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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1911)
THE SUXDAT OREGOXIAX, FORTIjAXD, DECEMBER 24, 1911. fe (Drf xrontan PORTLAND. OREGOS. Entered at Portland. Oregon, PoKOIlM aa Jwori-C.u Mattar. Iiusecriptlwa Kate InTarlably In AdTanea. (BT MX1U Pally. Saray Included, one Tr $-' Dsi y. Fund? Ir.c:u!c4- Its month"..-- Dai.y. Sunday Included, three months.. I'ai.y. Sonday Included, one month.--- Lai y. without Bum!, on year uai y. wirneut Su:ay. one year " r;:y. wltnout flin'Lu, s-x mon:hl Ca::y. without Sunday. I area month.. 1-7 La. y. Without Sunday, on month...--'-:y. on year HI Ia;:y. wltnout Sm'lay. s-s monthe - r. " w 7 , . euciay. on year Sunday and Weekly, out year (BT CARRIER.) Dally. Sard ay inelu'led. one year...... JJ La: r. hunJ.4r tn.:,ul-d. on month Maw to Heaall eod PoatoSir money or dar. uprMi orl-r or personal cha on your local Mok. giampa. cola or currency arw at tha cudari rim. Giva noatotTice addraaa ia ?u,l. tuciurlir.f rouaty and etata. Iaelae Kalee lu to 14 al'f. I eaat: 1 ta paa-ra. 2 canta. to 40 paa-ee. eoata; 40 to wj paces. 4 auu. foreign poelade. oub rata. laatara Bmlnaai Offlrea Verro at Cona lla .sw or. bruaawua bial.din. Cruta go. M-ir bu. 'Una. Eareveaa OOice No. t Regent street, a. W.. LuDiioQ. - rORTLAM. hINOAT, VKC. Xt. 1H- WHILE. THE AKMT MR(HK1 ON. The loud tall for Colonel Roosevelt to contest with Mr. Taft the Republi can nomination cornea muinly from the open enemies of President Taft nil his Administration. It arises hie fly from a poiKnant realization of the entire lnstif fit-icnry of Mr. La, Fol. letta as a presidential candidate and la In Itself a significant and formid able revolt from the ranks of the in surgents who are moved by a desire to find somebody or anybody to beat Taft. Colonel Roosevelt has made no effort to get his friends to line up for La Follette; and he has made only the most prrfunctory protests against their noisy dis play of the Roosevelt standard. Colo nel Roosevelt haa painstakingly tak en a position in the middle of the road not only as to Taft and as to La Follette, but as to himself. Yet It Is not to be assumed that he is a can didate or even that he will be a can didate In 112. Clearly the Colonel Is writing; his weekly piece for the Out look and otherwise, sawing wood with the commendable purpose of letting- the future take care of Itself. Why should he Insist that bands shall not play or flags not fly, or the tumult cease, for Roosevelt? He has said that he Is not a candidate, will do nothing to be a candidate. Is not seeking the nomi nation, does not desire the nomination and no man Is his friend who tries to get It for him. Colonel Roosevelt Is In a position of no little perplexity, no doubt. Whatever he does will raise a row and alienate friends, and he knows It. Therefore he does nothing and he doe a thoroughly good Job of It. But there are thousands of citizens throughout the United States who are Just as strangely placed as Mr. Roose velt. They supported Mr. Taft for the nomination because President Roose velt called upon them to do It. They are now for Mr. Taft because they think he has made a good President and Is entitled to renoinlnatlon and re-election on his merits. Further more, they think that Mr. Taft is en titled to fair play from his friends, and the Just Judgment of his enemies, and that he has had neither. They have not forgotten that as late as Feb ruary 11. 19"'. Just before his retire ment from the I'relden-v, Mr. Roose velt paid this remarkable tribute to his residuary legatee: No tman of belter tratnlna. no man of nwre 'fl.unllriMi rur:irf, t'f e.iunlr enee. an.1 of hiei-r and finr rlnrj.ti-f haa ever enrne to the i'ri'awlrni'y than William How ard Taft. The country accepted , Mr. Taft at the Rooaeveit valuation, and the main body of Republicans feel that it was an encomium altOKether deserved and are prepared to demonstrate again their confidence In President Taft an.l their appreciation of the great things he haa done and Is doing as President. Vet they are profound ly concerned to understand the real causes of difference between Taft and lioosevelt if there are differences and to know why Roosevelt hns changed his mind If he has while they have not. It Is a curious situa tion wherein Colonel Roosevelt appar ently thinks he was mistaken and de ceived, while the Republican party for the most part thinks he was neither mistaken yior deceived. Was Mr. Roosevelt ever before in error at any time on any subject? Yet the greater rart of the Taft supporters have no reproaches for Colonel Roosevelt. They do not feel unkindly toward him. On the con trary, they would like to be In har mony again with him. and go forward to the same goal, fighting in the ranks and winning victories under his gal lant generalship. Why should Taft and Roosevelt be separated? Does Colonel Roosevelt belong on the fence while the shouting army marches by? Ml LI. 1CV JAMK.V SPIRIT. Although no medium has succeeded In revealing the contents of the sealed message which William James left at hen he died, we understand that many different ones are receiving communications from his spirit. This may strike the reader as a little re markable, but the communications themselves are remarkable. Every thing that purports to come from the land of ghosts Is remarkable. We hae no doubt that the bourne from which Hamlet mistakenly supposed no traveler returns Is itself extremely