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PORTLAND, 6CNDAY, SEPT 22, WS.
'. BELLING THE INITIATIVE CAT.
Mr. Kroner, a Democratic candidate
for the State Legislature, proudly
boasts that he belongs to the Immortal
pioneer band that offered the initia
tive and referendum to the people of
Oregon; but he sadly admits that the
thing is being overdone. "I am one
of the heretics who think we have too
much of the initiative and referen
dum," he told tha Jackson Club the
other night. "I am opposed to the
peddling of petitions and the indis
criminate proposing of bills on all
sorts of subjects." These sensible and
patriotic words were not challenged
by anyone except ona timid soul, who
offered the cautious suggestion that
"we would better proceed slowly about
Bny amendment to the initiative."
. Colonel J. Woods Smith, who also
has a Democratic nomination for the
State Legislature, was bold enough to
come right out in meeting with the as
sertion that the initiative ought to be
protected from "Jokers," and he sug
gested a clause obligating each elector
to state that he has read a bill before
he signs a petition for it. It is to be
assumed that Brother Smith has no
notion that his candidacy may be suc
cessful, else he would never have ut
tered a sentiment so treasonable and
wicked. Requiring a voter to know
what is in a bill before he lends his
name to an effort to submit it to the
sovereign people would forever put an
end to the mischievous trade of petition-peddling.
That would newer do.
It could only have been proposed by
an enemy of the Oregon system.
Other devoted followers of the Illus
trious Jackson who, by the way,
never heard of the initiative or the
referendum, and died in happy ignor
ance of the peaceful revolution that
was to take the Nation far away from
practices and principles to which he
devoted his whole political life
thought that of course the initiative
ought to be amended, if at all, "by its
friends." That sounds strangely fa
miliar. 'It was the line of argument
put forth for years by the sponsors
and guardians of the sacred tariff. Mr.
Aldrich, Mr. Cannon and Mr. Payne
agreed that the protective tariff had
a few defects, and an Irregularity or
two, and they responded with alacrity
to the demand of the country for a
change. All they waited, however,
was for the solemn task of rebuilding
tha sacrosanct edifice of the tariff to
be left to its friends viz., Aldrich,
Payne. Cannon, et al. The defiling
hand of no Democratic, or low tariff,
or free trade, vandal should be per
mitted to come within reach of any
tariff plank. The people agreed to
their demands, and all know the rest.
Here now we have the same demand
that no critic of the initiative, no one
tainted with the damning suspicion of
unfriendliness, shall be heard or con
sulted in the great work of recon
struction. But presumably the people
shall view with patience the increas
ing abuses of the initiative until Mr.
U'Ren, Mr. Bourne and the other pro
fessional friends of the system and
self-called prophets of the masses, are
convinced that something ought to be
done. But while the doctors are
agreeing on a do-nothing policy, what
becomes of the patient?
All persons except' the demagogues
who want office and the agitators who
have in view their own political
schemes agree that a limitation must
be placed on the Initiative, else there
will be more and more confusion in
our affairs and less and less order
in public administration. One im
portant candidate for office recently
said that he would be pleased to see
as many as one hundred measures on
the ballot a startling suggestion of
the unlimited possibilities of the un
regulated Initiative. It may be as
sumed that a public which is capable
of acting wisely and carefully on
thirty-eight measures the number
proposed for 1912 need not be dis
mayed at one hundred. But thirty
eight measures cannot be handled
wisely and carefully by all the people.
It is folly to pretend otherwise; it
Is conscienceless demagogy to pander
thus to the supposed prejudices of
the masses. That the average citizen
is Intelligent enough to vote discrimi
natingly. The Oregonlan will be the
last to deny. If he desired to have
thlrtv-eight or one hundred measures
submitted to him. The Oregonlan
would insist that the people, having
the ultimate authority in free govern
ment, have the right to be heard on
all subjects or Issues wherein they
have a direct interest or a specific de
sire to be heard. But the majority of
the thirty-eight bills for 1912, and of
other bills in previous years, were de
liberately imposed on the electorate
through the machinations of selfish
cliques, or of special groups, or of
hired propagandists. Most of the bills
had no proper place on the ballot. The
people had made no demand for the
referenduVn.
