The Sunday Oregonian., February 18, 1912, SECTION THREE, Page 4, Image 40

THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, POliTLAXD, FEBRUARY 18, 1912.
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THE CRUIIXAI. AD TUB GOOD CITIZEX
The Question whether a mu who
has teen convicted of crime ind gent
to prison la of mora Importance or not
than on who haa been a rood citizen
all his life, la at least worth a little
thought Oregon la Just now. through
the asency of Governor Went. expend-
In; a great deal of effort to make con
!: Uons helpful and reformatory for the
Inmates of tha Penitentiary. Benovo
lence toward these unfortunate" has.
In fact, gone) so far that many of them
can no longer be spoken of truthfully
as "Inmates." They have been re
stored to common life) by th Gover
tor'i philanthropy and their punish
ment for their various crimes has
been transmuted Into a mild and not
unpleasant terra of education. So
kindly hare conditions become for the
criminal under Governor West's di
rection, that It would bo no wonder If
row and then mmt man who finds
himself hard driven by circumstances
were to commit a crime for the sake
of sharing in the happiness which
awaits the convict and which tha hon
est laborer cannot hope for.
We mention these matters not to
complain of them, but to point out the
contrast between the enviable lot of
the man w ho has been lucky enough to
rt Into prison and the one who has
to remain outside. That those of us
who have not committed any crime
Stand In need of protection seems never
to have occurred to philanthropists
like Governor West. . While they ap
rly their minds with admirable as
siduity to the welfare of the convict,
thry forget that the welfare of persons
not dwelling at the Penitentiary Is also
a subject of some Importance. What
Is Governor West doing, for example,
to make life and property safer for
the decent, u-'eful citizen who haa not
broken the law and does not want to
break It? That the life of the ordi
nary, peaceable Inhabitant Is not as
safe as It ought to be In Oregon, or
any other part of the United States.
U a fact of common knowledge. That
his property Is too much at the mercy
of the bold marauder la proved by the
r.ews reports published day by day In
the papers.
So much are American citizens at
the mercy of the criminal class that
at least one Supreme Court, that of
Oklahoma, has taken cognizance of
the danger and candidly stated It In
an official opinion. In the course ot
the year 110. this court declares,
nearly tOOO persons died by personal
violence in the United States, and dur
ing the same year there were 20 horo
l Lies In Chicago." Of course, these
:02 homicides necessarily Imply an
equal number of murderers, but out of
them all only one solitary person was
sentenced to death. The rest of them
either went free or received some light
and Insufficient penalty. This Is the
state of things In a typical American
rity. Some places are a little better
than Chicago, some a little worse, but
as a rule, they are much like It In their
disregard of life and cynical tolerance
of crime. The contrast which we pre
sent with London In this particular Is
instructive. It ought to give pause to
some of our philanthropists who are so
extremely willing to labor for the wel
fare of the convict and so careless of
the safety of the rood citizen. The
Supreme Court of Oklahoma tells us
that during the preceding four years
there was occasion to try but forty
persons for homicide in the City of
"London, which is a great deal more
populous than Chicago, and out of the
forty aocused. some SO per cent ire re
convicted.
The ease with which a man who Is
rullty of crime escapes punishment In
the United States has become a
scandal. It Is all very well, no doubt,
to devise measures for promoting the
good of convicts, but It Is far mora
necessary to Invent some method of
protecting peaceable citizens from the
hand of the murderer. The task of
securing the life and property of the
man who haa not broken the law Is
not very romantic. It will not stim
ulate the sentimentalists to send up
applauding shouts, but we venture to
think that It la one of the most use
ful In which the Governor of a state
could ens-age. The fact that our crim
inal courts are Inefficient, dilatory,
wedded to decayed precedents and
more studious of obsolete forma than
of living Justice haa been reiterated
often enough. President Taft haa
spoken of It- Federal judges have In
sisted upon It. Great lawyers have
deplored It. still, little or nothing Is
done to remedy the crying evil and the
value of human life declines In this
country every day. It Is some com
pensation for this misery to know that
we are making conditions more agree,
abte for the convicts in the peniten
tiary, but even this consoling circum
stance leaves something to be de
sired. The underlying reason why crime Is
not punished In the .United States Is
that the great public does not care
whether It Is punished or not. Some
times public sentiment even favors
-rimlnals. no matter how abhorrent
their deeds may have been. Common
opinion on this subject Is deplorably
morbid. Standards have been for
gotten. The distinction between right
a.id wrong has lapsed out of sight. The
drift Is toward maudlin anarchy. What
ae need more than anything else Is
'me leader of thought who will re
store sanity to the popular mind on
the subject of crime and punishment.
