day Is not
mothers' dajr.?
TOPICAL VERSE
Night.
Softly the twtlijrht falls, upon the world
Like eyelids drooping 'over slumbering
eyes;
Slowly the sunset glory leaves the skies
To the white moon, her stiver wings un
furled. Down dropping all her borrowed plumes
of light.
The little pools along the 6lender
streams
Like mirrors hold the dancing starlight
gleams.
And sigh with rapture through the short,
sweet night.
As some fair woman with translucent
veil
Screens her bright beauty from too eager
eyes.
So shielding darkness over hill and dale
Hides lovely earth from nighfs farsee
ing skies.
Too soon, too soon will dawn supplant
the night
And earth will wake again to sound
and .light.
New York Sun.
The Annual.
When the soap is on the stairway and
the rugs are on the lawn.
And the paper-hanger's coming, while
the plasterer has gone.
When the men are all dejected and are
bothered with the blues.
While their wives are madly shuffling
in enormous overshoes
Oh, the house is in a turmoil at the
very blush of dawn.
When the soap Is on the stairway and
the rugs are on the lawn.
When the cullud lady's smashing alt
the raable statuettes,
And the hardwood floors are ruined
by the roller-skating pets.
When the grand piano's damaged by a
can of color spilled
In Its innermost recesses by a man who
should be killed
Oh, it's then we see a picture never
painted; nay. nor drawn.
When the soap is on the stairway and
the rugs are on the lawn.
When you're eating from the gas range
find are filAAntni, in Ha hall
And you sit down in the kalsomine In
tended for the wall.
And the batter cakes are' tinted with
a dash of indigo.
And your coffee tastes of benzine and
there's borax In the. dough
Or a broom will send you sidewise like
a timid, startled fawn.
When the soap is on the stairway and
the rugs are on the lawn.
Ah. for somewhere east of Suez, where
the best is like the -worst.
And a human habitation by houseclean
ing is not cursed!
For there's tumult in the attic and the
cellar is a mess.
-And you have to screen the windows
with a bureau when you dress.
And you have a very doubtful spring
less cot to sleep upon.
When the soap is on the stairway and
the rugs are on the lawn.
Chicago Post.
His New Ordeal.
The hero of the jungle took his razor
from it! case;
"1 s'pose." he sighed, "that etiquette de
mands a polished face."
He ran the scraper all about until his
skin grew sleek
Then went to meet the Kaiser and bo
kissed upon the cheek.
I
"I've roused the tawny roarers and I've
chased 'em all away;
With hippos and with elephants Tve-
joined in friendly play;
But, reeJy, now." the colonel groaned, "t
know 'twill make me weak
To face the German Kaiser when ha
smacks me on- the cheek!"
They're waiting in old Berlin for the
eagle from the west;
The town looks like a section of a Tankee
Doodlefst:
The Krupp guns will be booming and the
Deutscher folks will shriek
When William in the bahnhof kisses
Teddy on the cheek!
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Triolets of Springtime.
The lark is a-wing
And a robin is singing:
Again it is Spring.
The lark is a-wing,
'Twixt poles on a string
The carpets are swinging;
The lark is a-wlng.
The robins are singing.
Green buds reappear.
Fond lovers go Maying; ,
The bock's on the beer,
Green buds reappear.
And faintly I hear '
A German band playing;
Green buds reappear.
Fond lovers go Maying.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Meester Marka Twain.
Dey say eet was hees job for joke
An' poke fun at seempla folk.
I don'ta ondrastan'.
I nevva read w'at's een hees book;
I only see da way he look
I only know da man.
An' evra time he pasea by
He show to me so kinda eye
Es beautiful to see;
For dough I'm domba Dagoman.
So strange, so queer, een deesa lan.
He nevva laugh at me.
An" dey dat say he only joke
An' maka fun weeth simpla folk
Ees mebbe so. dey He.
Ees mebbe so de no could see
How moocha sweet charity
Ees am ila from hees eye.
An' now dat he ees gon' an change
For 'nudder land dat eesa strange
To heem as eet can be
I care baylleve dey dere are kind
To heem, poor ptranger, a-9 I find
Dat here he was to me.
T. A. Daly in Catholic Standard and
Times.
To the Ticket Stubs.
(On the Morning After.)
Tou, that were so crisp and clean
Only yester even.
Now, with mutilated mien.
Cloud the morning heaven.
Tou, that seemed to promise me
Thrills of Thespian magic.
Breathe, through mists of memory.
Truths belated, tragic.
Dreams are but an empty life;
Now in mournful numbers
O'Rlght H 2 and 4") you knife
All my viaioned slumbers.
Almost willingly I paid
For your bright possession.
Why. I liked you as a maid
Likes a love confession!
Saw In your prefigured date
First, the play's gay lassies:
Then, beside each pleasant plate,
Cheerful stuff in glasses.
Didn't It come true? Of course;
Even with additions.
Such as headaches, blues, remorse.
Breakfast-time contritions.
But my brain this question sings
When I've shot my rockets:
Why are you the only things
In my punished pockets?
Punci.