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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1911)
THE SUNDAY OREGONTAX, PORTLAND, MAY 14, 1911. V. MARSHFIELD TAKES PRIDE IN ITS TWO DIVISIONS OF OREGON NAVAL MILITIA Bast Young Men of Cooa Bay City Are Member, of Organisation and Their Interest Is Keen Dr. Straw, Mayor of Town, Is Commander of Citizen- Sailors, and He Has Experienced Corps of Assistants. v aSS' mi Him III I IT J i 1 jk ARSHFIKLD. Or.. Mar IS. (8j 11 clX) The two JlTllon of th .. ' Orccon NtJ Militia, which were .. orgmnlxail In Marshfleld. an receiving - many honors and It has ben declared br rliitln offlccra that this cltjr haa th bat rvpretvntatlon In Or ion anJ tha bac-drUll man In tha organisation. Tha city la quit proad of Ita cltlsen aallora and haa dona everything' to help tha boy. Whan It waa at first propoaad laat Oc tober to form division 'of tha Naval " Ullltla In this city, tha tdaa mat with tha approval of tha young man and so many wanted to Join that It waa necea . sary to have two divisions, to be known -.aa tha third and fourth. Tha third di vision Is composed of tha younger boys - and tha fourth division la composed of older youths. The membership com prises some of the best young men of the city and they make a fine showing ; when on parade' and have progressed rapidly In the training that baa been given. So far tha drilling haa all been on land and the boys are looking forward with a-rrrlr-rc?j-- as&s-Gcz&r ' '' f ., . ' "".'V.. . 1 - I jjszt ztkS-j-jb'2? coos' cyr 3e" - JVv 41 t- BBSSSSSfliSSHiiBHilBSflHHIiillHilBBIfllSilHHHIBBSBSHHHiHHHIiHi - GEORGE A. THATCHER TALKS ON SIN, CRIME AND SOCIAL EVILS OF CITY Scientific Study of All Questions and Intelligent Handling of Them Is Only Successful Way, He Declares Many i Conditions Must Be Tolerated. THIRD ARTICLE. ' BT GEOROE A. THACHER. IT really appears aa f there waa room for constructive and Intelligent work on the part of the Portland Council. It Is undoubtedly safe to ay that; there are three classes of cttlxens: the good and near good; the depraved, who try to commercialise vice: and the Immen majority, who want to be respectable, but who must be amused and who drift In the direction of the least resistance. la It the business of the city govern ment to restrain the depraved men who make money by organising vice? Our brothers are going to And the Joy of life somewhere. Khali It be on Burn- side street, as at present organised? Is Is a matter of dollars and cents and happiness and general prosperity? In other words, are Its citizens the best asset of the city? If ao there must be Intelligent study of conditions and the slow and careful application of reme dies. Take the saloon question. 1 think I have shown that the business Is badly overdone, and that profits are secured by selling liquor to men who are In toxicated, and by using good-looking prosUtutes to help sell beer. I have personal knowledge of tha fact and any one ran have It. The prostitutes are the hostesses In the liquor business to a certain extent. In Sec 41. Art. 4. of the Charter of Portland the police powers of the Coun cil are denned "To regulate and res train bartenders, saloonkeepers, dealers in and manufacturers of spirituous, vinous, fermented or malt liquors, bar rooms, drinking shops and etc." The power to reduce the number of saloona In Portland rests almost absolutely with the Council. I doubt.-though. If there Is a Councilman In Portland to day who thinks it possible. The fact that It would have to be arbitrary and much Interest to their trip on the cruiser Boston, which will take place In July. In tha meantime, the members are be ing given weekly Instructions by Cap tain Mageen. of the steamer Breakwater who delivers a lecture each week while In port and Instructs the boys In mat ters of navigation. He win soon take the two divisions on his t earner to the lower bay and give some Instructions In fire drills and navigation so they-will be a little better prepared when they go on the regular cruise. Mayor la Comnundcr. tr. E. E. Straw, Mayor of Marshfleld. la the commander of the two divisions, with the rank of aenlor lieutenant. Lieu tenant R. O. Graves la commander of the third division and Artheur Blanchard Is enelgn. Lieutenant H. Stone la com mander of the fourth division and Thay er Grimes U enalgn. Dr. E. Mlngue 1 surgeon with rank of Lieutenant. Rev. J. Richard Olson, who was sppotnted chaplain for the state, and who recently moved to Portland, waa a Marshfleld might be said to show favoritism is aufnclent to bar any such plan. Prob ably there are not more than ene or two Councllmen who even desire It. The Restricted District. The trouble with prostitution has. been that no one knows what to de with It. It has beoome so generally accepted as a necessary evil that there la a cynical contempt for those who want to abolish It. It Is only within 10 years that there has been any attempt to stuay the problem In a scientific manner. There have been a few con clusions reached which will probably shock good people, but as they are of vital Importance It will be necessary to enumerate them. The most Impor tant one is that In the aoelal organi sation known aa the United Statea Gov ernment, which owed Its very existence to a war for personal liberty, there Is not recognized In the laws of the dif ferent statea any sharp distinction be tween sin and crime. Sins and crimes are all Jumbled together, and the po lice force Is expected to use practical sense In discriminating. 