We need some man who will fce the
!!. disagreeable truth and persuade
the people to face It with him. Gover
nor West Is not doing this. He Is court
lrg popularity by what Thomas Carlyle
would have called systematic quackery,
lie la making a terrible furore over
mint, anise and cummin while he Ig
nores the weightiest social question
altogether. Nobody wants to see con
victs treated cruelly or deprived of
educational advantages, but It Is high
time to say a word for the welfare of
the lawabldlng citizen who Is the
helpless prey of the coddled criminal
oaxte-vbeij- rou CONGRESS.
Portland and Multnomah County
the third Oregon district need to
have a representative In Congress who
will be vigilant, sensible, efficient and
respectable. It Is desirable to retire
Lafferty and to forget that unhappy
, i.t. v . r-aivin IT. Gantenbcln. for
the past six years a Judge of the State
Circuit Court In Portland, has an
nounced his candidacy for the Repub
lican nomination, and will retire from
the bench In order to make the cam
paign. Judge Oantenbeln Is a man of en
ergy, character. Judgment and experi
ence In public affairs. He knows how
to do things, and he knows how to get
others to help. He understands the Im
portance of Oregon's interests at
Washington and the value of adequate
presentation of them- He Is a pro
gressive Republican who does not lose
his balance in hearing of any wild cry
-for Innovation and change on the one
hand and who will not be usea or con
trolled by the standpatters on the
other hand
Judge Gantenbeln Is good material
for Congressman. He ought to be
romtnated and elected.
POOR MA2T LAWT
After estimating what it would cost
to pay the traveling expenses of dele
gates to the National convention, the
argument In the official pamphlet of
1S10 assured us that "It should be
worth more than that to tha earners of
three dollars a day or less to make It
possible that they should be repre
sented by men of their own class In
the National conventions." Now that
the season for delegates Is on are the
"earners of three dollars a day and
less" flocking to the Secretary of
State's office -with declarations of can
didacy? Not In noticeable number.
The man who left his Eastern cot
ton mill Interests long enough to
frame tha Presidential primary law
overlooked a trifling matter of ex
pense to the would-be delegate. We are
now told that Secretary of State Ol
cott will not accept a delegate's nom
inating petition unless It has been
signed by at least two per cent of the
candidate's party electors residing in
each of at least one-tenth of the pre
cincts In each of at least seven coun
ties of the state. And so It happens
that the candidate for delegate must
spend many hard-earned per dlems of
three dollars a day or less In seven
counties simply to "get started on the
road to Chicago or Baltimore. Great
favor toward the. poor man to pay his
traveling expenses to the convention
city after he is elected, but at the same
time place it beyond his means to gain
election!
The central idea In the Presidential
primary law la right, but the good
In the plan has been largely offset by
Inserting the unfair, so-called propor
tional" scheme of electing delegates.
Moreover the payment of delegates'
expenses was not demanded by any
body. The money will go to men who
can afford to pay their own way and
would rather pay It than stay at home.
Not one In a thousand of toe earners
of three dollars a dsy could afford to
leave his work and go to Baltimore for
bare expense money, to say nothing of
providing his campaign expenses.
Specious pleas to the masses and
wily professions of friendship for the
common people are old political tricks
of which some assert we have rid our
selves in Oregon. We certainly have
the means to rid ourselves of them,
but some way they manage to hang on
and even win out. If we would defeat
every measure or candidate that
was presented with an appeal to class
prejudice we as a rule would make no
mistakes and would undoubtedly avoid
a lot of demagogy and keep from of
fice many demagogues.
GEVEHAI. AES'SWORTH'S RETIREMENT.
Major-Genera Alnaworth's elimina
tion by retirement probably means that
the final death blow has been dealt to
bureaucracy In the United States
Army. A man of masterly political
genius, he laid out a truly remarkable
and well-timed coup for rehabilitating
the old order of things In the War
Department. Had he succeeded, his
name would have taken on the bril
liant title of Lieutenant-Generai of the
Army, of which he would have be
came sole autocrat. But he failed, and
so he will be written down In history
merely as Major-General Alnsworth. U.
