THE SUNDAY OREGOMAX, TOETLAND, MAY 5, 191?
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rokTU.P. MM.V. MAT .
THE RKD LHilfT .WD THE KKO 1XAG.
Seattle norms to hnvp a faculty of
electing Mayor who shock its moral,
patriotic or other sensibilities. The
Strang- part of ' u ,nut Sc"ltl 8
lno the business of electing uch
Mayors with Its eyes wide upon and
than shoiias with anger when the ri
pectej happen. There wm the case
cf HI CHI. Mr. entered the mu
nicipal campaign In the Pucet Sound
metropolis pledzed to give the people
an "open town." He was elected on
the Issue. He carried out his policies.
Jtut because ho carried out hi policies
h- shocked mini Seattle, and moral
Seattle recalled him.
It need not be dispute,! that re
formed Seattle acted properly in show
ing it regeneration by cleaning up the
town and i leaning out the Mayor'
office, but It va to be expected that
tfe voter, after the experience with
r.lll. would fhow stronger Inclination
to look Into the proclivities of Its
Mayoralty candidate. Jt wa a faint
hope, and not ru lined. Just now Scat
t!a L hockI Riln. It find that In
plure of a Mayor who condone the
rd lisht. It has one who condones the
red flag:.
During a parade. Mhv I. of I. V.
W. member and Socialist., a group
of patriotic citizen of Seattle became
!ncrn.od at the display by th? march
ers of the emblem of anarchy lde by
aide with a m.i-sted flag of the Union.
They tore down the red flag. The
marchers then turned on the Stars and
Stripe. They dubbed it a "damned
j.ig" and attempted to trample It un
der foot. The American flag- wa.
rescued and borne to safety. In a
signed statement Mayor Cotterill de
plores the outburst of patriotism by
spectators of the parade: he condemn
the publication or public discussion
of the incident, and he asserts that
the red flag is "an international em
blem of a peaceful political education
and evolution toward universal human
brotherhood."
It Is not remarkable. In view of thes
remarks, that the Industrial Worker
of the World hail Seattle's Mayor as
benefactor and patron, while TOO vet
erans of the Spanish-American war
denounce him as neither American
nor patriot. Tet It wa a stand that
might have been expected by the pres
ent denunciators, among whom are
thuae who put him in office. George
K. Cotterill i a man of many attain
ments. He Is a polished public speaker,
and 1 personally clean. He haa served
several term in the Legislature and
has been a candidate for Congress and
other offices. Hut though outwardly
Democrat, he has persistently and
.ontlnuoiisly advocated the adoption
of experimental governmental vagaries,
policies, isms and theories. The pres
ent order of government, state and
.National, has not been good enough
for him. He has not preached grad
ual Improvement, but upsetting and
revolutions. His mental looseness was,
or ought to have been, known to every
body. No one hould be surprised
that to impracticable and theoretical
Cotterill the specious plea of the an
archists that the red flag signifies uni
versal brotherhood should appeal,
while he remained blind to actual and
open desecration of ' the American
flag by the frowzy "brotherhood."
In I'nlon Park Square. New York,
on the ame day a the Seattle Inci
dent, the same aggregation tore down
the Star and Stripes with denuncia
tion and hoisted the red banner In
its stead. In Portland these advocates
f "universal brotherhood" have
turned a, peaceable meeting into riotous
disorder and insulted one of the city's
and Nation's noted guests. The speak
ers of the rabb'e that call themselves
workers have stood In the shadow of
the soldier' monument in the plaza
and reviled by name the men who lost
their live while fighting for their
country. They have torn the American
flag to pieces and stamped upon the
shred. They have Jeered at passing
funeral cortege and otherwise abused
and spat upon American liberty. All
this, for the honor and glory of the
red flag of "universal brotherhood."
Probably if some present-day Cap
tain Kidd should ravage the seas and
then plead that his skull and cross
bones stood for universal brotherhood.
Mayor Cotterill and other parlor So
cialists would defend the emblem. It
would not be much greater perversion
of sound and righteous thinking. The
red flue, to the American people, is
a. clearly the Insignia of anarchy,
lawlessness and sedition a i the black
flag the emblem of piracy. The ac
tions of it follower proclaim every
where what their word attempt to
conceal. We know for what It stands
and should act accordingly.
In spite of their failure to study
beforehand the men they put In of
fice, some of the people of Seattle Bre
to be commended. It requires some
such action by red-blooded men some
where to start the ware that will en
gulf the malcontents and disrupter
who have invaded America. It was a
Hood example and Seattle ought to be
proud of having given It. As to the
other weakness, a few more recalls
will probably cure It.
In the event we should eventually
have trouble with Mexico. or any
other country, a common spectacle
would be that of utterly Incompetent
men seeking to go to the front In
command of volunteer and National
t;n rd troops. Doubtless many of them
w..ld succeed In pulling the neces
sary state string, despite the fact
that such men are a serious menace
to the life and conduct of troops in
the field. One day we shall profit by
the lessons of the past and center all
military-functions, state as well as
National. In the War Department.