remarkable. The communications from Professor Jimu' spirit convey In a roundabout f.hi.m the information that he is f. ellng his way along In difficult cir cumstances. What he has to say Is obi-cure partly because he has not yet learned to think In the dialect of his new home, partly because of the de ficiencies of the mediums who report Ms words. The bad grammar In the communications may be explained from this raiL-e, whether or not one believes that the spirit of Frofessor j J an es has tried to break the seat of the tomb and re'cnl the dreadful e- crets of the eternal world. Some of our contemporaries treat this matter In a frolicsome vein, which, we must confess, does not par ticularly appeal to our aste. We can not help recalling that pretty nearly very notable advance In science has been doubted and ridiculed before It was accepted. rtaln:y these sup posed spirit communications give more of a hold to ridicule than many other subjects, but after all there may be a germ of truth in them, and If there la we. for our part, should like to see It sifted from the chaff. So far as one can see. there Is no way to do the sifting but by repeated exrrtments. (.".ranting that all the experiments In spirit communication thus far made are failures, or frauds. It does not follow that they ought to be discontinued. Almost any day some scientist, or some amateur, may hit upon precisely the right way to go about It and then we shall be able to enter a new world of knowledge. Sit ting In the seat of the scoffer Is the cheapest of amusements, but It Is also one of the most risky. PLATFORM ECHOES) OT lSea. The Democratic National Convention of 10S at Denver adopted a stentor ian platform of protest, economy and reform, of which the following Is a shining gem: Tha Rapoblleaa Consreaa .la session Jut ondrd haa roarta appropriations amountlns to $l.0Ob.fs.uoo. cx':dins tha total PnT ditura of tha laat flaca.1 r by w.f.u0 and leavlns a drflclt of mora than 4u.0OO 0O0 tor tha flacal year. We drnounr tha needlraa waata of tha people s money, wnl' h baa reaultrd In thla appalllns increase. . aa a bameful violation of all prudent condl tlona of foraramrnl. aa no lea than a crime aa-alnat tha mllllona of worklns men and working omu. from 'whose eartilnsa tha sreat proportion of these roloaaal dua muat be extorted tbrourh esceeaive tariff exac tlona and other Indirect muhoda. It la not aurpriatns that the Republican platform con lalna no reference to economic distribution or promise tnereof in tha future. We demand that a atop be put to. thia frllthtful extrar acanre and Inalat upon the atrlrteat aeon- omy In every department compatible with Iru-nl and efficient administration. Buncombe, humbug and stuff. Your Democrat Is noisy for economy, frugal ity and efficiency when the other party Is spending the money and giving out the Johe. The most signal act of the new Democratic House was the pass age, by an overwhelming vote, of the colossal Sherwood pension grab, vot ing away from $40,000,000 to 175, 000.000 per annum of the people's money. It Is to be followed by an omnibus public building bill. Econ omy and frugality are thrown to the winds. The pork barrel never smells bad, or looks bad, or tastes bad, to the average Democratic Congressman after election. CHRISTMAS) IS LITERATI RK. No doubt the most impressive pass age upon Christmas In any literature occurs in the first scene of the first act of Hamlet. Bernardo, Horatio and Marcellus are standing on the platform of the castle at Elslnore In eager con versation about the ghost which has Just vanished. It brings the thought of Christmas to Marcellus because: . . . Ever 'iralnat that aeaaon comes Wherein our savloi-e Mrth ia celebrated . . . No spirit can walk abroad; The nlffhta are wholesome, tho' no planets strike. No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm. So hallowed and ao sraclous Is the time. The tone of thla passage, reverent but still Jubilantly conscious of the Savior's power over. evil, runs through all English literature. In Milton's great hymn on the nativity the Jubila tion Is less pronounced than melan choly recollection of the Lord's sor rows, but It Is there as we see plainly enough from the lines: This Is the month and th"a the happy morn Wherein the Son of heaven'a eternal Kins. Of we. Med man and vtrmn mother born. Our sreat redemption from above did brina. In Dickens' Christmas tales and the rollicking chapters of Pickwick which describe the holidays at Old Warden's we dare say Jubilation over powers reverence. Dickens was so much a lover of good cheer that few of the more solemn Chrlstmastlde as sociations seem to have come Into his mind. Pickwick Is the very embodi ment of the Joy of life and so Is Old Wardell and both of these fine char acters radiate a warmth of soul which makes them lovable even In their ex travagance. Perhaps the Fat Boy who figures so conspicuously at those fa mous wassails typified to Dickens' mind the true Christmas spirit which, as he thought, had always on Its lips: Hence toathed melancholy Of t'erberua and blackest midnight horn with that marvelous Invitation to Joy Itasta thee, nymph, and bring with thee Jest and youthful Jollity, tjutpe and rranke and wanton wilee, Nmla and becks and wreathed amllea. Come and trip It aa you go On tha light, fantaatic toe. At Old Warden's the Plckwlcklans did trip if In all merry delightful ways. They slid on the pond where, of course. Mr. Pickwick fell In. They danced under