TIIE SUNDAY OREGOMAX, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 8, 1911.
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FOKTLAMD. SATt RDAT. OCT. 1. Jtll.
THE CHANGING MIXD.
We are told that the candidacy of
Woodrow (Wllon for the Democratic
Presidential nomination Is not ac
ceptable to some of the radical mem
he ra of hla . party In Oregon because
ef Dr. WIIon'a heresy on the question
of the Judicial recall. Dr. Wilson has
certainly refused to espouse the re
call of J lid cei. When In Portland, he
said that It seemed logical to contend
that If the people elected a Judge the
people should have the right to un
seat him. But Dr. Wilson says he la
not a logician. He doesn't like logic.
He doesn't believe In It. The "tak
ing it out" on the Judge for faults In
the law appeals to Mm as an unjust
feature of the Judicial recalU There
fore he opposes It.
However. If the Democracy of Ore
gon has only the recall Issue to hold
against the. New Jersey Governor,
there Is still hope for them and him.
It haa been said that wise men change
their minds: fools never. Dr. Wilson
has changed hla on the expediency of
the Initiative and referendum, and
changed It end for end and top for
bottom. The change could not have
been greater had he traded the
old mind for a new one that had nev
er before been used.
Dr. Wilson was once so positive In
Ma opinions on the ability of the
voters to make laws that he -wrote
them down In a book entitled. "Con
stitutional Government In the United
States." In this book ha said:
A frtrnmBt must hav orsans; It ean
ant act Inorcanlrally by BUM It must
have a law-making body: It can no mor
mli law throusn It rot.ra than It can
Buk law threusb It aawapapora.
In the. same work, expounding the
manner of lawmaking, he said:
Common cooaaol la not asarosato cun
a.1. It la not a aim In addliloo. funi.
ft.ad.. It la campouadotl out of many Vltl
In actual contact. I a livlns thins mod. out
of th vital aubtanc of many mincla. many
fro"ao!lue. many p.rl.nc-a. and It ran
mad up only by th vital contact of
niul conf.r.nc. only In fac.-to-fac. do
bato. only by word of mouth and tho direct
ciaah of mind with mind.
We are not. aware whether It was
logic that upset and turned end for
end these views of Dr. Wilson on the
proper manner of making laws, but
as he undoubtedly now endorses the
Initiative and referendum, the much
despised logic tolls us that having
once changed his mind, he Is a wise
man. and being a wise man. he Is
likely to change It again. Therefore
we say once more, that there Is hope
for those Oregon Democrats who
would want Wilson for President,
were It not for bis opinion on the
Judicial recall.
But what disturbs us. as much as
anything pertaining to a Democratic
nomination can disturb us. Is whether
Dr. Wilson's mind will now stay put
on other questions and Issues. A man
must be pretty sure of himself to
write out his opinions and sell them
In book form for real money almost
as sure of himself as the man who
accepts a party platform on which to
battle for the Presidency. The views
of Woodrow Wilson, president of
Princeton College, on direct legisla
tion are not the views of Woodrow
Wilson. Governor of New Jersey.
Would the opinions of Woodrow Wil
ton. President of the United State,
on the tariff, trusts and other Issues
be those of Woodrow WPjon, Gover
nor of New Jersey?
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FBEMrtE VTtAL JOlRtlA
Every one has heard the old story
of the Inauguration of Thomas Jef
ferson as President of the United
States, which begins with the state
ment that the Incoming Chief Execu
tive boarded his faithful mule at Mon.
tlcello at an early hour on March 4.
1101. and rode to Washington unat
tended even by a servant. Hitching
the animal to a convenient post a
lamppost perhaps Mr. Jefferson went
to the Capitol and there, before the
assembled Houses of Congress, took
the oath of office. Here was the
acme of Jefferson simplicity. It ex
emplifies the perfect Ideal of demo
cratic government the natural and
Instantaneous transformation of a pri
vate individual, enjoying the modest
estate of American cltlxenshlp. to the
greatest office In the land and the
highest honor In the gift of the peo
ple. It Is not the purpose here and
now to Inquire Into the truth of this
admirable story. It prohably has
about the same Inspiration as that
other famous romance of Clnclnnatus
and the pTnw. Roth show their rulers
as their respective peoples like to
think of them simple, retiring, de
voted to the homely pursuits of do
mesticity, but ready for duty's call.
Another story Illustrating the early
life and methods of the republic Is
being widely printed Just now when
the President la making his great
swing around the circle, covering II.
"0 mT.es. about six weeks In time,
over twenty-five different railroads,
through twenty-four states, and de
livering over 100 speeches. It Is aa
amazing undertaking, but easily pos
alble In these days of rapid and com
fortable transportation. But what a
contrast to the . early Journeys of
Prstdent Washington.