S. A. (retired).
His failure may not be laid to any
flaws In his political strategy. All that
was admirably worked out, and in the
course of time he might have gained
his ends. But It Is no, to be wondered
at that a man who so often had wound
Congress around his hand would finally
become Intolerant of mere Individuals
who did not share the Alnsworth Ideas
and thus foster the Incalculable Alns
worth ambitions. Hence his attitude
towards the Secretary of War and
Chief of Staff, which finally took on
the form of Insubordination. ,
Ruilng rapidly from a captaincy In
the Medical Corps to the exalted plana
of Adjutant-General of the Army, Gen
eral Alnsworth plainly could see no
reason why he should not continue ris
ing. Throughout the previous stages
of his' career he had found politics a
game that lent Itself readily to his tal
ents. His final intrigue was magnificent
In Its conception. If he could but un
dermine the new General Staff detail
system, as put Into effect In 1901 by
Mr. Root, the Army would be returned
to the bureaucracy staff officers ap
pointed for life to occupy swivel chairs
at Washington and run the Army. And
as chief bureaucrat he would be the
tall that could wag the dog. To this
end he went to the Democrats and
adroitly put it up to them as an econ
omy measure. Thinking they had met
with some good political capital and
obviously not caring what the effect on
the Army would be. the Democrats en
listed In the Alnsworth cause and
brought out the Hay bill, which pro
vided for combining the Adjutant-General's
department with that of the In
spect or-GeneraJs and General Staff.
This meant a veritable return to the
bureaucratic government of the Army
that existed at the time the Spanish
American War broke out and which
was shown to be a failure In the whole
conduct of that wsr. It meant that
officers would no longer be detailed
from the line for service with the Gen
eral Staff at Washington, but would
be appointed and held permanently in
bureaus, deciding on the needs of the
Army from their own views rather
than from actual contact with the
fighting part of the Army.
The new order of things, which Gen
eral Alnsworth sought to overthrow In
! what was plainly an effort to further
his -own Interests, haa proved eminent
ly satisfactory to the line, or active
officers, and has done much for the
advancement of the Army In all Its
branchea It gives control of the
Army's affairs to officers of the line,
direct from the command of troops, of
I whose needs they have a first-hand
understanding. After four years' serv
' Ice they are returned to active duty
i with troops and a new detail Is brought
j up. It Is the function of the General
I Staff to make details, iwork out the
problems of the Army and maintain a
military policy. Thus favoritism in
making details for service with for
eign embassies is done away with and
politics Is kept out of the Army.
Doubtless General Alnaworth's fate
will serve as a warning to officers of
brilliant political propensity who may
hereafter be detailed for duty In Wash
ington. In the light of his defeat, bu
reaucracy Is not apt to raise its head
again. If the master politician of the
Army has failed It is doubtful if oth
ers of the service will care to risk the
coup great as the reward might be
for one having personal advancement
more at heart than faithful service to
his country.
t
WHAT DOES FLAT LANGUAGE MEAT?
The Oregonian Is reluctant to pro
tract the controversy with Mr. Albert
over the Interpretation and purpose of
the West road bills; but it deems the
Issue of so great Importance that it
deels obliged to repeat again, and to
cite the measures and Mr. Albert's sev
eral letters as unanswerable evidence,
that the Governor through his high
way commissioner Is given autocratic
power over construction, repair and
maintenance of all Oregon roads,
whether state or county, and that he
alone through his commissioner la the
final and absolute voice In the expen
diture under the law of the J40.000.000
fund.
The policy of the bills is state control,
not county or local control. The veto
power over every road proposed what
soever Is lodged with the highway com
missioner or the Governor. If he does
not O. K. the proposal of the County
Courts nothing can be done. It Is ab
surd to say that an arbitrary authority
this expressly reposed in the state
highway commissioner acting for the
Governor, means nothing, and Is in
tended to be placed somewhere else
viz. with the County Courts.
It Is not Intended to be given to the
County Courts. It Is given to the state
highway commissioner, and Is given to
him deliberately, so that he may con
trol the road system of Oregon and so
that the County Courts may be sub
ordinated. The Oregonian Invitee public atten
tion to section 7 of the first bill where
in "all contracts for the construction
of public highways must be made in
the name of the state of Oregon," etc,
and to section of the proposed act
entitled "An act to provide the pro
cedure for construction, maintenance.
Improvement and repair of publlo
highways out of the state highway
fund In this state, and out of the funds
provided by the several counties there
for." The language of these sections
puts the whole matter of control be
yond question. Mr. Albert entirely
overestimates his Ingenious powers of
persuasion and suppression when ho
undertakes to controvert the plain and
straightforward, phraseology of the
proposed laws.
Tire chtxkse axi conttciaxxsm.
The Chinese are supposed to be a
peaceable people, but they have had a
bloody history. The feudal system
which was imposed upon Europe after
the fall of the Roman Empire began In
China more than a thousand years
before Christ and under its influence
the country was transformed from wild
savagery to civilization. It was the
comparative peace of early feudal rule
which made agriculture possible and
gave an opportunity for the develop
ment of ancient Chinese literature.
But feudalism Is essentially military
In Its nature and its Inherent quarrel
someness could not be eliminated In
China any more than in Europe. The
deceptive quiet which It bestowed upon
the country for a time gradually gave
way to anarchy, so that In the days
of Confucius, some 600 years before
Christ, turbulence and bloodshed were
universal. Tha outcome of these
troubles was the fall of feudalism and
the establishment of a central mon
archy. In. this respect again Chinese
history resembles that of Europe.