- It is the general custom In theory to
look upon the Initiative and referen
dum as among the reserve powers of
the people. So they are. There Is
no general opinion or sentiment that
they should be employed for miscel
laneous legislation, or. in any case,
where no emergency exists or no pop
ular issue is to be decided. We find
in practice that ten constitutional or
legislative proposals are made where
one would suffice. Yet we suffer
without effective or organized protest
the gross perversion of a solemn gov
ernmental function into a convenient
vehicle for the exploitation of legis
lative fads, fancies and follies. The
initiative belongs to the people. It is
not the private property of any per
son, or company, or party.
Mayor Gaynor, of New York, is
numbered among the political might-have-beens.
He has appeared In such
an unlovely light in the police scan
dal growing out of the Rosenthal mur
der that few can realize that only
several short months ago he stood so
high that he dared to angle for the
Democratic nomination for President.
Like another man who is much" in
the public eye, he has lost his tem
per and is alienating his friends by
abusive scolding of his critics. When
a man is subjected to such a daily
fire as is aimed at Gaynor, we dis
cover how very human he is. The
men who hold their place unshaken
In public .esteem are those who can
stand the gaff.
WOMAN'S WAY.
A new Solomon hps arisen in Phila
delphia and his name is Gorman. He
has not found a way to decide between
rival iatment tn a. child, but he has
found a means for a man to keep peace
in his house. In deciding tne case 01
a man who complained that he could
not get along with his wife. Judge Gor
man said:
If you want to be happy, never talk back
to your wife when ahe starts to argue with
you; ahe'll be the boss around the house
and there's no use combating her. It used
to be that the men thought they were the
bosses. It la well they have rid themselves
of that delusion. All this fuss over the
suffragette problem la nonsense. No change
will be brought about by giving women the
vote, because they are already In full con
trol of tha situation. When your wife In
sist on quarreling. Just let her talk. Don t,
under any circumstance, try to answer. Just
let on you don't hear her. or if that's Im
possible, pick up your hat and take a walk
around the block. Husbands might as well
acknowledge that the women are the bosses
and accept the situation as it Is.
In advising the man to "Just let
her talk," the Judge adopted the phil
osophy of Posthumus in Shakes
peare's "Cymbeline," who said:
Yet 'tis greater skill
In a true hate to pray they have their will;
The very devils cannot plague them better.
In other words, if a man refuse to
argue with a woman, she will lose the
desire to argue; if he let her talk and
does not reply, she will lose the zest
for talking; If he let her have her way,
she will wish to let-him have his way,
for her own way loses its attractions
when she is not opposed. It Is para
doxical, but it is woman's way.
SCFFRAGISTS DOUBT ROOSEVELT.
Woman suffragists find In Roose
velt's silence on the cause during the
Ohio campaign on constitutional
amendments in Ohio reason to doubt
the sincerity of his over-late conver
sion to their cause. In an article in
the New York Evening Post, Ida
Husted Harper thus shows how the
suffrage issue in Ohio was neglected
by Roosevelt:
The Progressive party had Its first oppor
tunity to show its loyalty to the woman
suffrage plaak tn Its platform when the
vote was taken last week in Ohio on a
new constitution. Forty-two amendments
irere on the ballot and all were adopted ex
cept the one for woman suffrage 1 Ohio Is
one of the "banner" Progressive states, and
Mr. Roosevelt expecta to secure its electoral
vote. In order to do this, a plurality of
the elector muat be progressives, and
they could therefore have easily carried the
suffrage amendment if all the others had
voted against it, aa the vote on the consti
tution was very light only a few hundred
thousand out of more than a million who
were eligible. Did he Issue any orders to
this effect? Did he say to his followers:
"Now here Is our first chance to show the
women that we mean business: of course,
if we win In November, we will give the
franchise to all in the United States, but
Just now we can make good by giving it to
those In Ohio, so let every Progressive vote
for the woman suffrage amendment"? Did
he do this? On the contrary, he completely
ignored the matter, although he passed
through Ohio the very day of the election.
A fiw daya before, at St. Johnsbury, Vt-.