The other story tells how on Octo
ber IS. ITS. President Washington
started from New Tork. then the Na
tion's Capital, for a trip through New
England. He Journeyed In an ordi
nary stagecoach, drawn by horses
the automobile and the locomotive
were then dreams of the distant fu
turetook two secretaries and trav
eled about 00 ml lea. He visited Con
necticut. Massachusetts and New
Hampshire. Wherever he went he
wss received with unbounded eaahu
slaam. It will be Interesting to repro-
: rv.
duce this odd paragraph from the
Massachusetts Gazette for October.
j;i:
TTi Worctr company of artillery, com
manded by Major Treadw!!. w.r alroady
asoomhlod. Oa aotlr b.iog given that the
i'rld-nt waa approaching. flv cannon
w.r fired for th. flv Nw Knsland Plate:
thro for th Ihre In th t'nton. on
for Vermont. which will apeedilr
admitted, and on aa a call for Rhod
laiaad to b raady actor It b too lata.
The United States then had about
4.000.000 people. Now It has more
than 0. 000.000. Tet the Journey
through New England as almost as
formidable an undertaking from the
standpoint of physical endurance as
the U.OOO-mlle trip of President Taft.
It took Washington several weeks.
Now the President covers 400 miles in
a day. Qf course General Washing
ton waa not under the necessity of
making set speeches supporting his
Administration, explaining Its policies,
defending Its motives. The addresses
of the first President were of per
functory and complimentary nature.
The speeches of the President today
are the formal messages of his Admin
istration to his people: his great
Journey ia an effort to get In personal
touch with them, so aa to interpret
their feelings, understand their de
sires, appreciate their needs. The
people of the United States have to
day no less a desire to see and hear
and entertain their President than the
eager and enthusiastic crowds which
gathered about the great Washington.
THI FATB OF HOOAJf.
Any saloonkeeper will tell you that
It la not the business of the saloon
to make drunkards. But It does make
drunkards. Tet If any patron of any
saloon becomes a drunkard, the aver
age saloonkeeper will Immediately ac
quit himself of responsibility. If the
customer drinks too much that Is his
lookout: if he gets drunk, it la his
misfortune; if he sinks Into the gut
ter. It la hla degradation. for he
brought It upon himself. Thus that
Sellwood rumseller. who waa fined
$200 for persisting In furnishing liquor
to the dissolute father of the Hogan
boys, will doubtless declare that he
was licensed to engage In the liquor
business and since Hogan offered him
Ms money, he was authorleed by law
to give Hogan whisky.
The Hogan Incident Hogan waa a
profitable and regular customer of
Saloonkeeper Gottschalk, drinking
himself on every possible occasion
Into sottish drunkenness la an In
dictment against the saloon as it is.
But It Is not an Indictment against
the saloon aa It ought to be. The law
licenses the saloon to be a decent and
orderly place for the sale of liquor
to sober and law-abiding people; the
law prescribes penaitlea for the sa
loonkeeper who carries on a disord
erly place or who sells to minors or
drunkards. There la law enough on
the subject to make every saloon In
Portland a peaceful, quiet and decent
resort; but there la no purpose to en
force the law by Invoking Its penal
ties for its many transgressions or by
withdrawing licenses from the viola
tors.
Why does not the Council license
committee Instantly revoke the license
of Gottschalk and of every other
Gottschalk In the business? Because
It feels It has no duty to protect the
mlserable'Hogans or the other numer
ous victims of the Gottschalks? But
It has.
AX IXTT-RESTIXO CONTBIBCTIOX TO
H1.4TOKY.
Rev. Edwin V. O'Hare. has com
piled and published a volume of some
thing more than 200 pages. In which
Is given In concise form the "Pioneer
Catholic History of Oregon." Great
care and discernment are shown In
the compilation and arrangement of
the facta of history that are aet
forth in thla book. The story of
the investment of the Oregon wilder
nesa as told by Father OHara has
all the fascination of old romance.
There Is a biographical sketch of Dr.
John McLeughlln which Is true to the
facts In his long and most benevolent
rule over the Oregon country as de
veloped by painstaking non-Cathollo
historians, as well as by those or nis
own creed and faith. In this respect
this little volume but repeats the story
aa told in extenso Dy rreaenca, .
Holman and referred to by Nathan.L-I
Wveth. Rev. Samuel Parker ami oth
ers who shared the bounty, good
cheer. Christian protection and hos
pitality of the honored Chief Factor
of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort
Vancouver In the far away years. .
Earnest In the dissemination of
their religious belief among the In
dians of the wtlderneii: tireless trav
elers: painstaking educators: herooa
In the physical as well aa In the spir
itual sense, the story of the Cath
olic pioneers as related in thla little
book, gives the names of these early
missionaries Fathers Blanc-net. D'-
Smet. Demera and Croke places on
the honor roll of empire builders.