the mistletoe and every body was abundantly kissed. And they ate. It is astonishing what tireless ap petites Dickens' characters had, not only at Christmas, but always. Food and drink cure all earthly Ills for them and never Introduce any new ones, as they are apt to do for less blessed mortals. Half of the charm of the lovely Christmas carol lies In Its rollicking appreciation of good things to eat. "The poulterers' shops were still half open and the fruiterers' were radiant In their glory. There were great round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped like the waistcoats of Jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors and tumbling out Into the street In their apoplectic opulence. There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish friars," and so on. No other writer has treated this as pect of Christmas half so well as Dickens. He preaches the gospel of the heart-, old-time British holiday and he does It to perfection. Who does not wish he could have as merry a time as they did at Old Warden's with Its boyishness. Its frank Indulgence of appetite. Its wholesome gaiety? The frank merriment which Dickens loved so well has somewhat faded from Christmas In our day. Many try to make up for Its loss by spending money lavishly but the device falls. Mrs. George Gould gets a half-million-dollar set of pearls for a present this year and. of course, they are exquisite, but If she were wise she would give them all for one of those gay dances the Pickw ick party had under the mls letoe. It would be "bad form" now to romp as sweet Arabella Wardell did. Perhaps with our habit of depending on money for what the soul alone can give, we have commercialized the old holiday a little. But Dickens certain ly lacked that fine feeling of rever ence which so permeates Bryant's carol as he emphasixes the angels message of peace and good will: No trumpet b'.ast profar.ej Tha hour In which tha rnnce of Peace was born No Moodr streamlet stained Kaxth'a silver rlvere on that sacred morn. Longfellow sounds the same note with something more of the prophet's fervor In "Christmas Bells": Then pealed the bells mora loud and deep. Hod la not dead nor doth he sleep. The wrong ahail fail, tha right prevail. With p-ace on earth, good will to men." No more tender Christmas hymn was ever written than Bishop Huber's, which Is sung In all the churches: Star of tha eaat. the borlxoa adorning. Hul.le where our Ir.taht Redeemer ta laid. These last two lines of the hymn move the soul with mrinlte pathos, but the whole Is beautiful and its senti ment Is true and deep. But nothing In our Christmas literature-tias more enduring charm than Tennyson's lines In "In Memorlam," beginning: Ths time draws near the birth of Chrlat; Tha moon ia hid. tha night la still. In the verses we have Just been quoting, beautiful as they are, the note of melancholy Is unmistakable and we hold with Dickens that "Quips and cranks and wanton wiles" better indi cate the true Christmas spirit. Solemn as Milton often was he certainly caught the holiday temper In his "L'Al legro." And who could be more hearty than Wordsworth's minstrels, who, "smitten by a lofty moon," Pronounced each name with lusty call. And "Merry Christmas" wished to all. A OELEOATKD WTV. A scathing arraignment of parents not of mothers alone, but of fathers as well was that of the committee of the Social Hygiene Society, which urged the appointment of three special policemen whose duty it will be, among other things, to keep young girls off the streets at night and en force the curfew ordinance. Though parental duty and obligation was not mentioned In connection with this peti tion. It Is clear that If parents were responsible, or could be made and held responsible, for the care of their minor children and the welfare of their young daughters, there would be no call for special policemen to clear the streets of children In the evenings and 'or young girls at night. Nature having slighted or abandoned her task In this realm, policemen must be called upon to protect young children from vice and young girls from the ruin that lurks In evil associations. Conditions that call forth such a pe tition as this are not only deplorable: they are alarming. The more so since without at least parental co-operation In such matters the police are handi capped in the endeavor to whlcrt they are commissioned. It Is an application of morals upon the outside, so to speak. Ignoring the impulses from within of mode.-ity and honor and de cency by which alone an upright standard of life . Is assured. The mother who ties the gate to keep her three-year-old child in the yard will be powerless before the fact, as dis closed two year's later, that he can compass his desire to run away by climbing the fence. Her resources of control having been exhausted by making It temporarily Impossible for him to disobey her com mand to "stay In the yard," she will be powerless before thi- "v develop ment of his ability to get away. THE "GET-THERE IDEA. The problem of "getting there" Is the problem of civilization, or of that phase of It that Is known as "develop ment." Years ago this problem was slowly and painfully worked out with oxen as the propeller power; later came the four-horse team for hauling the surplus of farms to a stinted mar ket: later still the stage coach and the mule-drawn freight wagons: then where waterways served, came the steamboats of a primitive navigation era. and finally