Mr. Roosevelt had devoted a large part of
his speech to showing bow strongly he be
lieved in the ballot for women and how
anxioua he was for them to get it. The
question was not an issue there or likely
to be, but It was a vital Issue In Ohio, to
be settled in four days, and yet not by
spoken or written word did he show to
the people of Ohio that he knew of Its ex
istence. Women who worked In that cam
paign say that they did not receive a par
ticle of help from the Progressives, and
that Jamea R. Garfield, Roosevelt's chief
lieutenant, was openly against tha amend
ment, and his wife was a member of the
Anti-Suffrage Society which was fighting It.
The record of the Progressive party In Ohio
doe not stop here. Two days after it per
mitted the defeat of thia amendment. Its
state convention met; if any women were
elected delegates, the press dlspatchea failed
to mention it, and In the platform a
published in the Evening Post a woman suf
frage plank was conspicuous by Its ab
sence! "The Progressive party pledges it
self to the task of securing equal suffrage
to meu and women alike," says Its National
platform, and Ohio has Just given the first
example of the way it apparently means to
keep that pledge.
Mrs. Harper analyzes Roosevelt's
entire record on this subject to show
that his advocacy of the suffrage
cause is only a bait to trap the votes
of women in those states which have
already given them suffrage. There
were a million and a half votes at
stake; that was too much to risk los
ing, so he swallowed his scruples and
went after them.
THE BUDGET SYSTEM.
The Democrats cannot easily answet
President Taft's indictment of Con
gress for violating the Constitution by
forbidding the use of the budget sys
tem. Congress has always been ready
to resent as an- invasion of Its prerog
atives any assumption of power by
the President. It now commits the
very offense of which it is so ready
to accuse him.
The constitutional duty of the
President being to execute the law as
made by Congress and to make rec
ommendations as to what new laws
shall be made, it is clearly his duty
to make recommendations as to what
sum shall be appropriated for each
particular purpose. Each department
being under his direction, it is clearly
his duty to co-ordinate the estimates
of necessary expenditures made by
department chiefs, and to make those
estimates balance with probable rev
enue. If he finds that expenditures
are necessary in excess of prospective
revenue it is his duty to recommend
raising of revenue from new sources.
As the Chief Executive, he is the head
of all executive departments and Is
the only official in a position to make
that general survey of the operations
of the Government which is requisite
to forming a Judgment on revenue and
expenditures. Being empowered to
recommend legislation and to approve
or veto bills, he is the head of the
legislative as well as the executive
department. He Is the connecting
link between the two departments, a
link essential to the harmonious work
ing of the Governmental machine.
The preparation of a budget is clearly
within the powers conferred by the
Constitution and is a power which
Congress cannot take away. The
President can include a budget In his
annual message to Congress without
any additional legislation. Only the
narrowest jealousy and partisanship
can deny him this power.
Only men blinded by these ignoble
sentiments will deny that the budget
svstem is in the public Interest. To
the lack of it is largely due the ex
travagance which increased the Na
tional expenses by alarming strides
until Taft became President. The
practice of allowing the head of each
department to submit his estimates
directly to Congress, using the Secre
tary of the Treasury as a mere mes
senger, shows total lack of system
and is a fruitful source of waste. Each
department chief should submit his
estimates of expenses to the Cabinet,
which should revise and harmonize
them. Having compared the total
with the prospective revenue, the
President should recommend addi
tional taxation if a deficit is shown,
remission of taxes if a considerable
surplus Is probable. Congress would
remain free to increase or decrease
appropriations for each particular
purpose, but it would have fair warn
ing that it could not add .35,000,000
to pensions without equally reducing
expenditures for other purposes, and
that it could not reduce revenue sev
eral millions by slashing the tariff
without either cutting expenses or
imposing other taxes.
Such a system would compel a
showdown between the President and
Congress. ' It would place where it
belongs the credit or blame for In
creased expenses or deficient reve
nue, or for taxation materially ex
ceeding Government needs. Such a
showdown is precisely what the Dem
acrats desire to avoid, for their con
trol of the Government has coincided
with increased expenses and deficits.
They are economists before, spenders
after, election.
A SECOND EDITION OF DREYFUS.
A trial begins this month in the
French courts which bids fair to out
shine the Dreyfus affair in the sinister
light it sheds upon the secrets of the
army. It began three years ago with
a sentence imposed upon one Aernoult
for indiscipline. He was ordered to
march under the blazing Algerian
sun with his full kit on his back.