Men of scholarly attainments, un
accustomed to life in the wild, these
Catholic missionaries went hither and
thither through the vast are known
as the Oregon country establishing
mission stations at widely separate
points from the Rocky Mountain re
gion to the Pacific Coast, and up and
down from Fort Vancouver to Jack
sonville In Southern Oregon. 'Well
remembered Catholic schools In these
early years were St. Joseph' College,
a school for boys at St. Paul, on the
French Prairie, established In 1343;
the convent school conducted by the
Sisters of Notre Darne in Portland In
the Fall of the same year, and another
under the same ausplce at Oregon
City In the following year (1844). A
reminiscence of the Idyllic life at Su
Paul aa given by an unnamed pioneer
of that period furnishes a glimpse of
this Pacific Arcadia as follows:
"There was a time when French
Prairie was the home spot of the Pa
cific Northwest; when Americans had
not yet gone Into rendexvous on the
Missouri border and had not taught
their prairie schooners the long way
across the platna. In 'those ante
pioneer day a the Canadian French
had made their home on the beauti
ful prairie and In the absence of their
countrywomen had espoused the dus
ky maidens of the Calapoolas who
raised for them bright-eyed groups of
haifbreed boys and girls. The Catho
lic fathers were here to bless the
union and guide the lives of these
youths, and the condition of these
people was one of peace and plenty.
The earliest corner among the Amer
icans took homes among them and
apeak with pleasant memories of the
quiet, peaceful, laraway life which
the French and halfbreed population
enjoyed. These remember seeing the
young people assemble on the Sab
bath where now Is . the Catholic
Church of St. Paul and the pictures
they draw are charmingly Illustrative
of the idyllic period that Oregon
passed through and the quiet lives j
that these Canadians lived."
A charming picture, certainly, and
Illustrative at once of the childhood
or the race and of the few and easily
supplied wants of man In lhe begin
nings of civilisation. The story of
which this Is a simple detail la Inter
esting from first to last and In Its en
tirety is well worthy of perusal, not
cwttv fi, tho llrht that It sheds unoll
a time already far away, but for the J
pleasure that an Intimate, knowledge !
of the simple events that are recorded
gives. It furnishes the" touch with the
old to which the new sympathetically
responds.
BELONCINO TO ALL. PARTIES.
The Springfield (Mass.) Repub-"
Ilcan. a Democratic newspaper, 1a
not wholly satisfied with the opera
tion of the new primary law given
Its premier In Massachusetts last
week. The Republican finds that it
was not a popular primary since many
remained away from the polls. The
reason for their absence, the Spring
field paper surmises, was the require-
ment of the law that the voter must
publicly register as a Republican or
Democrat. The result Is, according to
the Republican, that "no one not pre
pared to become publicly enrolled
with one party or another can partici
pate In these primaries . . - . Let
the enrollment and publicity features
be removed. Let us have. If any
thing, real popular primaries. In
which all the electorate can partici
pateone and the same ballot for all
on which party choices can be made
by the voter in the "secrecy of the
booth."
It Is curious to find In the Repub
lican the same confusion of mind as
to the "party" primary and the
"popular" primary that exists with
the Boston Transcript, a newspaper of
entirely different political faith.
If It Is desirable or desired to do
away with party, the suggestion of
the Springfield paper Is the .precise
method to adopt. The blanket ballot
would, of course, be an open Invita
tion to the voter to patjqlpate in the
primaries of every party represented
thereon. He would have an equal
voice In the nominations of the Demo
cratic party, the Republican party,
and any other party.
This is quite- the most advanced
primary enterprise yet ' projjosed.
Why had not Mr. U"Ren thought of
It? It would enable all the Demo
crats of Oregon to enter the Repub
lican primary, and run it, without the
necessity or inconvenience of aban
doning their own party, even tempor
arily. THE OVXRSUFFLY OF MINISTER!.
In view of the complaints we so
often hear about the falling supply
of ministers. It Is disconcerting to read
In the Atlantic Monthly that their
profession Is overcrowded, Mr.
George Parkin Atwater takes this
ground in the October number. His
argument runs to the effect that since
In pretty nearly every town In the
United States there are twice or three
times as many churches as there is
any need of and since, as a rule, each
church haa a minister, it follows with
out much difficulty that the supply
of preachers Is excessive. Contrary
as this conclusion Is to common opin
ion, one coultVhave reached it by an
other process ully as logical as Mr.
At water's.
We know from various reliable
sources that the average salary of
the clergy in this country does not
much overpass 1400 a year, some
what less than a competent Ital
ian section hand can earn. This Is
shockingly low pay for an educated
min, particularly when we take Into
account the large families which are
apt to appear In ministerial homes,
and it cannot be explained solely by
the penurlousness of the devout. That
Is probably a factor In the case, but
we must also Invoke the economic law
of demand and supply. "Were the
supply of pupit material less than
the demand for It. the price would cer
tainty rise. Were the supply no more
than equal to the demand, It is Incred
ible that lta recompense would be so
scant.