the Iron horse, the steel tics and the railroad train. Long before this, however, the May. flower, after a tempestuous voyage of sixty-three days, landed her company of adventurers on the Massachusetts coast and the conquest of the great unknown Western world 'fas begun. These people had "got there," and with others who had landed at differ ent ports, began the Investment and development of the continent. Of course all of this and much more Is as any schoolboy knows, of history. It Is only with the details of this Invest ment of the wilderness by the advance guards of civilization, and with the problem of the development of our own state, that we at present have to do. The ox-team era, the stage-coach era. the canoe and flatboat era. fol lowed by the steamboat era, the steam railway era, that Is still passing from conquering to conquer, and now tht electric motor era all of these have passed In the moving train of develop ment before the eyes of many of us during the last half century. The electrical era is but Just dawn ing In our state. Its opening chapters tell of trolley lines that have served cities and made suburban development possible. The second chapter deals with electric railways that push on and out into the country and awaken rural solitudes and sleepy villages to new life. The next chapter, when It Is wrlyen. Indeed, it Is now being writ ten, will tell of the prosperity of small farmers, the building of new homes the refurbishing of old, the growth In village enterprise, the renewal of In dividual plans for the present and hopes for the future. From Yamhill County, for example, the original home In Oregon of many honored pioneers, comes the statement that sleepy villages bearing long famlllar names have awakened to the new possibilities In development that the building and promise of electric roads have given, while farms that have heretofore been rich chiefly In broad woodlands and In half-tilled fields have, through the promise of getting to market with their surplus taken a new. and In many Instances r first lease on genuine development. Briefly stated, the "get-there" Idea, Inspired by the building and promise of electric railways, has taken hold In practically every section of the Wil lamette Valley. As remarked by a gentle-faced, white-haired woman who spent nearly forty years upon a farm In Yamhill County. "There Is nothing like being able to get there with com fort and expedition." Becoming rem iniscent, she added: "I remember when it took two days to get from the old farm (near Lafayette) to Port land with a load of wheat and back home. One time, though we started early, we did not quite get there that day. but stopped at night at a farm house in the vicinity of the present suburb of Fulton. Our load of fifty bushels of wheat was heavy: the roads were rough, and as I held my 10-months-old son in my lap all the way, I was quite willing to stop and rest when night fell, although we were still some six miles from our destination. The baby. too. was glad to stop, and my husband also, though he irked at the delay. The next morning we re sumed our Journey early and reached the city before it was scarcely awake. He disposed of his grain and I did my trading, as we then fitly called It. and In a few hours we were on our way home, which, having a light load, we reached before night fell." The electric car was not then a dream even of the scientist. Electric ity had not yet and for many years thereafter been harnessed. It was looked upon with awe and apprehen sion as It heralded the approach of the thunder storm in xigzag writing upon the clouds, and was fenced against by startled Invention In the devlsement ol the foolish lightning rod, while pru dence lifted its voice in warning against the danger of seeking shelter under a tree. In a barn or under the lee ef a haystack from the pouring rain that the flash and detonation of lightning presaged. Our servant now and recognized friend Is this still mysterious element, this all-pervading force of the uni verse. Whether lighting our dwellings and streets, cooking our food, moving our streetcars on enabling us when we set our faces toward the country, to our homes or to market to "get there," electricity, chained and applied, is the right hand of civilization, the all-pervading element and force of a devel opment that hinges upon the "get there idea" the progressive impulse that is urging mankind onward in a world of unresting and unspent energy. WHY 19 POETRY UNPOPULAR? A few days ago The Oregonian, In Its zeal to promote whatever is good and beautiful, Ihrew out the question why it Is that people care so little for poetry In this day and age of the world? Of course, we meant good poetry. The taste for bad poetry Is as virulent now as It ever was and needs no encouragement. A corre spondent reminds us that the question was answered by Macaulay In his Es say on Milton. To make our obliga tion deeper he sends a quotation from that celebrated production which goes into the subject with philosophical thoroughness. Macaulay was a fa mous hand at answering questions. In the course of his brilliant career he turned his attention, first or last, to most of those which have perplexed mankind and none of them did he fall to dispose of wjth complete satisfac tion to himself. His solutions have not always been quite so pleasing to the rest of mankind, but trifling facts of that nature never disturbed Ma caulay's placidity in this world and we