This is a common punishment in
that region and is In itself full of sig
nificance as to the effects of mili
tarism and its practitioners. Naturally,
&mnnH fainted and In nrder to rouse
him the officers inflicted barbarities
which injured him ror lire. ne af
fair was kept quiet for a time. Perhaps
nothing would ever have been revealed
but for a soldier named Rousset, who
ventured to protest against the out
rage and who was imprisoned for his
audacity.
So much finally leaked out tnrougn
a wTtir9Ti'i nnrletv in which were
some of Rousset's friends. The society
published a statement or tne case aim
was prosecuted for it by army officers,
but the French courts dismissed the
suit- Public clamor then compelled
the military authorities to make an
lnBEtiinHnn Tf niiOAet'o. StOrV Was
confirmed. He was released from
prison, while the officers who torturea
Aernoult were put upon their defense.
But, wonder of wonders, a little before
their trial day, Rousset, the main
witness against them, was accused of
j tfioH hv murt martial and
sentenced to prison for twenty years.
Thus the system wprus. bui oy um
oil Fram-o wat buzzine with the
story. The civil courts Intervened.
Rousset was ordered berore tne juages
ami y.a nun armed with confessions
of perjury at the court martial. The
scandal is now to be sutea to me last
grain. Friends of the French army
hnna Ita nfflfers will COITIP OUt a little
less bedraggled than ' they did from
the Dreyfus aftair, dui it must ub con
fessed that the prospects are not
promising.
THE HARROWING HIRED GIRL.
The ' Outlook brings to a brilliant
climax a series of articles which it
bu hoen nnblishine on "The Problems
of the Home" by presenting in the
number for septemDer i a conctuuu
of letters from readers which furnish
Interesting comment on what has pre
ceded. The home problem which ap
nooro tn stir ii n most disturbance of
soul among the Outlook's feminine
Mmniuiiiiti! is that of the "hired
.girl." She exists fitfully in every
household and seldom laus to Decomc
an emotional storm center. Her sins
are various and black, while her
wrongs are unspeakable. When the
mistress speaks tne maia is emu
iniquity. ' When the maid speaks the
mistress is held up as a heartless
tyrant. One woman whose letter the
Outlook prints depicts the hired. girl
as a giddy, conscienceless; creature
oiiirhta in Merry Widow hats and
spends "far more for clothes than the
mistress whose money sne buwm.
Observe that the verb is "takes," not
"earns." In the eyes of many a mis
tress the hired girl Is the constant
recipient of favors for which she
makes no return and her pay is pure
charity.
This justly indignant woman, pro
ceeding with her plaint, tells the Out
look's readers that her hired girls do
not look upon her house as their
home. -Their insidious purpose is to
do as little work as they can for the
biggest obtainable wages. They will
not pay for the dishes they break and
when the milk sours through their
carelessness, with cynical unscrupul
ousness they lay the blame on the
white-robed milkman. This woman
believes that the solution of the vexed
hired girl problem lies In the simple
expedient of convincing the creatures
that their interest is wholly identical
with that of the mistress, that her
house is their home, and that her will
is the all-sufficient guide for the con
duct of their lives. We fear that this
task it sounds easy enough will be
found beset with difficulties. Charm
ing as the thought may be that the
house where she tolls Is the hired
girl's home, it does not work out with
much felicity in practice. She is
obliged to receive her company in the
kitchen under the eagle-eyed surveil
lance of a mistress apprehensive lest
the contents of the Ice box should be
depleted during the visit- Her male
friends are stigmatized as "followers.
If one of them becomes noticeably at
tentive he Is driven off if possible,
since the hired girl's marriage is a
domestic calamity which is to be
prevented by every device, lawful and
unlawful.
How much of a home for the hired
girl the house where she works can
be Is exemplified by this particular
better perhaps than by any other.