Low wages flow either from an
oversupply of labor or from lta in
ferior quality. Mr. Atwater seems
disposed to depend somewhat on both
conditions In his strictures upon the
efficiency of the pulpit. He gives us
to understand that ministers are not
so broadly educated as they ought to
be. which naturally Implies service a
little below the desirable standard,
while, of course, with a doxen
churches competing for souls and
money In every little town, spiritual
effort must be balked by Its own
abundance. At bottom, we gather
from Mr. Atwater's remarks, the low
state of the pulpit results from the
excessive multiplication of protestant
sects. Every shade of opinion must
have lta sect, every ect Its meeting
house, and every meeting-house its
preacher. Thus the vicious circle is
complete and Christianity marches
steadily on the downward road.
We do not see how this argument
can be confuted, nor do we precisely
discern any remedy for the unfor
tunate circumstances. Mr. Atwater
laments tho decay of 'the principle of
authority" In religion. Certainly It
has decayed In the secular world and
liberty of opinion haa taken its place.
If we go back to authority, we must
sacrifice liberty, an exchange which
the modern world to not likely to
make. The freedom to choose one's
own religion has cost too much blood
and suffering to be lightly given over
even though It may entai! some incon
veniences. To an Impartial observer It does
seem as If there might be some way
for Christiana to dwell together in
harmony without abandoning the
right to think for themselves. Differ
ence of opinion on a point of theology
has been only too apt heretofore to
cause dissensions among the breth
ren, which could only be healed by
forming a new sect, and even then
the healing was but partial, but there
to no unavoidable necessity for this
course. If we were permitted to
make a guess about this subject we
should say that the tendency to break
up Into sects arises, not from, the de
cay of authority in the churches, but
from Its survival. There Is too much
absolutism in Protestant minds, not
too little, and from that cause comes
the breach tn the sacred walls.
Each man who thinks he has seen a
new light tries forthwith to compel
everybody else to see It exactly as he
does. Modern conditions do not vouch
safe him the use of fire and sword,
but his tongue often serves as a pass
able substitute and he does not cease
his destructive activity until he haa
led a band of followers Into a new
fold. If men would abandon the be
lief that they are Infallible we ven
ture to assert that no more sects
would be founded and that most of
the old ones would soon merge them
selves In three or four large, central
izing groups. .
The ruinous principle of authority
works destructlvsjy in another direc
tion also. Let" a man .appear In any
of the sects who thinks he haa a new
message, who takes a step ahead of
the majority in science or philosophy,
who presumes to question some re
ceived opinion, and what happens?
The principle of authority is imme
diately Invoked. He is not reasoned
with. His evidence to not examined.
His facts. If he has any, are not
weighed. All that Is done to to say,
"Authority and precedent are against
you. Recant your errors or out you
go." The principle of authority al
ways makes a conclusive presumption
that everything novel is wrong. It
'is to this presumption, a monstrous
thing and worthy of all condemna
tion, that we must in part ascribe
he perpetual resegmentation of Prot
estantism into fresh sects. There is
not too much liberty in the churches
but too little of It. Were men free
to think and publish their thoughts
without persecution Christians would
soon overcome the bad habit of se
cession. It Is a bold thing to say but we are
convinced that there Is more genuine
freedom of thought in the Catholic
church than among Protestants. We
concede, of course, that efforts are
made, often tyrannical ones, to sup
press thought, but nevertheless the
Catholic church has the faculty of re
taining dissenters in its fold and ab
sorbing their ideas into the body of
its doctrine. That, In fact. Is the way
its doctrine has historically developed!
Almost every great article in the
creed was in the beginning the
thought or inspiration of some dissen
ter. The principle of authority Is ful
ly as strong In Protestantism, strange
to say, as it is in the Catholic church,
and it has operated far more destruc
tively. WHY THE FIGHT WAS FORBIDDEJf.
'We must go to-South Africa for the
true reason why Jhe British govern
ment prevented the fight between
Johnson and Wells In London. That
reason is a race Issue similar to but
more acute than that which" exists in
the Southern States. The victory of a
negro over a w-hlte man in the prize
ring might have fired the smoldering
hatred of South Africa's 4.780.474
blacks into a flame of rebellion against
the 1.27S.025 whites.