suppose they trouble him Just as lit tle in the other. To the mind of that great writer whatever he himself said was Infalli ble though ho did in later, and possi bly wiser, years speak somewhat re gretfully of the raw self-confidence of the Essay on Milton. The sentences which our correspondent quotes must have stung him with particularly poignant remorse. "Perhaps no per son," says the author of the Ballads of Ancient Rome, "can be a poet or can even enjoy poetry without a certain unsoundness of mind. By poetry' we mean the art of employing words to produce an illusion In the Imagination, the art of doing by means of words what the painter does by means of colors." We shall not repeat the rest of the extract. The reader will find all of it in another part of today's paper. What we have given here is enough for our purpose. It shows, for one thing, that Macaulay had the same false Idea of art as Max Nordau, who has taught us In his book on De generation that all great poets and painters are mad. Of course. Illusions, or rather delusions, are at the bottom of madness. That Is, some of them are. There la nothing akin to Insan ity In the illusion of space which a painter produces by hl3 artful perspec. tive. His lines and colors make ex actly the same impression on the reti na as the natural object would and the brain with perfect sanity gives the same Interpretation to them. On the other hand. If a man beholding an ax could not, with Hamlet, tell It from a handsaw, his illusion would partake of the extravagance of disease. But Macaulay Is entirely wrong in saying that It Is the business of poe try to produce an Illusion of any sort. When he declares that It alms at the same thing as painting does he sim ply proves that he does not know what poetry Is. Most readers have drawn the same inference from Macaulay's own efforts In verse. They rhyme but that is about the only sign of poetry there is about them. His exttemely bril liant mind was too mechanical In Its operations to permit of much compre hension of the beautiful. He knew the whole of Paradise Lost by heart but It is believed by good Judges that he memorized it more to while away idle hours than because he felt its beau ties. Some critics say that Macaulay's extraordinary habit of committing verses to memory indicated an intelli gence deficient In original power. If he had had many Ideas of his own he would not have been so dependent on those of other men. Be that as it may, the business of poetry is not to produce the illusion at which tha painter alms, but to in fuse the mind with exalted emotions. Incidentally, an illusion may indeed arise. No doubt the ancient Greek, when he was listening to the Iliad, might Imagine himself In an actual fight. Just as a sleeping dog after a day's run may dream of the chase, but the feeling was perfectly normal, as much so In the warrior as In the dog. i It was not even remotely allied to Insanity. The gist of Insanity, ac cording to modern research, lies in de pression, not exaltation, of the emo tions and the delusions which accom pany it are not connected with nor mal life, but with something excep tional. Thus the gentle. Mary Lamb killed her mother in a moment of aberration. We cannot suppose that murder was habitually in the thoughts of that lovely woman. . Hence we re peat that the Illusions which arise In the mind as a mere by-product of poer try are not in any respect allied to In sanity. By no conceivable process could those particular illusions degenerate into Insanity. The more completely normal the mind Is the more of them It will have and enjoy. This train of thought leads us to what some believe to be the correct answer to our question, "Why the modern civilized man does not en Joy poetry?" It is not because he is more sane than his primitive brother who did enjoy it in olden days, but because he is less sane. Civilization, as we have developed it. Is a sort of disease. In some directions it makes us preternaturally acute, but in others it blunts our faculties. We neither see, hear nor feel so acutely as the savage. In particular we have not the same keenness of emotion. One of the main effects of civilization is to sup press the emotions. Oratory as well as poetry has lost much of its old-time power. The more civilized a man is the less he feels and the less he likes to show the little that he does feel. It Is bad form to let anybody -perceive that you are moved. Inasmuch as poetry makes its appeal to the emo tions and to nothing else, as we be come more and more highly civilized and therefore less and less emotional we naturally grow Insensible to its charm. But it la grotesque to say j that by thus closing one of the widest I of all doors to delight we make our I selves more sane. PORTLAND AS A LIVESTOCK MARKET. On another page of this issue will be found an article by Mr. Bennett, dealing with the growth of the stock yards in this city. This will be fol lowed by others going to show the evolution of our market facilities, as well as our packing-house business. It will be noticed that a statement is made that our "feeding ground," 1. e., our tributary country for the livestock business, embraces an area of over 400,000 square miles, so vast a section as scarcely to be understood by the ordinary reader. But when we con sider that regular shipments are being received from as far east as Wyoming and Utah, south from Wlnnemucea, Nev., north to the Canadian line, and south almost to San