The daughters of the household are
encouraged to receive male friends be
cause their marriage Is desirable. The
hired girl's admirers are harried and
frozen "because her marriage is not
desirable. In spite of the mistress'
honied protestations she is an alien In
the family. She would not be toler
ated if life could go on without her
and she is valued only as a machine
for doing tasks too disagreeable for
nr her daughters to un
til o
dertake.' Her marriage deprives the
family of a useiui implement ouu
therefore it is discouraged. The mis
tress whom we are quoting- laments
that hired girls so often take to vicious
ways but, frankly, what other ways
are there for them to take In many
cases Another woman complains
because the brightest hired girls
sooner or later forsake the domestic
hearth, where they are .so carefully
cherished and watched over, and be
take themselves to laundries, depart
ment stores and so forth, where there
is nobody to look after their morals.
In her opinion when a girl leaves do
miicHi ari7rA for Indenendent work
she exposes herself to terrible temp
tations. This roads oddly in tne ngnt
of well-known facts. It is perfectly
understood by social students mat oy
far the largest contingent of fallen
wnmen come nroDortlonally from do
mestic service. With all the loving
attention which the average mistress
gives to her servants' morals there
seems to be something about house
work which leads them astray.
The truth of the matter is that the
ordinary hired girl lives under a sense
of constant wrong. She feels op
pressed, slighted and humiliated, it
Is her lot to perform tasks which the
rl the mistress sel-
Hnm hesitates to exhibit her scorn,
especially before company. Men wno
perform menial tasks, usually work in
gangs, who sustain one another's self
respect, while the boss wears clothes
much like his hands. But the hired
girl drudges alone and her sense of
social degradation is never lightened
by the kindly chatter of comrades.
She is the Inferior of everybody about
ho en her Inferiority is rubbed in
by a thousand hourly slights. She
must wait at table upon otner women,
often no more intelligent than her
self, who wear beautiful clothes and
gaily converse. But she is condemned
to wear a livery of servitude and If
she speaks or smiles she has com
mitted a domestic crime. On the
other hand the mistress knows only
too well that the hired girl lives In
rebellion more or less cautiously sup
pressed, and she on her part feels
continually wronged. No doubt her
feeling is Justified. It must be con
fessed that the relation between mis
tress and maid in the middle class
household Is anomalous. It grows
more nearly Impossible with every
year that passes.
As industry welcomes women more
warmly the household will find it in
creasingly difficult to obtain servants.
The problem of domestic work Is one
which cannot be solved by recrimina
tion. The facts are as they are and
women must recognize them. It is
useless to kick against the pricks.
The obvious solution lies In the direc
tion of co-operative housekeeping,
wh-ii vma elreadv made amazing ad
vances. The popularity of city flats
testifies to the willingness or people
to escape the harrowing misery of
dealing with hired girls. Flat dwel
lers are really co-operators in a hun
dred essential particulars, though
many of them have never thought of
their situation in that light.
A NEGLECTED ISSUE.
A feature of the present campaign
which the Nation may have cause to
regret bitterly is the neglect of the
.,.rrn and nankin? reform issue.
The American people shun such sub
jects as dry and uninteresting until
soma financial disaster like the panics
of 1893 and-1907 force attention to
them.
The catastrophe of 1893 and the
Imminent danger that adoption of
free silver would prolong indefinitely
the grinding depression which fol
lowed were necessary to force the peo
ple to study the first principles of our
monetary system and to decide final
ly on the gold standard. The panic
of 1907 has not sufficed to compel
us to take to heart Its obvious lessons,
for the only remedy provided for the
evils which caused it has been such
a miserable makeshift as the Aldrich
Vreeland act. True, the National
Monetary Commission and its National
reserve bill are fruits of that panic,
but the lesson has already been so far
forgotten that It is impossible to
fasten the people's attention on the
valuable remedy provided.
So little study has been given the
subject, even by men who assume to
be leaders of public opinion, that the
Democratic platform Ignorantly calls
the National Reserve Association a
central bank. Wilson confesses' that
he does not understand it well enough
to be dogmatic about it, the Roosevelt
platform returns to the discredited
panacea of fiat currency and the Re
publican platform, scared by the
prejudice against the hated name of
Aldrich, talks around the subject in
vague, indefinite terms. Apparently
nothing except another panic will
bring home to the minds of the peo
ple the necessity of understanding the
subject of currency and banking and
of settling the question on such sound
scientific principles as have removed
it from the realm of political contro
versy in Europe.