Trouble with Mexico, which possibly
may never come, would bo an In
significant affair so far as the opposing-
force was. concerned. But our
incompetent officers could be relied
upon to claim their usual deadly toll
from our ranks.
ri-AVING THE CAMK.
The most effective way to nominate
a candidate for President is to demon
strate that somebody or other who Is
not all that he really should be ts
supporting your opponent. Thus Taft
has been saddled by Koosovelt "with
Lorlmer. Penrose. Aldrlch. and all
that group of active politicians and
undesirable citizens who Col. Roose
velt saa have no right to live. It l
argumentum ad hominem with a
vengeance, yet Colonel Roosevelt
proudly proclaims that he Is the
special object of the anxious solicitude
of (leorge W. Perkins, and therefore,
it Is fair to presume, of Plcrpont Mor
gan. What of it? ho cries.
Wis are to suppose thatthe Morgan
Perkins pitch soils if It touches Taft
and does not soil when It touches
Roosevelt. But what a wild outcry
would have burst from the Roosevelt
ramp If It had been learned that Per
kins was financing the Taft campaign.
The Colonel drags In Aldrlch. who
I old and out of It; Invokes the shade
of Pat. Calhoun, who long ago left
California: brushes up the Balllnger
bogy when Rallinger is quietly prac
ticing law In Seatfle: shouts Guggen
heim to show how Colorado was car
ried, when Guggenheim and his mil
lions were trying merely to be let
alone: trots out all the old stage prop
erties and throws them around the
neck of Taft. Poor Tart.
When your case Is bad. to anuse the
opposing lawyer Is an old trick but a
good one. It helps a lot In many a
weak cause.
WMtt THE rSE?
The New York Time (Dem.) ap
pears to be much shocked because
at the Massachusetts primary' Demo
crats. Socialists and Prohibitionists
were permitted to vote at the Repub
lical primary, and suggests that the
spe table of miscellaneous admixture
and commingling of all voters was
due to the fact that tho primary wa
of the soapbox variety and. enrollment
wa not required. Before the primary
the Roosevelt manager openly adver
tised that registration was not needed,
and It was also suggested that "If you
are a Democrat and wish to vote for
Roosevelt or Taft you can do so un
less now enrolled as a Democrat."
The Democrat who wished to vote
for Taft was a rare bird In Massa
chusetts a everywhere; but the
Roosevelt Democrat 1 no local
phenomenon for he abounds and per
sists all over the land.
In Massachusetts the vote at the
Republican primary was three times
the vote at the Democratic primary.
Yet the parties are divided on a nearly
equal basis. Why cannot the Demo
crats stay at home?
Rut they will not in Massachusetts
or In Oregon. The Oregonian Is
obliged to tell the New York Times
that registration or enrollment makes
little or no difference. Here your
Democrat, scrupulous In all other
concerns of life, goes cheerfully to
the courthouse and unblushingly
takes an oath that he ts & Republican.
Or thousands of them do. Others
a devoted few remain by the old
ship; but they are a lonesome outfit.
They stay because they are poor sail
ors on Republican seas
There are three possible remedies.
One is to make men more honest.
The other I to abolish party. The
third is prayer!
OI K IIKBT TO LITHKR.
The publication of two new lives of
Luther, one by Dr. Henry Preserved
Smith, the other by Dr. McGifert,
moves Dr. Lyman Abbott to offer
some observations in the Outlook upon
the great reformer of the church. In
Dr. Abbott's opinion Luther was truly
a reformer and not a doctrinaire or an
opportunist. A doctrinaire, accord
ing to his view, 1 a man who prefers
a theory to the welfare of human be
ings. Such a. person was William
Lloyd Garrison. An opportunist Is one
who has nj fixed principles and modi
fies hi opinions to suit circumstances.
He believes that Douglas was a man
of that character, while Lincoln, who
had decided principles but preferred
to enforce them In the light of human
welfare rather than by the strict rules
of theoretical consistency, he calls a
genuine reformer of the same stamp
as Luther. The most noticeable dif
ference between Lincoln and Luther
to the modern mind lies in the fact
that the great German was wholly oc
cupied with the other world while the
great American was deeply concerned
with this one. Luther interested him
self In the proper way to get to heaven.
Lincoln desired to obtain conditions
such that human life would be toler
able on earth.
There Is no evidence that Luther
ever gave a thought to the economical
situation in the Germany of his day.
Very few people in the world at that
time let their minds dwell on such
subjects as the food and housing of
the peasants or the prevention of dis
ease, in Luther's time the condition
of the German peasant was so
wretched that it cannot be described
in decent literature. Arthur Young
speaks of the Krench peasant women
two centuries later as "walking dung
hills" and the Germans of Luther's
generation were far more miserable.