Francisco; that we draw the stock from all of Idaho and Oregon and three-quarters of Washington then the reader will realize what an immense territory is tributary to this market. One of the difficulties to be over come by all newly established live stock centers Is the wariness of ship pers to consign their stock for sale on an open market. All newly estab lished yards have had the same trou ble, but they put hundreds of buyers out of business, eventually giving their salaries and expenses to the pro ducers. Our yards have made great headway, and it will only be a short time until all stock will be shipped here for sale to the highest and best bidder. When that time does arrive the growers and shippers will realize every dollar their stock is worth, with no deductions for high-salaried buyers. The Oregonian's idea In giving a clear exposition of this business is to further the interests of stockgrowers and to enlarge the area of Portland's territory. We are better situated to build up a colossal business In the kill ing, packing and curing of meat prod ucts than any other city in the coun try, and when the Panama Canal Is finished and the by-products from our packing-houses can be laid down across the Atlantic cheaper from Port land than they can from the great packing-houses of Chicago. St. Louis. St. Joe, Fort Worth and Omaha then indeed the business will grow so rap idly that we shall all be surprised. We have no competitors In the busi ness In our territory can have none and The Oregonian desires td do its full share In its development, its full share towards furthering the In terests of the producers, the transpor tation companies, the stockyards and the packing plants. WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA? Ever since the sixteenth century it has been believed by most scholars that the true discoverers of America were the Vikings of the North. These bold men sailed In their small vessels over every known sea. Their homes were in Norway and Iceland, but they visited all the European countries, plundering the coasts and murdering tho Inhabitants. How they managed to make the voyages they did in their small, open boats Is a mystery, but there Is not the least doubt concerning the facts. From Iceland to the coast of North America the voyage was a good deal shorter than some they made In other directions, though it may have been more dangerous from storms and Icebergs, while of course the seas in those regions were unfa miliar to them. Still the fact that they had never been over a course before did not often deter the North men from contemplated adventures. To sail unknown seas was one of their delights. Up to recent times nobody had thought of disputing the reality of the Viking expeditions to America, but now Dr. Nansen, the explorer, comes out with a theory that the ac counts or them in the Sagas are all myths. He says the stories are borrowed from classical accounts of "the" fortu nate Islands," which he thinks, never existed. The Sagas speak of wine and wheat in "Markland," as they called America, and Dr. Nansen believes that this convicts them of unveraclty, since the Vikings had no wine and wheat did not grow in Scandinavia. The mention of these things must there fore have been borrowed from more southern sources. This sounds very pretty, but Professoj? Amandus John son, of the University of Pennsylvania, makes short work of It In an article which he has contributed to the New York Times. He points out that the Vikings, while they grew no vines at home, procured all the wine they wanted in the cities they plundered. As for grapes, they grow wild all along the Atlantic seaboard. So the men tion of wine in the Sagas' account of America presents no difficulty. Pro fessor Johnson believes that the "wheat" spoken of in the Sagas was a species of wild grain found on the beaches of the North and actually used for food in those regions. The Sagas which describe the voy ages to America give the name "Skraellingar" to the inhabitants whom the Vikings found there and the descriptions of these savages 'are minute enough to serve as a pretty fair check on their veracity. We are told, for instance, that the Skraellin gar "were small, swarthy and fierce and had stiff, black hair on their heads. They had large eyes and very broad cheeks." This description does not apply at all to any of the Indian tribes, but It fits the Eskimo patly. And according to our best authorities the Eskimo, in the eleventh century, "occupied the Atlantic coast as far south as New England." It "is in New England that the Vikings are sup posed to have landed. Another check is the frequent descriptions of woods, mountains, bays and rivers on the Atlantic coast to be found in the Sagas. Professor Johnson declares that all these "can be identified very well." Does It not stand to reason, then, that the Northmen must actual ly have visited those; regions? Imagi nation can do many surprising feats, but it .cannot depict true outline of a seacoast which human eyes have never seen. In order to make out his case against the Northmen, Dr. Nansen has to ignore many pertinent facts which will recur to the reader at once. The "skeleton in armor" which in spired Longfellow to compose his well-known poem was a real skeleton and the armor in which it was en cased was not fictitious. The bones of the mysterious warrior had lain in the spot where they were found for hundreds of years. He must have come from somewhere, and It is