President Taft is awake to the ne
cessity of definitely settling all those
questions of government which affect
business, and he has recognized this
as one of the most important by his
commendation of the Monetary Com
mission's bill, but the people refuse
to hearken to him. -In one of his
speeches he named four subjects of
legislation which intimately affect
business railroads, tariff, trusts and
currency. The railroad question is
near settlement, existing laws needing
only some supplementary acts to carry
out their full purpose. We are so
busy now with the tariff and the
trusts that we have no time for the
currency. We shall be fortunate If
before the next Administration has
disposed of the two former questions
a financial cataclysm does not force
us to take up the last in earnest.
WILSON INDICTS ROOSEVELT.
Woodrow Wilson's statement of the
real source of the difficulties which
drove Dr. Wiley out of office is emi
nently fair and true to fact. The board
of review, or the Remsen board, as it
is commonly called, was a thorn In
Wiley's side and on many occasions
when he endeavored to stop some fla
grant violation of the pure-food law,
it blocked him with a purely technical
decision. t
The benzoate of soda decision, to
which Wilson referred, is a food il
lustration. . Benzoate of soda itself is
harmless; Wiley did not deny this.
But it is used to conceal spoiled con
dition of fruit and vegetables in can
ning and to arrest the process of de
cay. Its presence, therefore, la prima
facie evidence that the stuff with
which it Is mixed is unfit for food.
For this reason Wiley condemned it,
but the Remsen board reversed him
because the chemical Itself is harm
less, and thereby defeated the very
purpose and spirit of the law.
The Remsen board was created by
Roosevelt, who Is therefore mainly
responsible for the fact that the pure
food law has become in many respects
- AaaA letter. Wphen Wilev be?an to
enforce the law unflinchingly in the
Interest OI tne consumer a. huwi went
up from the interests which were hurt
the most contemptible of those
predatory interests which Roosevelt
denounced in lurid language, for they
prey upon the people by selling poi
son disguised as food. In. response to
their pleadings, Roosevelt created the
Remsen board of experts to review
Wiley's decisions. Like all experts
and like technical lawyers, this board
took a narrow view of the questions
submitted to- it and appears to have
correctly read the purpose of its ex
istence to curb the zeal of Wiley. It
thwarted him so effectually and was
so ably aided by McCabe and Dunlap
that Wiley resigned in disgust, unwill
ing to be identified with the enforce
mont of a law which had become a
sham.
Roosevelt's coufse in this instance
is typical of his course In many other
instances. He has a craze for com
missions of experts to decide every
possible question, from pure food to
country life. Experts are very useful
to furnish technical information for
use by a broad-minded, level-headed
man in forming a decision, but they
are unfitted by their very training to
form the decision themselves. Witn
all his loud defiance of the Interests,
too, Roosevelt almost invariably
yielded to pressure. He yielded to
pressure from the steel trust and the
harvester trust. La Follette has shown
how he weakened In the coal land
controversy. To him Is due the prac
tical nullification of the pure food law,
and Wilson's speech Is in fact an In
dictment of him for allowing the
manufacturers of poison in the guise
of food to block Wiley's splendid
work.
WHAT STIMSON MAX EXPECT.
If Henry L. Stimson should be nomi
nated by the Republicans for Governor
of New York, Roosevelt would be more
embarrassed than ever by his record
that is, if anything could embarrass
him in his versatility. When the
Colonel went into the fight to down
the bosses In 1910 he chose Stimson as
his standard-bearer. Were Stimson
again to be a candidate, the Colonel
would be confronted by all the encomi
ums he heaped upon the present Sec
retary of War in that year.
But the Colonel is-equal to the oc
casion. Almost every man of emi
nence whom he now denounces was a
few years ago the subject of his eulo
gies. Taft, Root, Knox, Cannon and
many others have basked In the fleet
ing sunshine of his praise, but now,
rest under the dark cloud of his dis
pleasure. Refusing to accept him as
their boss, they are all "tools of .the
bosses." Men of integrity and unques
tioned patriotism when they followed
him. they are now "corrupt crooks"
since they reject his leadership. If
Stimson. should run for Governor
against Straus, he may expect also to
be cast into outer darkness.