The territory which now composes
the Chinese Empire Is Inhabited by
many different tribe which do not
practice the same customs or speak
quite the. same language. At different
times In the course of the centuries
one after another of these tribes has
become predominant and given rulers
to the country. The last dynasty com
ing from native sources was the Ming,
whose founder was a peasant. His op
portunity arose from the disintegra
tion of the vast Mongol empire, which
Jenghls Khan had conquered, but
which his degenerate successors could
not keep together. China had been
overrun by Jenghlz, but under the
Ming rulers It regained Its autonomy
and was free from foreign domination
until 1644. In that year the Manchu
dynasty obtained possession of the
throne and has maintained itself In
power, through many vicissitudes, un
til the abdication "of the Infant Em
peror a few 'days ago.
During the long period of Its record
ed history, more than three thousand
years. China has experienced all the
horrors of foreign and civil war. It
haa been conquered "by savage invad
ers, harassed by expeditions from Eu
rope and desolated by extensive re
bellions, but the people have retained,
with marvelous tenacity, through all
the turbulent centuries since the time
of Confucius, their pacific and quiet
In tic character. It has been their dis
position to endure rather tha'n to re
sist. They present the only Instance
In the world .of a nation which has
consistently turned the other cheek to
the smlter and given a cloak to the
robber who had taken a coat.
It is only In very recent days that
the Chinese have turned toward west
ern Ideas of militarism and govern
mental reforms with any interest or
favor. Since the rise of Japan, they
have partaken of the spirit of unrest
which has pervaded all the Orient,
and we now see them forsaking their
quletlstic precepts and assuming some
thing of the character of Europeans.
But they have formidable obstacles to
overcome before they can expect to
take a place among progressive peo
ples. A nation which has slumbered
for twenty-five hundred years cannot
spring Into wisely, vigorous activity
In an Instant, Its first performance
will naturally be more or less be
wildered.
Three or four different Influences
have conspired through the centuries
to lull the Chinese Into a fatal quiet
Ism, dull their Initiative and destroy
their power of resistance to untoward
circumstances. No doubt, the first,
and perhaps the most important of
these Influences, Is their inveterate
habit of worshiping ancestors. How
this practice arose, nobody pretends to
say. It is much older than Confucius,
who merely confirmed it by his sooth
ing rites. Ancestor worship turns the
eye of the Chinaman from the future
to the past. It fixes his hope on what
has been and Inverts the natural order
of his ambition. Instead of craving
the admiration of his contemporaries,
he seeks that of the dead and In order
to secure It he clings to the beliefs
and practices which were dear when
the dead were alive.
Confucius relnforce'd the stupefying
Influence of ancestor worship by mak
ing collections of the old Chinese lit
erature, "Which he had authority
enough to stamp with a seml-sacred
character. The effect of this was to
arrest the development of Chinese
thought. Nothing could be written
which did not chime with the "class
ics" as Confucius had handed them
down. Originality became synony
mous with sin and Innovation was un
pardonable. The mind of the people
thus became fixed In an unalterlng
cast. Generation after generation went
through the empty form of living with
Its face backward and its mind dwell
ing among the moldering tombs.
Confucius conferred another curse
upon his unhappy country. He In
stituted a system of rites, a sort of re
ligious discipline, which applied to
every act of daily life and deprived
the Chinaman of every vestige of in
dividual freedom. He could hardly
draw a breath except by consulting
the Confucian discipline. The effect
of this minute ritual, rigorously Im
posed and inflexibly practiced for two
thousand years, is apparent In the
deadly dullness of the boul from which
China Is now struggling to break away.
We must not forget two other fac
tors which have worked for quiet
among the Chinese. The first is their
system of writing, combined with a
spoken language "which Is almost su
perhumanly difficult to master. To
memorize the thousands of written
characters makes such demands upon
the mental energy of the ambitious
men that they have little left for any
thing else in their formative years,
while in later life they have become so
petrified in worship of the past that
progress Is out of the question. Add
to this the depressing effect of a na
tional diet which consists too largely
of rice and Is so scanty that the masses
of the people In many provinces habit
ually go hungry, and It is easy to un
derstand why China has found It dif
ficult to break the chains of ancient
custom. Still, she has broken them at
last and she deserves all the more
praise for the obstacles she has over
come. YEAR'S PROGRESS IX AVIATION.