nec sary to account for his armor. The Indians had no skill whatever in working Iron. Who made It? Then there Is the famous old tower not far from Newport which is explicable only on the hypothesis that Scandinavians, or at any rate some variety of Euro peans, had visited the place long be fore the time of Columbus. The In dians never erected any such struc tures. Their best architectural efforts stopped with wigwams. Even their predecessors on this continent built nothing more pretentious east of the Mississippi than mounds of earth. It will be difficult for any icono clast, even one as eminent as Dr. Nan sen, to persuade the world that the Vikings did not discover America, but it Is legitimate to wonder why they abandoned their discovery. That they ceased to make voyages to New Eng land Is certain, and in the course of time their descendants forgot all about the strange land In the south west. One may conjecture reasonably enough that they gave up the voyages because they found no booty in Amer ica. The Vikings, like the Spaniards 400 or 500 years later, sailed the ocean deep in quest of gold and slaves. There was no gold in New England and the Eskimo were too fierce to be enslaved. Hence the voyages were abandoned. The economic motive decided them to turn in other directions. Just as it led the Spaniards on to Mexico and Peru. Happy would it have been for Spain and the world had Cortez met with fierce, unconquerable tribes in Mexico Instead of the unwarllke subjects of the Montezumas. The lust and greed of the conquerors desolated the lands which they traversed and set the stamp of degradation on entire peo ples for centuries to come. Spain, on the other hand, was first bloated to unwholesome dimensions by the gold drawn from America and then half ruined by its poisonous influence. So far as that unfortunate nation Is con cerned it would have been better had Columbus never found again for Eu rope the ancient discovery of the Vikings. The Western Union Telegraph Com pany in this city will not hereafter employ, nor retain in its employ as messengers, boys who are addicted to cigarette smoking. The interdiction is a wise one, both from a business standpoint and a moral and physical one. There is no question whatever of the fact that early and constant cigarette smoking reduces the re liability and efficiency of boys to the minimum and even causey them to drop below the normal in these re spects in verj' many cases. Statutory interdiction has not prevailed against this pernicious habit nor have parent al vigilance and command been able to stop it. The seductiveness of the substance employed and the social come-adeship that it promotes have rendered the cigarette Invulnerable to reason, a foil upon conscience and an enemy of truthfulness. These are the subtle, all pervading Influences and obstacles that must be overcome, if the Western Union Telegraph Com pany is successful in purging its mes senger force of the cigarette habit. Business instinct and financial Inter est may prevail against the vice to the extent of diminishing, at least to some extent, the consumption of cig arettes by messenger boys or desk workers in offices. The hope that this may be accomplished is not, how ever, big with expectation, since per verted appetite, adolescent wilfulness and parental example combine to jreate a potent force against the abol ishment of cigarette smoking among boys and young men. Unless steamboatmen cease to in sist that all traffic across the bridges be suspended at their will, such a de mand will go to Washington that no exceptions be made to the closed draw rules as will command attention. The steamboatmen refuse to recognize that times have changed in Portland and that traffic across the river has rights as well as traffic on the river. They will lose more in the end by ob stinacy than they would lose by rea sonable action at the present time. Shuster's stay In Persia has not been long, but he let the Russians know he was there every minute of the time. That Persia would be compelled to sacrifice him as the price of the last shadow of Independence was clear from the day when Britain stood by Russia In her demands. But every American will Be proud of the manner in which this young American has stood his ground. Christmas bells. Christmas trees. Christmas music on the breeze; Merry. Merry Christmas everywhere Cheerily it ringeth through the air! The Oregonian joins in the glad ac claim and. in tender retrospection, joyful realization and happy antici pation, extends the right-hand of fel lowship and voice of greeting to its patrons, friends and readers, far and near. Merry Christmas to all! In all their flurry and worry and anxiety contingent upon the discovery of the murderer or murderers who have committed such abhorrent crimes in this vicinity within the year, we can only hope that the real criminal may be found, tried, condemned and exe cuted by due process of law and that unjust suspicion will not fall upon any man. A railway company shines In pro tecting care of children traveling alone. Two motherless boys, aged 3 and 6, are en route from Orofino to an uncle in Chicago, the father being unable to go. Every railroader along the line will "mother" them and feel proud of the privilege. Hash, served in public places in Kansas, hereafter will be standard ized by law, which means taking a lot of unnecessary trouble for people so reckless as to eat hash In a public place. ' It seems a pity that