The danger in South Africa Is the
greater aa compared with the United
States because the blacks In South Af
rica have only Just emerged from sav-,
agery, while those of our South have
had centuries of contact with white
civilization; also because the dispar
ity of numbers to much greater in
South Africa than in America. In
other respects the division between
the races Is marked by the same Inci
dents as in our South. v
An effort to exclude negroes from
the professions Is evidenced by a vote
of the Society of Advocates (lawyers)
of the South African Unloi) not to ad
mit them to membership. The bar
of Cape Colony refuses to be bound by
thto decision, holding that it will ag
gravate the tension between the races.
Juries refuse to convict white men ac
cused of crimes against blacks. In
spite of the weight of evidence, a Na
tal Jury acquitted a Boer of a crime
against a colored woman. In Rho
desia an Englishman named Lewis
took a boy who had . Insulted his
daughter Into an alley and blew his
brains out. He was twice tried, the
Jury disagreeing the first time and ac
quitting; him the second time. The
British authorities impose severe pen
alties for crimes against blacks In ter
ritory under the direct control of the
home government. For example, in
East Africa a white settler who is the
son of an Earl and brother-in-law of
a Baron, who killed a native sheep
stealer, has been deported. The set
tlers denounce the Imposition of this
penalty as interference with their
right to "discipline the nigger."
Much has been said of the equality
extended to the negro in England, but
the negro who visits the mother coun
try Is of a far different type from the
plantation hand of the South, the
farmhand of Cape Colony, or the mine
laborer of the' Transvaal, and there
are very few of him. He usually has
received a good education at some
missionary school or college and Is the
pick of his tribe. He mixes on equal
terms with whites in the intellectual
and religious circles,, and any allusion
to Tito color Is resented as an Insult
Negroes who mix with other classes
of the community are also treated as
equals. But Englishmen would take
a very different view if the proportion
of blacks to whites were thre to one
and the blacks had only recently
emerged from savagery 'or slavery
When the British Government pre
vented the Johnson-Wells fight It was
looking through South African, not
English, spectacles.
TV A STRAIT BETWIXT THE TWO.
The factors in a strike, now as ever,
that feel most severely the strain Im
posed by an order to quit work, are
the stanch and loyal members of
trades unlona who have no special
grievance of wages or hours, who can
not afford to obey the . order on ono
hand and who cannot afford to dis
obey it on the other. That is to say,
there are many men Industrious,
self-supporting; malntalners of homes
and families who cannot afford for
material reasons that are apparent
and urgent to lose even temporarily
the? wages that enable them to meet
these obligations from month to
month: on the other hand, they are
loath to discredit their obligations to
the union and cannot withdraw from
i -without hrinrln odium uDon them
selves among their fellows that In one
way and another would, at least for
the time being, make life a burden
to them.
These men and their name Is le
gion within the strike zone have no
grievance of hours or wages against
their employers. They accept the
worklngman's lot cheerfully and are
thankful for the opportunity to work,
asking only strength equal to their
day. They may or may not feel that
their pay is Inadequate to the time,
skill and attention that to exacted of
them: but it is a living, and in many
cases more than that, for themselves
and families. The consequences that
follow its suspension, and the setback
upon the payroll Incident to a refusal
to return to work within the time
specified by the employing power, fill
them with dismay.
Hence the stress to which they are
subjected under such conditions is a
cruel one. Laboring In this "strait be
twixt the two," this army of willing
laborers, confronted, by enforced idle
ness for an indefinite period on tt
one hand with all of the misery that
it implies, and the ostracism of their
fellows, .have found the burden of
Indecision and anxiety imposed upon
them within the week to be indeed
heavy. Who can wonder If many of
the older employes, at least, who have
long years of service to their credit,
and perhaps a retirement fund a few
years hence in sight, accepted the
lesser horn of the dilemma nd kept
at work? It was not tnat tney toveu
the principles for which labor unions
stand the less, but that they loved
their obligations to thler famillds the
more.
rJTWISK BECAUSE UNTAUGHT.
The young man. far from home,
who walked the streets of this city
two days, fasting, trying In the
meantime to sell his gun and
even begging for food without relief,
and finally in sheer desperation at
tempting the role of highwayman,
is, in a sense, -an object of -pity.
Evidently he had been brought up
without work, since It seemingly did
not occur to him to apply at some one
of the many woodpiles in the city
awaiting strong and willing hands to
be carried into basements; nor did it
seem to occur to hint that taking the
open road to the country might bring
him to the source of tne cuys rrun
and vegetable supplies, where Just
now help is greatly needed in picking
and digging and sacking and sorting
tnr marker or Winter storaare. In
stead of going where there was work
to do, he walked the streets two aays
trying to sell his gun an asset that
under the circumstances advertised
him as an Idler In the meantime beg
ging for something to eat. Reaching
the climax of desperation through
hunger, he attempted to rob a woman
on a street comer, his clumsiness even
in this attempt revealing the untaught
hand and an utter lack of initiative in
the simplest duty of life that of tak
lpg care of himself.