They slept, like pig. In filth. They
ate fetid scraps which were not good
enniiKh to feed to farm stock. Their
bodies and rags reeked with vermin.
Luther and their other spiritual guides
t"ld them to.be satisfied with the con
dition In which the Lord had seen
fit to place them and all would be
made right in the next world. When
the dreadful sufferings of the German
peasants finally drove them to rise In
arms. Luther preached violent ser
mon against them.
Still Luther did a great work for
which the world will forever thank
him. Such Is the nature of human
psychology that we had to settle every
possible dispute concerning a future
life before we could begin to pay any
attention to earthly affairs. Luther
brought half a dozen of these disputes
to a termination, or as near to one as
we can ever hope to get. When he
died the subject or Justification by
faith had been threshed out. There
was nothing more to be said about It.
Some believed that "works" counted
for more or le. In God's sight. Others
believed that "faith" wa' everything,
but nobody could start a new quarrel
on tho subject. It was the same way
with purgatory, indulgences and sev
eral other theological topic. People
still held different opinions about
them, but it was Impossible to fight
any more over those particular sub
ject because no new arguments could
be imagined.
The final disposal of these theologi
cal Issues seems to have been essential
for the progress of the world. As
long as they remained open they ab
sorbed the mental and physical ener
gies of mankind anil It was impossible
to make any important advances in
science, government or economics.
Since Luther got them out of the way
men have been devoting themselves to
purposes which count for welfare and
happiness.
CANADA REAI.I7.INC. A IMtKAM.
Canada haa at last begun to make
the long-discussed Hudson Bay rail
road a reality. The congestion of
traffic In the Northwest, due to the
Immense Increase In the wheat crop'
of the North-west has forced the gov
ernment to act and it has appropriated
J 1.700.000 for tlje beginning Of con
struction. A branch of the Canadian
Northern extend northeastward to
The Pas on the Saskatchewan River
and a contract ha been let for a
bridge aero that river and construc
tion of the road has begun. The dis
tance from The Pas is only 477 mile
to Port Churchill and 410 miles to
Port Nelson, both on Hudson Bay.
The bay ts said to be open to navi
gation all the year round, but Hudson
Straits are open only from the middle
of July to the middle of October, be
coming closed Just when the wheat
shipping season I at its height. The
barbors can be kept open by ice
breaker, but the country through
which the road will run Is unsettled
and would yield no traffic except tim
ber, unles minerals should be dis
covered. The road would, therefore,
be Idle except during the gTaln
ahlpping season.
Any grain which arrived after i-e
closed the strait In the Kail would
have to be stored at Hudson Buy
parts until the following Summer.
Cost of storage would certainly eat
up a large part of the saving ex
pected by the reduction of 1000 mile
In distance a compared with Port
William and Montreal.
But Premier Borden has probably
found the railroad a political neces
sity a the means of silencing the
agitation In the Northwest for reci
procity with the United States. Hav
ing practically shut the farmers out
of the American market, he must
find them a new means of reaching
the Kuropean market.
THE WEAK I'OINT OF SVMHCAI.ISM.
English Liberal newspapers are In a
receptive mood towards syndicalism,
the new industrlnl theory which is
championed In the Voited States by
the Industrial Workers, of the World.
Writing of syndicalism to the Man
chester Guardian, G. Lowes Dickinson
says:
tt ballevea that Induatrles ahnuld ha con
trolled by thoaa who work thrm; not by a
board of directors, but by thr laborrra thrm
aalvaa. Theaa only know the work. Olva
tham thalr proper lnlreat lu the nut nut.
and thry are the people with th atront-at
motive and the KrratoM onpnHty to Inerraaa
It. They will Invent. th,y will aave, they
will organise: they alll condemn tnronipe
tenie and forler competence. Much lw In
the syndicalist conception of the future la
chimerical and unaound. Tills la not. It
la a product of clasa-conai'louancaa In the
beat aenae; tha rnnaclouaneaa of the worker
that he knows hla work and that no one
alaa knows It. and that he ought to have.
In every sense, an luterest lo Us oraniia
tlon. The London Times calls "the root
Idea of syndicalism that of trade
ownership and control not only un
objectionable, but excellent," and calls
it "by far the most rational and feasi
ble form of socialism."
If syndicalism aimed at nothing far
ther than trade ownership and control
of industries, it would seek to estab
lish nothing more than co-operation
on a grand scale. The difficulty about
co-operative production is that every
workman, being a stockholder, wishes
to have a voice in the management.
This makes the -factory a pure democ
racy on a small scale. All the stock
holders being workmen, there Is, as a
rule, none among them competent to
manage the factory or to sell it prod
uct. They do not realize the necessity
of executive skill and salesmanship or
of subordination to the munagrr. The
result Is that the Industrial history
of the United States is full of failures
of such enterprises.