the custom of giving trinkets to inmates of the State Asylum must be eliminated this year, for many of them are but chil dren in their desire for such things. About the time reindeer meat is worked up to supply the deficiency in beef, a game warden may bob up to spoil the project. The official accused of grafting will answer that he "never took a dollar," which may be true. Most grafters are not so cheap. Nobody Ehould complain that pris oners on the rockplle are well fed. Think of the privileges denied them. Surgeons say Banker Morse will die if not freed. Very often a pardon hastens recovery. Dr. Lyman has been given eighteen months and can now discard the crutches. Scraps and Jingles Leoni Caaa Baer. Scraps and jingles Is certainly an appropriate heading for a Christmas column, isn't It? a a Motto for this week "Do as Yule be done by." a. a a "Right about face." as Lillian Rus sell's publisher said to her when hs asked her to concoct some literary ar ticles on Beauty Culture. a a a Almost any of the Christmas supple ments are seasonable paper weights, a a a The great International dish this sea son is Turkey stuffed with promises. . a a a Say. would the price of admission to witness a running race be called gait money? a a a I know a precocious Portland child with a good juvenile idea of the im portance and authority of the Presi dent, who recently refused to be com forted for several hours when he read in big headlines: "Taft will keep Christmas." a a a Apropos of nothing at all a sure cure for heartache is matrimony. a a a The general expression of life seems to be "What a fool I've been." a a a The maxim of the food adulterator would seem to be "Your money and your life." a a a If the girl under the mistletoe is a beauty she's conferring a favor on you if she's homely you're doing an act of charity. Either way you win. a a a Gratitude is the arrears of life, a a a Appropriate wish to a smoker on to morrow: "Many happy returns to your pipe." a a a In reviewing my Christmas gifts I feel that with an effort I can stand tha fat pincushion in the shape of a ballet girl's foot, and the flower pot made of nasty little shells, and the pink satin "hair-receiver," even tho imitation bronze bust of some old geek whose name isn't printed on the pedestal, but I really think I might have been spared the portrait of myself, painted on a souvenir plate by an "admiring friend," who did' it "with her own hands from a newspaper print." Airy, fairy, fluffy girl of figure trim. With tripping toes, as light aa Fay Olivette so graceful, lithe of limb Daintiest of girls this Christmas day! ('Twae ten years ago I wrote that guff. Olivette is now of sterner stuff.) II. But shall my love be wanting found, .Or shall my fevered fancies fall. Because dear Olivette's as round As any mammoth butterball? What matters if Olivette is fat? Shall I love her less for that? a a a Next week you'll be buying Christ mas presents for folk you didn't think would remember you doing the ex change and barter act, as it were. In view of which a few hints may not be amiss. Get anybody a book, a hankedehief or a picture. No matter what their condition in life Is, they can possibly use It or give it away. For a girl with large and beautiful freckles select a pale blue ladies' house companion made-at-home band for her hair. For a man who loathes perfume, send a 30-cent bottle of musk done up In a grand vari-colored box. (Box doesn't cost extra.) For the hired girl, a pair of pink satin evening pumps or a vanity box, or any little labor-saving device for the kitchen. For a two-for-a-quarter smoker get a box of four-for-flve centers. For a child who believes in Santa Claus sit 'down and give a learned and clever dissertation on why and how "there ain't no' such person." Get for your wife or husband just whatever you are offered. The mar ket is dull, however, you may not be able to get much. a a a Wanted To hear from the person who got as much as he gave. Triolets on Late Shopping By Dean Collins. He vowed at the start, "This year, I'll not shop. I'll not be a part Of the crowd in the mart; I've sworn in my heart. Not a shekel I'll drop For gifts." At the start He vowed he'd not shop. "Oh, why should one rush And labor so hard? Mix up in the crush. And be ground to mush By shopping crowds? Tush! I'll just drop a card Of greeting, nor rush And scramble so hard." He stood out for days. No presents he bought. "This roseate haze That o'er Christmas plays. Is surely a maze In which I'm not caught," Quoth he. Many days Not a present he bought. Alas, pride may go Full oft 'fore a fall. He never did know Just how it came so. But his plans were laid low In spite of it all. Alas, pride may go Full oft 'fore a fall. The very last eve, The mad Christmas spirit Gripped hold of his sleeve And will 'you believe His plan went a-weave. For no one can dare it The late Christmas eve. And the late shopping spirit. ' He'd vowed from the start. This year I'll not shop." Vain dream! Through his heart The Christmas thrills dart. And he's off for the mart, With a skip and a hop. "It's darned late to start. But I've Just got to shop. Portland, Dec, 21. Plumbing; Rearulatlons. PORTLAND, Dec. 21. (To the Edi tor.) Will you inform me If cities of 5000 or more Inhabitants are requested to have a plumbing ordinance and in spector. A. SUBSCRIBER. A state law requires incorporated cities of more than 6000 inhabitants to enact plumbing regulations and provide for Inspection