It simply depends on whether ona Is
for or against the Colonel what kind
of adjectives are flung at him. Stim
son knows what to expect, and his
course will not be affected by the re
traction of all the Colonel's words of
praise and the volley of opprobrious
epithets which will be substituted.
MILESTONES.
London has been greatly enter
tained for a few months by a new
play called "Milestones," which pre
sents many unusual features. The
authors are Arnold Bennett, whose
novels everybody reads and likes, and
Edward Knoblaugh, an American, who
has already written two successful
plays. "Milestones" lives up to its
name. It begins In 1860 with a set of
character.? who are in the bloom of
youth and ambition, arranges their
love affairs and exhibits the business
complications which disturb them.
Then it deserts the group for twenty
five years, until their children are
grown and new love affairs have de
veloped, together with new business
relations. These are settled accord
ing to the more modern lights of 1885,
and again the characters are dropped
for almost a generation, twenty-seven
years this time. The history of their
fortunes is then resumed. The love
affairs and business entanglements
which have developed among the
grandchildren of tha original charac
ters are treated according to the
canons of 1912. Beginning fifty-two
years ago "Milestones" ends in our
It sets out with the furni
ture, clothing, manners and ideals of
the mid-Victorian period ana closes
with those of the current moment.
Of .course it is really three plays.
It has three sets of heroes and hero
ines, and three plots, but for all that
the survival of the original characters
throughout imparts a satisfactory
unity and keeps up the interest. In
spite of Its novel form and compli
cated action it is said that "Mile-
n . KamiI the T.nndnn ail-
stuuea ucfui " -"
diences for k moment." Its success
strengthens the suspicion that many
of the accepted rules for the compo
sition of stage plays are superfluous.
Recent examples show ,that all . of
them may be violated without much
danger of failure if only the play con
tains some element that holds the In
terest of the public. What tnat ele
ment shall be depends on circum
stances. It need not be a love tale.
It need not be the uninterrupted story'
nt onv individual's fortunes. It may
h a nrnhlem in heredity or a quarrel
between man and wife, or - a mere
philosophical speculation. Anything
which fixes the attention or me au
dience will do. It must be conceded
that Arnold Bennett and his collabor
tnf havn achieved a difficult feat im
constructing a play which covers three
generations, but it nas oeen none ue
fore with success as complete as theirs
Shakespeare's series of "Histories'
onrtonfls throueh more than three gen.
erations. It takes up the English
Kings one after another, brings upon
the stage the rebels, usurpers. Intrigu
ing nrist nnd military women who
made the history of the age before
Elizabeth and does not let tne story
,,ntii it linn been nursued to
a grand catastrophe in Richmond's
victory at Bosworth which ended the
struggle between the nouses ot Lan
caster and York. Shakespeare carries
his characters from one play to an
other much as Bennett and Knoblaugh
do from act to act. For example,
Henry V first appears as a gay young
companion roistering with Falstaff,
and it is only as a mature and care
worn monarch that he leaves us. The
anthnra of "Milestones" may have had
Henry V in mind as they developed
the character of John Rhead, which
is the strongest in the play. He enters
originally as an energetic young man
filled with new ideas ana oeiermmm
to have his own way in the world,
arhat It m tLV. His bUSUleSS IS
shipbuilding in partnership with the
Slbleys, father and son. The elder
Sibley Is as conservative as possioie,
and his son Samuel is his image. John
is in love with Samuel's sister, Rose,
and Samuel with John's sister, Ger
tn,Ho n that there is nlenty of room
for plot and counterplot, though it
must be said that tne interest oi me
play Is mainly intellectual. It depends
nn character than on" events.
John Rhead is taken with a project
of building Iron snips, uan nas al
ways been used and the Slbleys are
determined that It shall be used for
' ever. They will not hear of substitut
ing iron. So there Is a break in the
partnership and John goes into an
other firm where more progressive
s9v nrova.ll. Gertrude refuses to
marry Samuel and becomes a thin old
mnM hut PnsA itinrriM John in SDlteL
of parental opposition. This ends the
first chapter of the play.