'Naturally the police don't make much of a success of It. perhapa because society has no clear Ideas on the subject. It is net Impos sible that that is one reason why mu nicipal government In the United States has been called a failure. To make sin a crime by statute with severe penal ties, and then for the police to use prac tical sense In refusing to infringe on personal liberty by trying to arrest the sinners, naturally leads pious people with an abnormal sense of smell te try to Increase the penalties of the offenses, and Just as naturally leads the man of easy morals to sell Immunity and the scamp to practice blackmail. That's the practical outcome of the confusion. There Is a point, of course, whers personal vice or Immorality becomes a public nuisance, and that Is unquestion ably the danger point aa well aa the sharply defined boundary between sin 1 '1 W;:..- j man and pastor of a church here until he accepted a Portland call. Recently an examination waa held to decide who should be appointed i non commissioned officers. It being-decided to put such appolntmenta on a competi tive baals. Twenty-one of the members entered the competition and the exam ination papers will be corrected by three men who have seen actual service. That the members of the Marshfleld division are patriotic and ready for serv ice should they be called was evidenced lately when tha United States troops were being mobollsed on tha Mexican border. At a drill they were asked by an offlcer how many would like to go into actual service- should they be needed and every man In both divisions stepped forward. The people of the city have done everything to help and encourage tha organisation. Soon after the divisions were formed the matter of uniforms arose and It required only four hours to secure from tha merchants sufficient subscriptions to purchase the uniforms for the two divisions. The Eagles' Hall Is used ss an armory and the City of Marshfleld paya the rent. There are a number of those In the and crime. If public nuisances are not abated they become criminal, because they destroy the good or organised so clety. Working- Ground for AH. To apply this analysis to the social questions In Portland would prove, think, that there is a common working ground for the brewer and the purity league man. the Prohibitionist and the man on the street, the church member and the honest saloon-keeper. We are all citizens of no mean city and we should resent almost to a man tha aug. gestlon that we are net honest, and do net desire to have a happy city as well as a city beautiful. That common platform might be de scribed aa a determination tht we will not permit personal alns to become or ganized commercially for the profit In money that there may be in the busi ness. It may seem shocking; to suggest that the state of Oregon repeal the statute which makes the violation of the seventh commandment a crime pun ishable by a fine, but it would prob ably be the best thing;, that could be done to start with. The point Is that personal morality is at least nine parts brains, and that these disorderly men talities of our contemporary ancestors cannot In Justice be treated as men and women plua criminality. They simply lsck the wit to keep straight In this particular excepi under very favorable circumstances. To attempt to pound the evil out of them Is hopeless,' for their intellects are of the short-distance variety. Ten years -ago In the Lexow Investi gation In New York City the Commit tee of Fifteen made a report on pros titution, it is a classlo and ought to be read by every thoughtful pero. Ita verdict briefly is this: "Above all the committee recommend a change In the attitude of the law. If we are ever to escape from the present Ira possible conditions. It seems Imperative III sr'-- , t - 1 divisions who have has1 previous mili tary . training, among them Lieutenant Straw and Lieutenant Stone. Lieutenant Graves Is a veteran of the Bpaniah American War and he says that he will back the division he commands with any division of the Naval Militia In the state when It comes to good drilling and general appearance. Interest Is Keen. The fact that Marshfleld is distinctive ly a marine city probably adds much to the Interest of the