To what degree aviation has been
made a practical success is told In
the bulletin of the Aero Club of Amer
ica relating the performances of the
year 1911. Not only did Rodgers fly
across America, but long flights were
made In every part of Europe, some
times by flocks of airmen. Kingdoms,
mountains and seas were crossed and
an altitude of 10.000 feet passes with
out comment. As many as thirteen
passengers have been carried on one
aeroplane and malls have been trans
ported. The longest distance of a
sustained flight was 460 miles and the
greatest duration of any flight was
over eleven hours. Aeroplanes were
not only tested In different countries
for reconnolssance, locating arTTllery
and communication, but were actually
used by the Italians for these pur
poses and for dropping explosives
among the Turks In Tripoli. Only
one aeroplane was hit by the enemy's
fire. There are now 1500 certified
pilots, who made 200,000 flights In
Manufacture of aeroplanes has al
ready become an important industry,
each of the leading countries having
from three to six factories. One fac
tory has made 600 machines and has
received a contract for 100 from the
French government. About J15.000,
000 worth of business was done and
about 1500 machines were made, the
price ranging from $4000 to $6500.
The two most Important problems
were solved efficiency In motors and
automatic stability. The next thing
desired Is means of varying speed
without affecting stability, as this
will make aeroplanes practical for
long cruises and for carrying con
siderable weight for commercial
purposes. The hydroplane was devel
oped, rising from and alighting on
water as easily as land. A new ma
chine was developed which made a
speed record of seventy-eight miles
an hour. Then came the aerial car
equipped with a limousine body for
four passengers.
Aviation is passing beyond the
epoch of the freak, the sport and the
circus stunt and is entering the era
of practical utility In both war and
peace. As rapid progress In the use
of aeroplanes as In that of automo
biles is promised.
THE SOUTH HOLDS CF THE XORTH.
The Democrats are in a dilemma
how to square themselves with the
people on the question of direct elec
tion of Senators. The Southern ele
ment, being supreme In the House, In
sists that surrender of Federal control
over Senatorial elections . shall be
coupled with the measure, so that both
shall stand or fall together. They
thus lay themselves open to the
charge of obstructing the accomplish
ment of a reform which is fervently
desired in both North and South, and
which has been a plank in successive
Democratic platforms without any
auch proiso as Is now attached.
Bryan has now come forward with
a. plan by which he fondly believes his
party in both North and South can
save Its face. He has suggested to
Senators' Borah and La Follette that
two separate amendments to the Con
stitution be submitted to the states,
one providing for direct election, the
other abrogating Federal control of
elections. This plan would defeat the
whole purpose of the Southern Demo
crats, for their only hope of winning
the second amendment is to make It a
condition of adoption of the first. They
calculate that enough Northern states
would be so anxious to secure direct
election as to swallow the distasteful
condition, and, with the Southern
States, to make the required three
fourths of the states. If the Northern
States could vote for direct election
and against abrogation of Federal con
trol, they would do so with practical
unanimity. Hence separation of the
two propositions would bring certain
defeat to the South.
The only arguments by which Bryan
can bring the Southern Democracy to
adopt his plan are that by cheating
the people of this long-desired reform
they would Injure the party's chances
of success in November, while by vot
ing separately for it and against Fed
eral control they would gratify South
ern prejudice, and at the same time
win - Northern votes. But Southern
Democrats have shown that they care
more for Southern prejudice than for
party success. Furthermore, Bryan is
in such bad standing with the House
majority that any suggestions coming
from him will be regarded with dis
favor. We may expect the South to con
tinue the hold-up of the progressive
Northern states in the hope of ulti
mately extorting a concession to the
state rights doctrine.
WHAT ALASKA NEEDS.
There are two causes for the in
action of Congress on the affairs of
Alaska, or for its blunders when it
does act. These are politics and ig
norance. Congress can only be In
duced to act by such pressure from
public opinion as will convince It that
good politics dictate action. That ac
tion can only be kept free from blun
ders by insuring that it be based on
Information from those who know
Alaska. New laws should entrust their
execution to men on the ground, who
are familiar with the country, and
should be general in their terms, leav
ing to Alaskans themselves the filling
in of details.
Only by giving the Alaskans a con
trolling voice in their own government
can Congress ensure their being gov
erned well. The objection that the
population is too migratory to carry on
a government Is to blame the Alaskans
for the wrong from which they suffer
most and which Congress' can alone
redress. If Congress will provide
means for them to acquire title to ag
ricultural land or to acquire a lease
of land which bears coal or oil, the
population of Alaska will quickly cease
to be migratory and become settled.
For a time a part of the population
will remain migratory, for it must be
so in order that the country may be
explored and its resources fully known.