Syndicalism. If It gained control of
Industry, would run on the same rocks
and would Joyfully welcome one of the
hated capitalist who wa willing to
take the plant off Its hands and who
had the ability to manage it and find a
market for Its products. The old fa
ble of the belly and the members
would be enacted again, ns It was in
ancient Rome.
AN Ol4 TOWN AND ITS AWAKENING.
Lafayette, erstwhile and for many
quiet years the shire town of Yamhill
County. Is said to be awakening from
the long sleep that followed the re
moval of tho county seat to McMlnn
vllle. The site of this pioneer village
ts as beautiful as can well bo Imagined.
It was formerly and for many years
the head of steamboat navigation on
the Yamhill River, boats reaching the
somewhat pretentious warehouses on
Its left bank during four to six months
of the year.
The very names of the steamboats
that plied Its waters are but faint
echoes of faraway years. There was
the "Hoosler." a noisy little side
wheeler with most primitive passenger
accommodations and scant storage for
freight, that made the round trip from
the warehouse In Canemah to that at
Lafayette three times a week, calling
at the few way-docks en route; the
"Klk." a Httle stern wheeler built and
commanded by Captain Chris Swelt
zer, who perished In 1S60 in the wreck
of the Northerner off 'Cape Mendo
cino, and finally the McMtnnvllle. the
Grangers' boat that essayed to break
the transportation monopoly by carry
ing their wheat at moderate prices.
There wero others and each had a
brief and busy day, but finally the
floods came and carried away the
warehouse.; the' railroad came and
left tho old pioneer town to one side,
and finally McMlnnvllle came and
captured the county seat and the old
town, literally fell asleep in a business
and commercial sense, though it still
remained a quiet, homelike village
where neighbors were as relatives,
helping each other In stress of sick
ness, and sorrowing with each other
In the event of death.
Prosperity and progress have, how
ever, again looked In on the old town
and It shows many signs of awaken
ing. Among evidences of these Is the
contract for a new schoolhouse cost
ing 112.000. for which the district was
bonded, the bonds selling at par. This
is a stepping stone to progress which
will doubtless have a rallying point
around which a substantial super
structure of homes and village busi
ness will arise. Good for the old town!
May Its awakening- presage a renewal
of the activity of former years where
in fortunes were laid In country mer
chandising, in freighting. In the hotel
I business, in law and medlclrfe; wherein
churches vied wltn eacn omer in se
curing membership, Sunday schools
flourished, the district school was pat
ronized by every family that had a
child of school age and the temperance
society was the school of local oratory.
The old days will not return, of
course. Times have changed and peo
ple have changed, but we are fain to
hope that the new that shall rise upon
the old will reflect the promise of the
far-away years that smiled upon this
simple, quaint and homelike old
town. '
ITALY'S ARDI'OIS TASK.
Italy Is at her wits' end how to
strike the unspeakable Turk at so vital
a spot as to make him squeal. The
sands of Tripoli seem capable of
drinking up unlimited quantities of
Italian blood, and, no matter how
many Arabs the Italians kill, the num
ber shows no diminution. The Turk
lolls back on his divan and smiles.
Sinking of a few of his ships, bombard
ment of an occasional port or capture
of a loose Island In the Aegean Sea
does not disturb his Oriental equanim
ity. In desperation, Italy at last attacks
the forts of the Dardanelles as a threat
against Constantinople, but there she
finds the Turk well prepared and effi
cient atid withdraws her ships, limping,
without having made an impression.
The Turk smiles and awaits the next
pin-prick.
The secret is that Italy is fighting
with one hand tied behind her by the
other European powers. It la tacitly
understood that these powers will al
low her to fight without interference
only so long as she does hot Invade the
mainland of. Turkey In Europe, Asia
Minor or Syria, and thus reopen the
dreaded Eastern question. Were Italy
to land an army in Albania or at Sa
lonlca and make a successful march on
Constantinople, she could quickly
bring the Turk to terms, but by so do.
ing she would set all Europe by the
ears. Italy might seize Smyrna or
Belrout. and, by cutting off a large part
of the customs revenue, hit the Turk
In hi. most sensitive spot, but even
then a tremor of jealous alarm would
go through Europe. About the only
point where Italy could attack Turkey
without stirring up a hornets' nest in
Europe Is Arabia. But Arabia, with
Its vast deserts. Its few oases. Its sav
age Arab tribes, which dearly love
fighting and which can spring from
nowhere and melt Into nothing in an
instant, is another Tripoli.
Italy may find herself compelled to
adopt one of two courses either risk
the anger of Europe and strain her
resources to carry the war Into Tur
key proper or settle down to years of
desert warfare In Tripoli until her sol
diers have learned to beat the Arabs at
their own tactics and have worn them
out. But the Arabs are probably re
ceiving frequent reinforcements from
the fanatical Moslems of Turkey and
It Is possible that Italy may first be
worn out.