organization. At any rate the members of the two divisions have enjoyed much benefits so far In their drills and will show up fine when they come together with others fn tha state. The members of the divisions give a ball at regular Intervals. They drill on the streets and In tbelr armory every Monday night. Their first official pub lic appearance was recent ry when they officiated at the funeral of Mra. Olson, wife of the stste chaplain, whose body was taken from this city to Portland for burial. The total membership of the two divisions numbers 110. to draw the distinction sharply be tween sin and crime. "Some of the most grievous sins are i not subjected to legal penalties, simply because it is recognized that such pen alties cannot be enforced, and a law on the statute books which cannot be en forced is a whip in the hands of the blackmailer. Corruption In the police force can never be extirpated until this prolific source pt It Is stopped." Leonard Felix Fuld.' of the New York Municipal Civil Service Commission, has recently published a valuable book on police administration. On this sub ject he says: "Not the least of the moral effects of prostitution Is the corruption of the police foree, by reason of the fact that American states quite generally pass laws against vice in order to prove themselves respectable and then the police force. In accordance with public opinion, neglects to enforce them and seizes upon the opportunity to en rich the members of the municipal ad ministration or even the members of their own administrative organization by the levy of blackmail." While neither of these expressions of conviction are academic in their na ture, there is material nearer home. In Portland the moral squad has been the target for some sneers, though acting In the spirit of the law. Four weeks ago a police sergeant was sued for S6000 for false arrest of a man and his wife. Luckily they were able to produce their marriage certificate and so escaped a trip to the police station. I wonder how many married couples in Portland could find their marriage certificate if they were routed out of bed by a police officer at o'clock In the morning In time to aave them from a ride in the patrol wagon. Could you do It, my reader? Tet under the law that officer was doing his duty If he was in the position of the Vigilance Committee that banged the wrong man and then had to apologize for the act. Recently the keeper of a notorious bawdy house failed of conviction be fore a Jury. The evidence was plain but two men or rather one hung that Jury. Are you at air curious about the business of the Juror who hung that Jury? Tou need not be, for you can guess. This wss the seventh case of the kind and In not one ca was a conviction secured. Why? It Is not difficult to guess. Good men went to places they- would rather put their bands In the fire than have their sons go to and got the evidence, and it goes I for nothing. Why again? I think it Is because a spy is regarded as a con temptible creature, and that to spy upon a woman who has lost every thing that can make life tolerable in order to humiliate and punish her still further possibly makes Judge and Jury indifferent about conviction. So far ' as the disease goes it is treating symp- s toms and nearly every one knows it. - There Is another phase. In the past few weeks I have spent more or less ; time in watching the game where there is a public meJ.lng place for men with ! money and prostitutes. The prostitutes ' are the ealoonman's hostesses and their I first business is to sell beer aad wine, prostitution being a mere Incident. The one aim -of the whole performance is to secure money and to get it rapidly. Leaving morals and honor and decency , aside, I confess my profound admlra- : tion for the skill with which the game Is worked. At every point where clever psychological appeals to the passions , can be made tney are maae. some of them are positively laughable, but they are wonderfully effective. The Festive Lumberjack. They seem to be arranged even to the cashing of checks for the benefit of visitors with plenty of money. Of course, mn about town are welcome so long aa they will spend money Ireely, but the lumberjack is the expected guest. The skill and rapidity wnn which they can be -snaxen uowu anu turned out to make room for more Is hardly believable. As a machine for coining money I should think that a money-grubber could aiiora to pay iiaod a month not to be molested. (I hope that no well-meaning brother will try to drag me berore a urana jury, or ret hysterical about it.) And where is the moral squad? There are doubtless good reasons tor its be Ins- somewhere else. Mr. Field remarks: ":o statute or ordinance should be enacted unless pub lie opinion insists upon Its enforce ment; otherwise there is cast upon mo police force a temptation too great for human nature to resist." This