But allow men to become owners of
what they discover, to enjoy the fruits
of their wanderings and privations,
and they will quickly establish per
manent homes and remove this re
proach. But for this same migratory ten
dency for which the Alaskans are now
reproached, the original thirteen col
onies would never have been founded
and their people would never have
swarmed across the' continent. Suc
cessive migrations Westward brought
Into being every state now in the
Union. It ill becomes us to deny self
government to people who are only
doing as their forefathers did, foe that
right was not denied to California, Ne
vada. Colorado, Idaho or Montana
when those states were mere soattered
groups of mining camps. Give the
Alaskans the legal right to found a
state, or several states, and they will
exercise it, for it Is in their nature as
Americans.
DAILY BREAD.
The Macmillan Company has Just
published a book called "Daily Bread."
The author's name Is Wilfrid Wilson
Gibson and this may perhaps be his
first work. In form it is a collection
of short dramas or, at any rate, of
dialogues. In none of them are there
more than three or four characters.
In "The Betrothed." which Is one
of the most impressive of the collec
tion, there are but two, a girl and the
mother of her promised husband. The
conversations are printed in a form
not unlike poetry, though there is no
attempt at meter or any more rhyfhm
than poor, uneducated people weave
into their talk with one another.
Even clause has a line to Itself as if
the author found each separate gem
of - his thought so precious that he
wished to present It as a solitaire. The
speakers in each of the dialogues are
humble persons who have to earn
their living by hard toil and pass
through dangers of deepsea fishing,
the coal mines, the iron furnaces and
the surgeon's operating table.
The tone of the book is melancholy.
The voices of the talkers are low
pitched and sad. They discuss the
questions which lie at the basis of life
and touch upon the confines of death,
but there is no repining. "What comes
Is taken without complaint as if It
came from God, whose ways are past
finding out and whose motives must
not be questioned. There Is one piece
with the title "On the Road." Reuben
Appleby and his wife, Jessie, sit under
a hedge resting after a tramp which
has been too long and hard for them.
They have been hungry and Jessie's
baby has grown pallid for want of
milk. A moment since Reuben met a
man of property and asked him for
work. The man answered scornfully.
Reuben is hardly more than a boy,
19 in fact. What right has he to be
married and have a child to take care
of? He repeats to his wife under the
sheltering hedge what the rich man
said to him. "What right had you to
marry and bring into the world a
tribe of helpless children to starve
and beg and steal?" But for all his
scorn, the rich man threw Reuben a
sixpence which he picked up and with
it bought milk for the baby and a loaf
of bread. "I could have flung his
money after him," said Reuben, "but
I had labored for it and was hungry,
and knew that you were famished and
the boy must have milk."
As they sit under the hedge eating
their piteous meal and watching the
baby drink his milk, Reuben reflects
upon the lot of the poor. "To lie and
think and wonder if tomorrow would
bring us bite and sup. But you were
plucky, lass, and trudged so bravely."
They were "out of a job" and tramping
to find one. '"Twaa a hard road and
long," Jessie confessed, and Reuben
answered pensively, "The road is hard
and long the poor must travel," and
"where the end lies, who knows?" It
recalls the heartbreaking lines of the
old song, "The head must bow and the
back will have to bend." But his
wife, who has the unconquerable phil
osophy of a mother, tells him that he
is talking foolishness. "Your head Is,
light with fasting. An empty belly
makes an empty head. Leave idle talk
ing to the rich, a poor man can't af
ford it" That Is all there Is to the
piece. It is a moment cut out of the
tragedy of the world and given us to
look at. The moment passes and t:.e
curtain falls.
In "The Betrothed." Frances Hall,
who is betrothed to Reuben Gray, talks
with his mother. Reuben is away at
sea, fishing, and it is time for the
herring fleet to come back home. The
elder woman wonders why Frances
does not go down to the beach to watch
the ships come in. "If you tarry here
you'll miss the first sight of the sails
that brings such sweet relief unto the
anxious heart. How often have I stared
upon the far horizon until it seemed
my sail would never sweep In sight,
and in the end I looked in vain."
Frances answers, "I, too, shall look
In vain." By and by the boats arrive
and the two -women sit listening to the
sounds outside, the shouts, the passing
steps. Then Frances goes down to the
beach and Reuben's mother talks to
herself in the solitude of the cottage.
"My son comes home and with him
I comes the hope of all my happiness.
I hear footsteps coming. They stop
short. Someone has crossed his
threshold and won home. I thought
that no one could have beaten my boy
home. And yet he does not come."
Tragedy impends and we sit In its
shadow. When Frances enters again
she says the boats are all in. One has
foundered, but it was not Reuben's.
He is not drowned, "and yet he stays.
What keeps him, Frances? He is not
dead, and yet he bides from home.
Speak out the truth." The story that
I Frances has to tell is hard and cruel.