It la no small task to overcome a
nation like Turkey, which sprawls all
over the map. Italy has learned that
fact.
THE SPRING OPENING.
It is well enough for the purposes
of advertising Oregon's incomparable
climate for enthusiasts to pledge each
other to the straw hat "rain or shine"
on the first of May, but it must be
conceded that it is quite likely to be
hard on the hat. The ordinary citi
zen though well content with Ore
gon's climate except perhaps for a
few days In January when King Sleet
Is likely to pass this way: or now and
then on a Fourth of July when the
heavens open and the rain descends In
torrents; or yet again when slush-snow
befalls at Thanksgiving time may be
excused in sticking to his old felt hat
for vet a little longer.
The truth about the climate of Ore
gon Is good enough. We generally
have balmy weather In April, while
May is usually ushered in with bright
sunshine to which the straw hat is
.riefiftinsr the mfrlHlo nf Fphrnarv Fi;is
J sometimes seen the peach trees In
bloom throughout the Willamette
Valletv, and we recall one bright and
balmy January 189 8, if memory
serves correctly when the rose bushes
were coaxed Into the belief that Spring
had come and responded by sending
out. to welcome her, tender shoots of
red and russet bronze four or six
Inches long tipped with tiny buds of
promise. But. sad to say. Winter re
turned upon his traces and the prom
ise of early roses failed so utterly In
the fulfillment that there was not
a single rose blooming In open ground
on Decoration day.
The unusual happened that year in
January, presaging the unusual In
May; the unusual. In the way of cold
rains November rains we might al
most say happened this year in
April and an unusually leaden, wet
and gloomy May day followed.
These are merely incidents of a
climate that, taking one month with
another, is a good one for all pur
poses. They show, however, the folly
of rejoicing In a warm Winter, . as
later on the productiveness of Sum
mer will show the folly of worrying
over a, backward Spring, blighted
fruit and a May day that makes the
straw hat. sheltered by an umbrella
or whisked off by the riotous south
west wind, a disparagement of the
climate which it was donned to
"boost" at least fifteen days In ad
vance of Spring's opening elsewhere.
A. before said, the truth about Ore
gon's climate is good enough, but
like truth In regard to many other
matters. It has its disagreeable fea
tures. One of these is that the
weather on the first of May cannot be
depended upon as suitable for putting
on Spring clothes, the cap sheaf of
which Is the festive straw hat. The
reason Is not far to seek. The calen
dar Is a fixed institution while the
Storm King is a monarch of variable
mood and irascible temper even In
Oregon.
AN Ol'T-UATEI SYSTEM.
That It takes careful, conscientious
bookkeeping, according to an ap
proved system and watched over by
a competent accountant, to keep the
books of the City Water Office In
telligently and accurately is a fact
that Is beyond dispute. That salar
ies sufficient to secure such book
keeping and supervision have been
paid by the Portland Water Depart
ment is also beyond dispute. Yet we
aro confronted by the further fact
that through a system of loose ac
counting there has been great waste
of funds In conducting the business
of the Water Board not alone
through criminal abstraction of funds
by employes in tle office, but through
carelessness In the service.
True, one young clerk, overcome by
the temptation offered by the loose
system of accounting in the office of
the Water Board stole something over
J3100 and decamped before the dis
covery of his defalcation was made.
But this was but a drop in the bucket
of the wastage through the careless
ness and incompetency of unsuper
vised clerks. Discrepancies in water
bills rendered in proportion to the
amount of water used from month to
month have been noted and complaint
of this condition of affairs has been
entered from time to time by con
sumers, but no , explanation has been
offered. The simple fact as now dis
closed is that the clerks were allowed
to fix the amount to suit themselves.,
presumably to the end that their
books might be made to balance at
the end of the month.
In this slip-shod manner the books
of a great public service corporation
have been kept, aggregating a loss to
water consumers and to the Water
Board that an expert accountant af
ter weeks of delving through the
books does not venture to compute,
since he finds that it is practically im
possible to do so accurately.
Clearly a complete change In the
accounting system of the Water Board
is necessary. This includes changes
In the checking and balancing sys
tem and a general revision of the ac
counting department on modern lines
pursued by private corporations in
keeping their books. The system that
has been found so faulty was probably
quite sufficient years ago when it was
installed, but It has long since been
outgrown and should have been sup
planted by a modern system before
such waste was suffered.
-'' BERNARD SHAW.