Is not directly nor by implica tion a reflection upon Mayor Simon's administration. I have personal Knowi edo-n of somewhat similar conditions un der- a previous administration. course. It is amusing to read that the Chief of Police recently learned that the North End was not shut quite tight. and that he haa issued a virtuous order to nursre" the district.. There are some things. I am happy to say, I don't know, but I'll guess that there were not many more than 100 "macks" (wnen tnis or der was Issued In town) with a slave or two apiece and probably quite a num ber of them were minors. This last statement is a guess, pure and simple. but at the same time I fancy lt' a'good guess. And the Remedy? t At the last session of the Leglsla ture a drastlo law against white slavery was passed, and the papers from day to day recount the attempts to eniorce u I fancy that no "Thou shalt not!" will cure- the disease entirely. It's got a commercial standing under the con flict between the law and the right of personal liberty, and It gets protection by paying for It. Then, human nature remains human nature under all circumstances. The loyalty of a wqman many times Is like the loyalty of a dog. The most abom inable treatment serves but to tighten the bond. The notion that the weak and' sinful differ essentially from other men and women Is certainly not Justified by the facts. If reformers could remember that, they might save themselves some broken shins. I think it was Eli Per kins who remarked that there was a good deal of human nature In man. That Is another way of saying that society can be changed only by chang ing its conditions of existence, or by a moral sentiment that . pervades all classes at one time. ' As for the first, supposing that the various departments of the city gov ernment had some sort of co-ordination and direct responsibility. Supposing that a Councilman was at the head of the Police Department Instead of a committee appointed by the Mayor from his Executive Board. Then the Coun cil would be In touch with the police policy of the city. It would open a channel through which information might flow at times. I had a talk with a member of the Council recently and when he learned what I was doing he intimated that he would be glad to have me appear before his committee and tell them what I had learned. I said that I was not in the detective business, to which he Instant ly responded: "Neither am I." I did suggest that he ought to see how a certain nlace was run, which he admit ted he had never been Inside of. His response wss, "Shall I take my wife with me?" He Is about the best man In the Council In my humble, opinion. Saloon Business Overdone. Supposing that the Council should reduce the number of saloons in Port land to the number which would permit the business to be decently conducted. and then Insist upon respectable sa loons. Let It be understood that vio lation of the law would mean loss of license, for Instance. In the matter of selling liquor to men who are intoxi cated. Los Angeles has 200 saloons. Portland could exist probably with 150 Instead of 419. SuDDOslnar that the police should ig nore all private and personal Immorali ltles and then arrest only the propri etors of places that axe public nui sances. Place a liberal construction upon that and leave unobtrusive resorts alone. The police know which are the nuisances all right. Then if any asso ciation chose to close up the balance of the places by demonstrating that they are nuisances to the satisfaction of a court, well and good. Supposing that the council estao- lished a work house (It has the power under Sec 69, Art. 4) and then the police Judge could sentence female vag rants to such terms as the cases de manded. Police Judge Tazwell has said to me that he would be glad if there were such an institution in Port land to which he could send certain offenders. Would not that be Infinitely better than the present conditions, which are nominally respectable, but in realty are something else? As for the question or a sentiment. which will pervade society through and through, I feel certain that there is such a sentiment In this matter of the social evil in process of evolution. When It appears it will carry all be fore it, for It Is a matter of life and death,' and in the presence of death prudery disappears. Much Disease Results. ' The Chicago Vice Commission pro poses that children between-12 and IS years of age be instructed In sex hygiene. (It also proposes the aboli tion of fines against prostitutes). I have talked frankly with several of the leading physicians of Portland. I asked them what were the worst diseases that afflicted the human race. One said that cancer was the worst, be cause It was fatal, but the others un hesitatingly declared that the diseases communicated through the white slave traffic were In every respect the most dangerous. They