"He left the boats ere they put out for
home. He . gave no reason. He only
asked his mates to let you have his
share when he should make the sea
son's reckoning. He said he needed
naught, as he had done with fishing
and never should return."
"He left no word for you?"
"Nay, not a word. He had no
thought for me nor for his child." The
child was not yet born and there had
been no marriage. Deborah quietly
makes her moan. "I have not flinched
from life, but looked it in the face.
My son was born to me In bitterness
and he has passed from me in bitter
ness. And yet, meanwhile, I've found
my life worth living. The woman's
life is not an easy one, at best. You
must live life out. You cannot see
the end. The child may be your child
and mine. We two have loved, and
we will both be faithful to the end."
The perennial agony of the patient
world speaks in these wonderful
poems.
FIGHTING THE SINGLE TAX.
Oregon is not a single tax state. We
have no hesitation in declaring that
the people will repudiate the single tax
next November by a heavy vote, if the
issue is made clear and if they are not
betrayed by false friends or bad ad
visers. The Oregonian says with con
fidence that the people will reject sin
gle tax because they voted it down in
1908 by approximately 60,000 to
82,000,
But The Oregonian is not inclined
to minimize the power or energy of
the Influences that would now promote
this most mischievous, injurious and
upsetting scheme. There is a small
group of paid 'evangelists going about
the state in the interest of single tax,
and another small company of paid
scribblers subsidized by Joseph Fels
who turn out reams of 'stutf and get
it printed in the Portland Journal
where their inspired writings find
ready welcome and where the prop
aganda has a comfortable and happy
home. The Journal is one of them,
but it has not the courage to say so.
Though sympathetic. It is discreet;
though cowardly. It would be helpful;
though stealthy, it encourages others
to be bold. If the cause shall be won,
this mole of a newspaper will rejoice
and point with pride to its own effi
cient, though prudent, service; if it
shall be lost well, somebody else lost
It. I
The Portland Realty Board is to be
commended for taking up and voic
ing the general protest against the sin
gle tax. The Realty Board, having
much at stake and understanding
where the chief aid for the single tax
is given, will carry the war along the
most effective lines.
Nanking (Southern capital) is likely
to become the capital of the Republic
of China. It Is about 194 geographi
cal miles west of Shanghai and nearly
equl-distant between Canton and Pe
kin. At this distance and owing to
lack of transportation facilities as we
know them, the distances in China
seem as vast as her population seems
innumerable. Figures speedily narrow
both down to the limit of easy compre
hension. Shanghai seems relatively
near, because we are in closer touch
with it, financially, and as a residence
port for foreigners, than with other
Chinese cities. AVhen, however, we find
that the capital of the new republic
that has sprung suddenly from the
ages-old empire is less than 200 geo
graphical miles from Shanghai, the
shadowy distances of "far Cathay"
dwindle and her vastness shrinks to
the limit of modern realities. Nan
king is a city of the past fense. It will
devolve upon the conquering spirits
that made China a republic to bring It
up to the present tense In all that goes
to make a modern capital city.
That mighty volume of protests pro
ceeding from District Attorney Cam
eron's, office at belated discovery of
Lothario Garrard's dismissal by Deputy
District Attorney Hennessy, some way
or other brings to mind the reflection
of Hamlet's mother, "Methinks the
lady doth protest too much."
Apply to the matter all the fancy
phraseology known to the language
and the fact will remain at bottom that
in the coming test of virtues the Re
publican party will stand firmly .for
moderate protection with the Demo
crats back of free trade. Does any
body want free trade?
Having tired of watching vainly for
war in every meaningless little cloud
on the international horizon, senior of
ficers of the United States Army seem
ingly have set out for a near-war of
their own. The Adjutant-General of
the Army is noted as constituting the
first list of casualties.
Professor O'Fane, author of "The
Home Over There," "On Jordan's
Stormy Banks I Stand," and other
hymns, has gone to his reward, but
his memory will linger as his cheering
words well from the hearts of the
plain people.
In setting back their calendar from
4610 to 1912 the Portland Chinese are
really going ahead a few centuries
unless, of course, they should adopt
all the white man's methods of observ
ing the yearly advent-
While everything that's said in the
course of dictating a letter may not
be Included in the dictation, yet it Is
well to remember that naw-fangled
dictagraph.
Scraps and Jingles
By Leone Caas Baer.
If the secret of success is to wed
one's opposite, then a man must be a
fool to marry a brainy woman. Play It
either way, it means the same.
.
The moralist who says it's deeds, not
words, that count never sent a tele
gram. -
Judge asked a witness what hap
pened in the interim and she said she
didn't go into the interim, Bhe stayed
out In the hall.
a
Rooms in apartment-houses will
seem larger, now that families are tak
ing off their Winter flannels. .