Here the question arises as to who
has sinned this young mm (he is
only 19) or his parents, ,ln that he was
cast adrift on the sea of life as ut
terly helpless as "a shipwrecked
sailor waiting for a sail;" as utterly
useless as if he were lame and halt
and blind; as utterly irresponsible as
a homeless kitten making plaintive
plea of hunger at the back door? Un
learned even- in the alphabet of tak
ing care of himself, penniless, far from
home, bearing a gun about with him
to further emphasize his folly and In
ability to take care of himself, this
young Englishman represent the all
too common type of young men who
have come up to the age of accounta
bility without having been taught to
open an account with and take stock
In themselves. .
Not vicious, but simply untaught;
not immoral, but unmoral; dangerous
only through helplessness that drives
him through hunger to take by force
what he has not developed the power
to earn, this amateur highwayman
might well be paroled and encouraged
to work at some simple, initial voca
tion leading up to self-support, and
eventually to responsible citizenship.
As far as now appears, he Is useless
because untaught; driven to a crim
inal act through hunger that he did
not possess the power to appease
through legitimate endeavor. .
WHAT IS POETBTTT
The question what poetry Is has
engaged the perplexed attention of
many able minds without receiving
any very definite answer. We are not
presumptuous enough to think of suc
ceeding where great and good prede
cessors have so often failed, but it can
do no harm to wander around in their
footsteps a little while in the hope
of picking up a few stray gems of
thought. The consideration about
poetry which strikes us most emphat
ically is Its profoundly social charac
ter. We mean that, more than any
other form of art. It is a social prod
uct. It begins with the lowly and
never amounts to much after it for
sakes them. The productions of
Wyatt are excellent samples of what
becomes of poetry, when it tries to
thrive In surroundings too elegant for
Its nature. Wyatt was a writer of the
age preceding Elizabeth. He was a
man of most attractive character, sin
cere, valiant and generous, but his
verses were written for courtiers only
and they are so thin and vaporous that
it to almost Impossible to believe that
a man of his admirable character
could have produced them.
In general It may be said that court
poetry dies with the little set who tit
ter over It when it is first written. The
same to true of all poetry of the "ele
gant" sort. The only enduring pro
ductions we have belonging to the
time between Chaucer and Elizabeth
are the ballads which originated
among the humble and densely illiter
ate British peasantry- These in spite
of their crudity bear a fire and spirit
which makes them imperishable.
cv.ni.mi aro nrattv well a e reed that
tho Homerlo poems were not com
posed by any individual, though some
pre-eminent genius may have ar
ranged and edited them. But their
substance, that which makes them the
nnirv in the world, came
from the people. They were composed
by wandering minstrels and sung to
enthralled crowds under whose inspir
ation they were wrought Into forms
of enduring beauty. It is unnecessary
to recur to the evolution of the
Shakespearian drama from the mir
acle plays which had been the delight
of the English people for centuries
before hto time.
In most countries at this day the
process of making poetry In the rough
is going on Just as it did in Greece,
aad medieval Britain. Our Western
cowboys had their songs, some of the
less racy of which have been col
lected and published. But the best
ones do not admit of publication.
Owen Wlster refers to them pretty
frequently in hto stories of the plains.
Everybody who knows the people is
acquainted with the fact that they
have their songs and rhymed stories,
or ballads, which never get printed,
but are transmitted by word of mouth
from one group to another. Just as the
Homeric poems were before the time
of Pisietratua. Historians have often
been amazed to think that a collec
tion of verse as large aa the Iliad
could be passed on for centuries by
word of mouth alone, but virtually
the same thing happens everywhere
today. If some genius should appear
and edit the rhymes common among
the less politely lettered classes of the
United States he would find plenty
of material for an Iliad, though it
might not be so valuable as Homer's.
It Is fairly certain that the reason
why we have not produced much first
rate poetry in the United States to
because of our gentee,l dislike of the
vulgar material for It. Our authors
have sought inspiration on airy heights
where, for the most part, it is not to
be found. Had they gone to the
masses they might have been more
fortunate. It seems to follow from
all this that poetry in its essence is
the expression - of natural humanity.
The nearer It gets to the soli the bet
ter it to from the artistic point of vieWi
Burns' lyrics, which are probably the
best ever written in any language,
follow the plow pretty closely. Shakes
peare's drama when it is most im
pressive employs the humble Imagery
of the fields. The heart-rending phrase
In Lear, "Down climbing sorrow,"
represents sorrow climbing like a
wolf to tear its victim's throat. In
the best remembered passage of "The
Merchant of Venice," mercy "falls like
the gentle dew from heaven." Ophelia
was clambering to' hang her weedy
trophies on the pendant boughs of a
willow when an envious sliver broke
and "down her weedy trophies and
herself fell in the weeping brook."