Professor Archibald Henderson's
volume on the "Life and Works of
Bernard Shaw" is so big that very
few people will ever read it through,
but one can dip into it almost any
where and find entertainment. Shaw's
personality Is so original and his ways
of thinking and acting are so peculiar
to himself that it would be difficult
to write a dull book about him. Pro
fessor Henderson has followed Bos
well's method in some particulars. He
has gathered numerous anecdotes
about his hero's novels, plays, art
criticism and public speaking and
dishes them up In a kind of loving
hash hut the hash Is SDiced with a
J good sprinkling of common sense. The
author evidently worships Shaw, but
he worships discreetly. He is not an
idolator but a rationalist. His first
plan was to write "a short book en
titled George Bernard Shaw." but he
had to give it up because "it became
manifest that in no such small com
pass was It possible to do justice to his
subject." Shaw Is a big man. In Pro
fessor Henderson's estimation, and it
requires a big book to tell all we ought
to know about him. The four gospels
would perhaps fill fifty of the 512
pages of the biography which he has
actually produced.
Bernard Shaw is better known in
the great world of letters than. any
other living Englishman. His shrewd
sayings and keen criticisms of society
are quoted all over Europe and Amer
ica. It is common to speak of him as a
poser, a scorner of established institu
tions, an Iconoclast, but for all that
every man who pretends to think Is
obliged to read his books and few who
once begin to read him ever leave off.
He has influenced profoundly the ways
of thinking of the whole civilized
world. This is Professor Henderson's
view of his subject and it must be ad
mitted that he is probably right. Shaw
Is a man tf the most versatile gifts.
His education was of the haphazard
sort. His mother was musical and he
says of his male ancestors that they
were distinguished for their ability to
play wind instruments by ear. In his
home all sorts of musical practice
went on continually. While he
was still a child he learned the
scores of many operas by- heart. "Be
fore he was 15 Bernard Shaw knew at
least one Important work by Handel,
Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Ros
sini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Gou
nod from cover to cover." This was
pretty well for an education. Shaw
himself says that he thinks he Is "as
well educated as those who know
nothing else than the grammar and
mispronunciation of the Greek and
Latin poets" and his career seems to
prove that he is right about it.
He began his literary career by
writing novels which nobody was ea
ger to publish and comparatively few
have read. He has no great gift of
narrative or character drawing. Even
his plays are more conspicuous for
other excellencies than the develop
ment of character. His novels are
sermons and not very Interesting ones
at that. The peculiar brilliancy and
the daredevil quality which make his
later style so fascinating were not de
veloped when he wrote "Cashel By
ron's Profession," while the thought In
the book Is merely conventional radi
calism. Later In life Shaw produced a
radicalism of his own which happily
suited the pungent flavor of his lit
erary art. After the virtual failure
of the novels he became an art critic
in London and It was by his articles
along this line that he began to win
distinction. Ibsen was at just about
that time fighting his way to a place
on the British stage and Shaw became
his determined champion. Probably
tho best book he has ever written Is
hij "Quintessence of Ibsenism," in
which he expounds the philosophy and
art of the great Norwegian dramatist.
The heart of Ibsen's doctrine Is con
tained in the precept, "Live your own
life." This Shaw adopted and at once
went to work to find out what there is
in the structure of society which pre
vents people from living their own
lives. Why is it that everybody Is the
slave of somebody else? Why la It
that at every, turn we find ourselves
cribbed, cabined and confined? This
is the course of inquiry which made
Shaw a Socialist.
His dlagosis of the social disease was
that we are overshadowed and per
meated with "romanticism." Our re
ligion, our art, our politics and econ
omics are all romantic. They are built,
not in the least on the facts of the
world, but on certain "Ideals," wholly
chimerical, which .we have agreed to
accept in the place of facts. Natural
ly this results In a disharmony between
life and the world and the consequence
is poverty, crime and misery of all
sorts. So Shaw made it his life work
to break down these false "ideals"
which pervert and ruin mankind.
In the pursuit of his mission he has
employed two principal agencies. One
of them Is the Fabian Socialist Socie
ty. The other is the stage. The Fa
bian society is an offshoot from the
Society of the New Life which was
founded by that singular character,
Thomas Davidson. It languished un
til Shaw took hold of it in collabora
tion with Sidney Webb and a few other
ardent investigators and evangelists.
Shaw became its principal pamphleteer
and spokesman on the soap box, or
"tub." as the British call the street
rostrum. The Fabian idea is that the
world is all wrong but that it cannot
be righted in a moment. They reject
the Marxian theory of value, scout the
orthodox teaching of the "class strug
gle" and look for no revolution. The
betterment of the world must be ac
complished gradually by education and
political action. To educate the world
Shaw showered England with pam
phlets and became, perhaps, the
most industrious mob orator who
ever lived. In his pamphlets he
developed that incisive, impishly chal
lenging controversial style which
makes him a delight and terror. His
thought was original, destructive and
belligerent the last degree. His
soap box oratory was of the same
species. He made his audiences ap
plaud him even when they were angry
at what he said, which was very often.
Naturally, his career took him into
London politics. Once when he was
running for a place on the County
Council he proclaimed everywhere
that he and Voltaire were the only two
truly religious men who ever lived.