are not incurable when taken in hand immediately, but if neglected, sometimes even for a few weeks, they cannot In some Instances ever be eradicated ' from the human system, I asked the physicians - why there was such an Intolerable repug nance To the names of these diseases. Two agreed that It was because of the early training of most people. They both lamented the fact, because of the terrible mischief of Ignorance on the subject of both of these diseases. That ignorance smong even , educated people is simply appalling. A specialist said of this repugnance MODEL. DRAWING COLOR LINE, LOSES HER PLAG In Refnfdn-f to Pose Before Neero. White Girl Wrongfully Gave m4 -f MISS MAMIE BLAXHA. CHICAGO, May 13. (Special.) Art circles of Chicago are consider ably stirred up over the refusal of Miss Mamie Blanha. a white model, to pose In the nude before a negT'o member of the life class at the Art Institute. It was the first time the Issue had been raised by a model here, and Miss Blanha herself previously had exposed Vher figure to taegro stu dents without protest. Miss' Blanha accomplished her re fusal with very little commotion. Her wiffh was communicated Just as she was on the point of dropping the red robe from her person. With only the slightest protest, the negro withdrew from the room. He wae surprised, but not bitter. The rest of the class also was surprised by the suddenness of the girl's edict, but quickly recovered Its composure, and the work, of draw ing went on. Importance attached to the incident because. of the precedent It set. Girls who pose for the life class at the insti tute do so from choice. They are paid liberally for their time. So long- as they accept money 'and are enrolled as bona fide models hey are expected to contemplate the class as a body, and not as individuals. If they are not pre pared to assume that attitude, they do not fulfill the requirements as models. . Modesty Is Protected. Protection of the modesty of the girls la conserved as far as possible. All but members of the life class are excluded rigidly from the room. Mem bers are not permitted to discuss with each other the lines of the figure dis closed to them. They are counseled to adhere to professional scrutiny of the model and to create a silent under to any mention of the subject that in his opinion it was caused by the feel ing that the diseases originated in im proper conduct and because men .and women were not educated to tne point of facing the truth. In the long run there Is no hiding the truth. That's about the only thing that makes life permanently Interesting. Tuberculosis' Is Spread. Supposing in the present stage of our knowledge or tUDercuiosis mai a city government should tolerate places for the breeding and wholesale dis semination of tuberculosis germs be cause it was a form of dissipation that drew the crowd and helped saloon keepers sell beer. This Is really a mild comparison, because the diseases which are propagated by commercial izing vice are recognized as the worst diseases that afflict humanity. This is the simple truth, though many are ignorant of the fact; and many a man who would fight like a zealot to ex tirpate the evil by law would banish ')! neighbor for mentioning the sub ject in a mixed assemblage. However, there is only one cure and that is knowl edge. That is the only sentiment that can move the race. If the master can realize that the chain around the neck of the slave is also fastened to his own he will some time decide that It is not worth while to be served by a slave. The chain in the case of white slavery Is disease that affects the individual through a long and exhausting pro cess, which is none the less certain. because It works slowly, and which af fects his children for their lives. If It does not cut off the possibility of child ren. Medical science has established these truths and is waiting society's permission to inform it of better chances of life and incidentally of the price of a lingering death. Society, however. Is fearful of being shocked in its most delicate sensibilities. That is the situation today in the civilized world. Portland is no worse than other cities. In fact. It is not so bad as some of Its neighbors, but It has its white slave problem, and it is no kind ness to anyone to conceal the fact. A judge on the bench 4s reported to have said recently: I am not a re former,- but I'll kill this 'thing If I can," when an aggravated white slave case came before him. The trouble is it has a commercial value; it's a business, and only a change of conditions can kill It. The most Important of the con ditions depend upon the men who rule the city the Council, In short. That brings us back to the original ques tion: "What kind of a Council Is Portland to haver WOES OF FALLEN SULTAN Abdul Hamld Longs- for Freedom and Preaches a United State. Boston Transcript. A diplomatist of high rank had an interview lately with Abdul Hamld, the deposed Sultan of- Turkey. The fallen monarch told him that he was being killed by the climate of Salonika, but that he thanked God for having spared to him life and the friendship of his brother. In discussing the situation, he said that he made no distinction be tween the old and young Turks, as the empire needed the efforts of all to save It from ruin, and the co-operation of the different races could not be dls- Chicago Art Institute Officials B Recognition to Individual Phase. 