Shakespeare to greatest when ha talks
of common things.
Because poetry is the expression of
natural humanity It to rhythmic.
Language was sung before it was
spoken. No doubt organized speech
was created as an accompaniment to
the religious and martial dances' of
our primitive ancestors and as their
feet kept time to the tomtom so their
tongues kept time with their feet.
Primitive life consists of rhythmic
repetitions, not only in its physical
aspects, but In its mental and spiritual
as well. Innovators always experience
peril among savages because their
new-fangled notions tend to break up
the established rhythms. This to the
case Indeed in civilized nations also.
It would be absurd to say that the
savages, who were the first poets, had
any intention to create works of
beauty. What we call beauty is noth
ing more than the adaptation of any
method of expression to its purpose.
If the adaptation to fairly complete
there is much beauty. If it misses
the mark there is little or none. Men
must become reflective before they
can begin to think at all about a
subject as subtle as this, 'so that prim
itive people create beauty long before
they can recognize it. Burns' art is
perfect because the adaptation of his
expression to his thought and feeling
is absolute. Poetry, then, is . the
rhythmic expression of human nature
in language and the more it expresses
the better it is.
The partial incorporation of the Na
tional Guard In the Coast Artillery
Corps, which to proposed by the War
Department, is in line with the puf
pose for which the National Guard
was organized home defense. The
practical training given at the forts
will develop the guardsmen as soldiers
and fit them for actual war, while the
opportunity afforded to rise) to com
mand will stimulate ambition. The
days have gone by when guardsmen
could fairly be contemptuously desig
nated "tin soldiers" glad to strut about
in a uniform. Their services in the
Spanish War and the Philippine insur
rection proved their soldierly qualities
and the earnestness with which they
have applied themselves to learning
the art of war has earned their right
to be regarded as soldiers.
The last spike oh the Oregon Trunk
RallroaH driven at Bend bv James J.
Hill does not mark the completion of
work on that roaa, DUt tne comple
tion of the first stage in the progress
of Mr Hill's road across OreKon in
each direction. There may be a brief
pause, but the road will be extended
southward to Klamath Falls and
westward to connect with the Pacific
Kastern at Butte Falls. Thoueh
no plans have been announced. It is
safe to assume that tne roaa win also
be extended eastward to the eastern
boundary of Oregon and westward to
the nrnnn. Rich as is the-Bend coun
try, it is not a tempting enough bait
by itself to induce Mr. Mill to Duua
the costly road up the Deschutes can
yon. '
Te tho nrlnoinln of th A decision
hitlrtfr rallroartsi lia.hle for damaeres
caused by fires due to locomotive
sparks were to be applied to an per
sons who cause such fires, a great ad
vanto woniit ho made in forest rjreser
vatlon. Many of the fires caused by
-oiiertoriB aro Accidental, but as a s:en-
.Mi -1a th fneent flro atarterl bv a
neglected campflre or by the burning
of slashings is due to rank careless
ness. The way to teach care to per
sons thus guilty is to wound them In
the pocketbook.
Thus far our' civil war presents us
with one man dead and three wound
ed. As the campaign proceeds, of
course the slaughter will increase.
Wounds and death are the Inevitable
consequences of war. Calling it a
"strike" does not change its nature or
Its incidents. The official murdei of
Stolypin reveals hideous possibilities
in Russian barbarism. Does our
complacent tolerance of civil war re
veal anything less niaeous in Amer
ican civilization?
An excellent portrait of Secretary of
State Olcott has begun to adorn the
country press. Wo suppose the pub
lishers ordered the cuts and paid for
them, but what surprises us is the way
great minds do run in the same chan
nel. '
The small cities and towns of the
Valley must hearken to the man who
would establish small Industries. As
they foster, the large tracts will be
cut into homes and the ideal In col
ony life be exemplified.
The man in the automobile who
overtakes a pedestrian on a country
road should recall the old-time prac
tice of giving, him, a lift. At times
the "honk-honker" turns down an
angel unawares.
Booth Tarkington's wife has a mil
lion in her own right and you cannot
expect a wife that commands such a
sum to well, who is the head of the
family in such cases?
President Taft to on the Coast.
The Coast, in this case, be it under
stood, to not a toboggan slide.
General Christmas has crushed the
Honduran rebellion and general
thanksgiving follows.
Portland Is not quite baseball mad,
but has a mighty Interest in the game
Just now.
Cutting air hose is more to be de
spised than kicking an enemy's dog.
Dairy Commissioner Bailey's "trials"
are continuous performance.
Manuel may yet amount to some
thing besides a moth.
Scraps and Jingles
! Caaa Ben
Motto for a hairdresser:
"Hers not to reason why,
y Hers but to dye and dya."
a a
Question of the hour "Say, have you
got the timer'
Something la the air Aviators.