This lost him the election, but it set
the town laughing and at the same
time set it thinking. Shaw's plays de
velop the thesis that the panorama
of history is the evolution of the "Life
Force" which works Its will with us
in spite of all we can do. This is
Bergson's philosophy in an Impish
guise and the candid reader will not
forget that Shaw began to write be
fore Bergson did.
THE LOWLY l'OTATO.
Two very large shipments of pota
toes reached the port of New York
early in April, the demand being ur
gent for a supply, not for planting, as
is the case in this vicinity at present,
but for table consumption. Comment
ing upon this fact, the New York
Commercial says: "Of all agricultural
products, potatoes should be the last
to fail us."
Grain-growing has fallen off in the
British Isles, but potato-gTOwing is
constantly on the increase, while in
Germany, where potatoes are not. aa
with us," a staple article of food, they
furnish the chief raw material for
the production of alcohol, hence are
grown extensively and intensively for
distillation. Y'et withal and notwith
standing our vast uncultivated areas
that will grow potatoes for the plant
ing and easy cultivation with the plow,
we send to Europe for enough of thi3
product a vast bulk to carry us be
tween seasons of the old and new
potato.
Potato culture has many advan
tages. First, the crop can be planted,
cultivated and harvested at convenient
times to the farmer between times,
so to speak. Potatoes do not exhaust
the soil, but leave it in good condition
for other crops, hence they are suit
able " for between-row farming in
young orchards. And. finally, any
surplus and all undersized tu
bers can be fed to hogs, and, under
proper supervision, to other stock.
Farmers throughout the country are
being urged by the agricultural press
and at farmers' institutes to grow po
tatoes more freely. With such vast
areas of land suited to potato-growing
and such a multitude of idle men
and boys standing about with the
plaint "no man hath hired us" upon
their lips, it is absurd to be compelled
to import this product for family con
sumption and even, as this Spring, for
seed.
How effective is the Tariff Board as
a means of reuniting the divided ele
ments of the Republican party is seen
in an analysis of the vote In the House
on the wool tariff. AVhen the Repub
lican substitute for the Underwood
bill, based on the Tariff Board's report,
came to vote, it was supported by 11
of the 20 insurgents who voted against
the conference report on the Payne bill
and three more of the 20 were paired
in its favor. Of the remaining six,
three have been succeeded by Repub
licans who voted or paired for the bill
and one was succeeded by a Democrat.
The Tariff Board is thus .vindicated
as the means of healing Republican di
visions on this live issue, besides being
the means of securing rational tariff
revision.
Ir. Shepherd, always a candidate
for Congress, thinks The Oregonian
ought to have given him fifteen days'
notice of its recent criticisms and
characterizations of him as a corpor
ation crumb-eater. The corrupt prac
tices act has some such provision for
the protection of candidates against
anonymous circulars and other sim
ilar campaign devices; and Shepherd
told the recent -grand jury that The
Oregonian ought to be brought within
the purview of the act. All this dis
closes the trifling and petty mind of
Shepherd. Yet The Oregonian will
now comply with his demands by giv
ing him notice that at any suitable
opportunity after fifteen days it will
print his whole record.
The Oregonian is a waninr light in Ore
gon politics. Cresswell chronicle.
So The Oregonian has been hearing
for sixty years. Meanwhile the journal
istic graveyard is filled to repletion
with the dead and gone Cresswell
Chronicles that spent their life bark
ing, snapping and whining- at The
Oregonian.
Announcement that there is a plan
on foot to stampede the Iowa con
vention for Bryan makes the present
Presidential campaign complete. With
Bryan's name out of it there has been
a fondly familiar strain lacking in
the fight.
That Oklahoma judge who tried and
sentenced himself to thirty days' con
finement deserves no commendation.
The average man who would sentence
himself to less than thirty years
could not 'be acting with the fullest
measure of sincerity.
Fate is again playing her favorite
prank of levelling classes. , At Baton
Rouge. La., negroes, felons, rich men
and poor men work side by side with
shovels trying to keep the Mississippi
from destroying them.
If eggs keep on going up, as pre
"dicted, we may have to re-classify
them as precious gems and confine
them to use as ornaments.
Now that he is required to spend
his nights in jail, all that lucky Pasco
editor has to worry about is his meals.
Shepherd should really feel highly
flattered that he w-as mentioned at
all.
Srcaps and Jingles
Leone Casa Baer.
Transformation note Calves may be
turned into thinner hose this month.
a a
The great temperance question
"What'll you have?'
a a a
The most unostentatious way of giv
ing Is lending.
a a
A cure for cold meat Take some one
home for dinner with you every night,
a a a
Woman sues for divorce, saying her
husband sold the homestead and neg
lected to tell her about it. Another
instance of out of site out of mind.
a a a
O now has come the merry May
Of which the poets sing.
TVe slash about In rain and cold
And cuss the backward Spring.