1- ft standing with the model that they are there for a serious artistic purpose. Even outside the classroom the- stu dents are admonished that the poseuae Is to be thought of simply as a neces sary agent of their artistic devVyp . ment. Members of the life class In the great majority of cases do not know the names or addressee of the girls who pose before them. These are kept concealed out of courtesy to and pro tection for the models. One member of the life class before which Mies Blanha posed was well acquainted with her. He was charged with instigating her refusal to appear so long as the negr was In the 'room. This acquaintance Illustrated what embarrassments may grow out of such relationship between student and model. If these two had not known each other. It la doubtful If the color line would have been drawn. Model and Friend XXsmlssed. Officials of the Art Institute felt It was up to them to set an example and to demonstrate that no race distinc tions should be sanctioned. They gave the negro in question to understand ha was welcome to continue hie work. To Miss Blanha was given a chance to recede from her position. She de clined and was discharged from the list of models. W. R. Crompt student friend, got his conge. I strong intimation that disturb' no place In the institute. Popular opinion on Miss Blanlf tion is divided. She pleaded thai den revulsion of feeling selrl and . stayed her hand from di her robe In the presence of th. man. The sensation was an In) fear of something rather than of modesty, pallot Instead of J mounting to her face. t pensed with. As will be percelv dul Hamld has, all the same, r his likes and dislikes, for he ran "The Albanians are always 1, when you know how to treat properly. The Albanians, whate may do, always remain turbule talkative. The Christians in II with or without a constitution, ways be struggling against each The Kurds, the Cruses, the Arab are In clans or tribes, cannot b erned in an Identical manner, thing Is Impossible. The Turks, it well, have made considerable ress; but this has taken place only in a select circle. If the government Is In the hands of this elite, and as this elite Is itself in a state of anarchy, the padishah has not enough authority for the exercise of his modernating Influ ence. "The true course to be followed Is to govern the empire by first utilizing the Turks, who are the strength and the virtue of the empire all the Turks, I mean and then by dealing with the different categories of Turks In the way suited to each. The officers who have been at the war school In Berlin, and the young Softas of Stambul or Brussa and, on the other hand, the Turks of the mountain districts of Asia Minor, are two centuries apart from each other as regards Intellectual de velopment." The padishah, he remarked, ana hi a! faithful councilors were putting these s truths into practice; and he conci,tfe1 a ... - i , . r . - - me, mil t BtLuuenoa an. fer'ng old man, without ambition gret; whom a little good air ann dom would lead more kindly grave." The remarks thoroughly accou tne policy which Abdul Hamld p during his reign. BRITAIN TO TAX WEAR Kegistry System to Be Use1 Check on Criminals, LONDON. May 13. (Special.), firearms nuisance has been preser an acute form to the Home Off the Houndsdltch murders, and be solved by new and stringent tions. Large numbers of revolver! automatic pistols have been so England In recent years, and thi hub increased in tne last lew ml apparently as a result of the adveN-v ment given by the Houndsdltch affr One evidence of this is the recent pearance of new catalogues from flrj in the gun trade. Few of the weapons are of Brit make, although considerable quar.tli come Into this country in "parts." wh are put together by gunsmiths h that being the only way In which B ish labor benefits. The danger of th weapons in the hands of the crtm class lg generally admitted. A heavv tax will be laid on thm rl sessors of all revolvers, automatic ii Is understood, will be 15 a year, wli will be paid for the license to pos j the weapon, and the conditions of rf lstratlon when the license is taken I will be such as to assist materially I'lcijiiiyjus ttny particular weapv ita owner should such action ti necessary. The possession of wr. by persons not thus registered i i I ireaieu ib a most serious Dreacr, law. : I