, a a
Could the purchase of a pianola be
called a sound Investment?
-.
A Joint commission Ordering the
butcher to bring you a leg of mutton. .
A Joint inquiry "Beef or mutton,
sir?"
ine aoctor sadly looked at me,
Asking of each symptom strange
Headache, nerves, chills and then
"What you need," he said. "Is change."
From my flat purse his fee I took
(For such advice unfair exchange).
Reflecting as my last bean went,
"You are right I do need change."
I read so much about a "taper waist."
Is it another version of that old prov
erb, "Burning the candle at both ends?"
Was Marco Polo the first umpire of
that popular game?
Heralder of the latest news
What means your wild, hoarse cry?
What's causd this "last edition"
To take the coin of passers by?
Is war in Italy at Its worst?
Or has it reached a peaceful end?
Or has another crime-wave burst?
Or is it strike that you portend?
-Has Teddy said he'll run again?
Has Taft his foot in Portland set? .
Has Rockefeller died -and left
Coin to pay the Nation's debt?
Is another Dorothy Arnold lost?
Or Harry Thaw from Jail let out?
That all you newsies on me fall, .
And hll me with discordant shout?
Angry, upset, I storm and rail;
Were I a cop, they'd all be pinched.
What's that they yell? Hooray! Wow!
Wow!
"The Beavers have the pennant
clinched!"
a
A timely suggestion on the walls of
a downtown store reads: "Every little
moment has a value all its own."
Answer to Hilda: There are several
guards against sea-sickness, and many
advertised remedies, none of which can
be given in this column, but a simple
home remedy I have found effectual
and never falling In results Is to travel
by train.
a
Lord Camoy's favorite flower Is said
to be the marigold.
. ,
Suffragist speaker siys she advo
cates cooking as a powerful tool In
the hands of women, and that "men
should be made to feel some small In
conveniences in private life.")
John, dear, when you used to woo.
And on topics we debated;
No matter what .my platform was.
You another advocated.
" Maaried now. unchanged bur vlewii
But you no longer can be winner.
At this arguing for you find,
I revenge myself at dinner.
Though my reasoning has no weight,
You will gladly yield the question,
And let me have my own sweet way.
Rather than get bum digestion.
Miss Calamity, Etep-and-Fetch-It, the
cultured; etc., lady poet at Kalama,
writes to say that the Ladles' Crochet
and Tatting Club is going to hear a
lecture by a professor of pathology,
and she wants to "read up on the sub
ject,' so will we please Inform her of
some good book on "Road-maklnn;."
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian, Oct. 8, 1861.
That beautiful silk bedspread on ex
hibition at the Oregon State Fair, made
up by the handy fingers of Mrs. Wil
liam Barlow, of Clackamas County, is
to be sent as a present to Mr. and
Mrs. Lincoln. It is a beautiful present.
The family of the Barlows were old
friends of President Lincoln.
An effort is now being made by John
Stephenson to get subscriptions In aid
of the bridges and roads south of town.
It is understood the Commissioners
will cover the amount thus obtained
with an appropriation.
The people of California can now re
ceive telegraphic news from St. Louis
In three days, only some 2000 miles.
In another month or so, we presume,
that a telegraphic dispatch which will
leave St. Louis some day at 10 o'clock
A. M. will reach San Francisco the
same morning at 7:30. When Mr.
Strong completes his line of telegraph
from Yreka to Portland we shall be
within three hours of St. Louis.
About 22 patriots have applied to
Governor Whiteaker for Senator
Baker's place in the Senate. We hope
our "straight out Republican" Gover
nor will give Senatorial appointments
to all of them. It will be as sensible
an act as he ever did in his political
life.
TOir ARB WELCOME, VERY. WEL
COME, MR. PRESIDENT.
BY WILLIAM F. FENTON.
You are welcome, very welcome, Mr,
President,
To this far Pacific shore.
Where we hope to vote once more
For a chief true to the core, Mr.
President.
Yes. a chief about your size,
With your honest face and eyes.
And a heart that never lies, Mr. Presi
dent. You are welcome, very welcome, Mr.
President,
To the state where nature lures
All that blesses and endures.
With a hand as large as yours, Mr.
President.
Yes. Just a hand like yours;
That guides and spanks and cures.
That holds the sanes and sures, Mr.
President. ,
You are welcome, very welcome, Mr.
President.
To the land where tall pines grow.
And all the fruits you know;
Where breezes strongly blow, Mr.
President.
Yes, a breeze like some you give
To the things which should not llval
So your faults we do forgive, Mr.
President.
You are welcome, very welcome, Mr.
President!
We would like to have you stay
Forever and for aye.
And not live so far away, Mr. Pres!"
dent.
But the White House needs you thers
Filling well that honored chair.
So for four years more prepare, Mr.
President.