And as I wend my chilly way
From fireside comforts far.
Kerchno. kerchoo. I think that May
Is harbinger of catarrh.
Hankerchiefs are fashionable.
They are worn UDon the beak.
On every side you hear a sneeze.
And sniffling noses leak.
No matter If your feet keep dry.
How much you careful are.
It's writ larre in the book of May
That you must catch catarrh.
a a
Lines on a Fading; Photo.
'Tis faded, old and day by day
I've watched tha aoft lines go.
First your necktie, your lapels.
Then your ears have vanished slow.
The nose I loved In other days.
Your high and fine white brow.
Have left but blurred impressions.
Ah, me, whero are they now?
Your wavy hair, once dark as night.
Now has forever flown.
Your mouth, all curves and strength.
Has but a long streak grown.
Tour lovely eyes, which used to smlla
And tell me half you'd say.
Are now two little, washed out spots.
Your brows mere streaks of gray.
And yet this fading portrait
Goes only to quick prove
That fickle fancy soon destroys
Tha thing wo once called love.
Your eyes, your mouth your wavy hair.
Your ears and thoughtful brow.
Have gone the road my fancy treads.
Ah, me. where are they now?
a a a
Bank directors are natural philan-.
thropists because they have so much at
heart the love of their species.
a a a
Don't the papers make an awful
racquet about that tennis champion
ship? a a a
Definition of an impressionist the
dentist who takes a wax model of your
defunct tooth.
a a a
Couldn't a bronco-buster be a filly
buster also?
a a' a
Modern Mrs. Malaprop says if her
mother lives until the Fourth of July
she will be an octo-geranlum.
Motto for a bull pup with
"Bite is right."
bad cold:
Another bill that got through by
sheer force William the Conqueror,
a a a
Her Birthday Gift.
Dearest, speak, what shall It be.
As "slight token of my passion."
No small gift, no motor car,
In vulrar lover's fashion.
Things like these aren't outward signs
Of burning love as big as mine.
i
I want to send an offering rare.
Some prize that will betoken
My very thoughts tho love 1 hold.
That by tongue cannot be spoken;
With gift like this I seek to pay
Tribute on your natal day.
Rich baubles I reject with scorn.
Furs, silver, horso or splendid Jewels.
Through the shops I search In vain
For bigger proof of love's renewals.
At last, at last, my love of loves
I find a sale and buy you gloves!
Uinta to the Helpless.
Lorene writes to ask what to do with
yesterday's roast. I'd suggest eat it
yesterday.
a a
Rose To keep the bed cool and airy
sleep on the floor.
a a a
Lillian A good way to make folks
feel at home is to visit them in their
own homes.
a
Speaking of "books that lie on every
one's table," how about the Blue Book?
a a a
Sisters, Attention.
Come let us all unite
In this womHn's smfcring fight,
'Tis the vital question of tho nation,
And somehow we should strive
Some arrangement to contrive.
With view to quick amelioration.
Clothes differences sink.
Social lines put on the Mink,
Our fights and bickerings too we nobble.
For while the storm shall roar
And till election s o'er,
It will not help our cause to squabble.
TVe must give up PUBLIC spU.
Though 'mongst ourselves we fight like cats.
It s not ethical In times like these.
But when election's past.
And votes are in at fast.
Then, and not till then, we may quarrel
in peace. , , .
Wouldn't you say it is a pardonable
error on the part of Governor West,
a a a
Read of a book called the "Just-sr
Stories." Seems as if the just-sew
stories would be good ones to read at
the seamstresses' union.
a a a
Measures ' Honor.
Thirty years in public service is equal
to four mentions in the newspaper.
Four mentions in the newspaper
equal one article on the editorial page.
One article on the editorial page
equals key to the smaller cities.
Four keys to smaller cities equal a
dinner by the Commercial, Ad or Press
COne dinner by the aforesaid clubs
equals a speech at the opening of some
thing. ,
J00 speeches at the opening of some
thing equal notices in country papers.
10 notices in country papers equal
forgetfulness of public.
Three months forgetfulness of pub
lic equals utter oblivion.
Slg Sichel has offered a prize for the
best poem on tobacco in any form. 1
suppose the successful contestant will
receive me J w
The Other Side
By Dean Collins.
Oh it is quite a pleasant thing.
'Neath the new system, to blow in
And file the list wherein you show
How little was the cost to win.
Successful candidates may smile
Naming the price they had to shell
For cards and posters, and remark,
"Oh that was a mere bagatelle!"
But bear in mind, 'tis easy when
Election's o'er and all is done.
To grin and file your list of costs
Providing you are one who won.
But think upon the other chap. ,
Who, 'neath the present system, stll.
Must like the winning party, come
And likewise file his campaign bill.
There is a grin that means a lot:
To stand In unsuccessful shoes.
And file your items of expense.
And grin at what it cost to lose.