Instead of being one, most married
couples are ten the wlfa is one and
the husband Is nought (10, see It?).
a a
The most subtle flatterer I know of
Is a doctor who tells a patient he is
suffering from brain fag.
a a a
Man said he would be silent con
cerning the fowl set before him at
dinner, because he had been taught it
Is Improper to speak disrespectfully of
one's elders.
a
Apropos of that newest fad, a dance
between each course at a dinner party,
the following bits of dialogue will
probably be heard:
"May I have the pleasure of the soup
waltz with you. Miss Stepplt?"
"Why, I regret to tell you, Mr. Hit-it-off,
that my programme is filled up
to the dessert."
"Do you do the Turkey trot?"
"Not until after the roast"
"Will you try the broiler's wiggle
with me?"
"Delighted, after the game."
"Is this our dance?"
"Yes, but I'm so done up, let's eat It
out, if you don't mind," etc.
a a a
Woman asked the salesman if h
thought she could hang the wall paper
on herself and he said yes, but It would
look beter hung on the walls.
a a a
Rich old lady said she would lend
her countenance to a certain benevo
lent movement, and after the directors
had seen the countenance they declined ,
the offer.
a a
Notice that already the papers are
referring to Mrs. Fred Crandell, niece-ln-law
of the late Edwin Hawley, rail
road financier, as Mrs, Frederick H.
Crandell. Also what the court called
"malicious mischief" when it landed
her in the Tombe, gallant paragraph
ers refer to as "high-spirited individ
uality." I suppose they'll soon be call
ing her Impoliteness that pleasanter,
if more ambiguous word, "eccentric."
and her plain, everyday rudeness will
have become metamorphosed into "de
lightful sarcasm."
This may be old, but I just heard it
t'other day: Some English person had
just quoted that bromide about the
sun never setting on the King's do
mains and a perfectly nice, quiet man
said the reason was because heaven
was afraid to trust an Englishman
alone in the dark.
a a a
Every time any one hands me that
bromldlon, "I should think it would be
fine to write Scraps and Jingles," I am
tempted to answer yes it should be
fine and Imprisonment
a a a
Miss Calamity Step-and-Fetch-It, the
sweet and cultured one from Kansas,
says It is her opinion that plants very
often are as sensitive and irritable as
animals. She thought of it so terribly
hard that one. night she wrote this lit
tle ditty for us. She calls it:
SUCCOTASH.
Always be polite to a cabbage,
Maybe it has a tender heart
Never speak cruel' of a potato.
Lest' tears from its eyes quickly start.
Don't squash the spirits of the corn
Or make remarks about its tars.
Don't turnip your nose at radishes.
And always dry the onion's tears.
Don't never let the artichoke
And never beet the tender beans.
Tread on the corn of the toma-toes
Or call the high-born spinach-greens!
There is lots more to Calamity's
vegetable poem In fact she must have
taken a poetical survey of the whole
garden, but the e.dltor wanted to use
the rest of the paper, so I can't print it
all.
Just heard of a smooth tramp, who
understands femininity. He always
tells the woman who answers the kitch
en door that he was hurt on the field
of battle with this difference: If It's
a young woman he says football field;
if it's an old lady, he says battlefield,
a a a
Advertisement for actors to pose for j
moving pictures says: "We want actors
who are used to working without audi
ences." So many thesplans do that any
way that the advertiser should expe
rience no difficulty in taking his prck.
Miracle of the Coffee Cup
By Dean Collins.
Of miracles I've heard full oft
In ev'ry age, "most ev'ry thing
Has got some miracle attached.
I've heard the modern poet sing
Of how he saw a camel crawl
Upon the ceiling and the wall;
And ancients told the Jonah tale
About the nauseated whale.
The mediaeval manuscripts
All teem with tales of deepest won
der; The gods of Rome sprung spectacles
Of squeaking ghosts in smoke a.n(
thunder;
I've heard the miracle so great
That no rich man may imitate.
About the camel that would try
To wriggle through the needle's eye.
But stop, look, listen, lend your ears!
The present day is incubating
A miracle destined to put
All other stunts in second rating
If it is done, the camel's feat
Must take far back its lowly seat
While men confess, with loud acclaim,
A real "top-liner" in the game.
The brute that through the needle's
eye
His awkard bulk essays propelling,
In ancient times might have some hope
Of public interest compelling;
But now within our modern state,
Lo, a potential candidate
Ducks former statements rising up.
By passing through a coffee cup.
' Portland. Feb. 17.
Arliuckle's Address.
PORTLAND. Feb. 16. (To the Edi
tor.) Kindly give the address of John
Arbuckle identified with the Eastern
coffee concern. INQUIRER.
Home, 315 Clinton avenue, Brooklyn,
N. Y.
f