In the second, twenty-five years
inter .Tnhn Rhead. who set out as a
radical, has become conservative. His
Ideas are the same as they were a
quarter of a century before, but
thmiffii thov were far ahead of the
times then, 1 they are as far behind
now. Like Bernard Shaw's progres
sive in "Man and Superman," he
thinks he has . been walking at the
head of the procession, wnue in iruin
he has been falling farther and iar
hehinri everv vear. In his youth
he stood for Iron ships against oak,
but when his daughter's lover aavo
cates steel he refuses to listen to him.
. inrni tha vounsr engineer as a
visionary, forbids his Emily to marry
him and gives her hand to a iora.
She, poor obedient thing, protests a
little, but makes no effectual resist
ance. Gertrude, the old maid, satis
fies her maternal instincts in a sna
dowy way by mothering Emily, while
Rose has become a typical British
wife, who merely echoes her husband
In everything. The curtain now drops
again, this time for twenty-seven
years. When it rises tor me im
chapter John, Rose and Gertrude are
well on In the withered seventies.
Emily has a daughter of her own,
. r 1 i- M litra with Sgmllpl'S
lVXUriCl, WHO IS 111 1"'0 ...... - -
son. Richard and this match Is for
bidden by the elders, as were tne otner
two. But with the change In clothes
onrt furniture and shiDbuilding has
come a change in the character of
vmintr p-irls. Muriel is not so submis
sive as her mother Emily was. She
boldly declares that her marriage is
a matter which she Intends to dispose
of in her own way and in ' fact she
finally does so.
The obvious lesson of "Milestones
is that advancing Time leaves all of
no MTnrwri hv the roadside. The pro
gressives of this generation are the
conservatives of tne next one. iuo
onset of the tide of youth inevitabb'
takes possession of the world what
ever their elders may say or do, but
the elders never have ceased to cling
to their power to the last gasp, and
never will.
Anti-Tammany Democrats In New
Vrtrtr atA f-VmrvHTiir over "Wilson's
snub to Murphy and Dix, by causing
him to sit at table with them and by
shutting him in a room alone with
Dlx, at Syracuse, when those wonnies
Enlist ti ppantn the anoear&llce that
he countenanced them. His speech
nn thnt nrrjisinn is taken as hitting
straight at Mumhv. for he saia
III tell luu 'i a'"'Ji ' '
United States are tired of politics. They
. . . . . . ,...irT. ih nMn nr x.am
are sick oi pyi ii '""' "
the bottom of their naturia for a release
. a . . tv ,t whlrh makes
I nj il o vi j iuii.fi l . . ! - .-
the public service look like public duty.
ana legislation iook nun iw ...
the public neea into tne puuuv ;i-
The New York Evening Post ex
presses the hope that, if Murphy
should compass LUX s renoraiiiauuu,
wttenn "nHii he nnahle to restrain his
natural impulse to disavow the whole
state ticket." If that event snouia
come to pass there would be the
prettiest mixup ever seen in the, Em
pire State. Wilson's war on Jim
Smith would be nothing to compare
with it
Tka vnnvAvnent tn check the hlffh
Act r iivino. and tn turn the tide of
population back from the cities to the
farms, has gained sucn strengm mat
in 1911-12 over $562,000 was appro
priated by 35 States for agricultural
extension schools. Georgia is spend
ing $45,500 a year and has already
reached nearly 100.000 people through
farmers' meetings and boys' and girls"
corn clubs. The soil of every section
r the state ia neintr cnetmicaity
treated, and a new strain of cotton
seed, called sunbeam, has been sown
nn e-rnerlmental tracts in many coun
ties. It is proof against the disease
called anthracnosev nas a neavier dmi
and lnna-er stnnle than old standard
varieties. The fact is becoming gen
erally recognized, ana is Deing acieu
,.nnn that increased Droduction.
u..,!v. mi ltlva tine- the soil to its
maximum capacity, Is the solution of
two problems high prices ana agri
cultural prosperity
If a battle has actually been fought
between American marines and Nica-rao-nan
rehels. we may not be able to
avoid pacifying the country with the
only effective pacuier wnicn tne tropi
cal races respect namely, lead. There
would .follow an arrangement for
American control similar to that we
have made with Cuba. That would be
In line with American policy, for it
would block any effort of another na
tion to dig the Nicaragua canal and
would ensure that, if suCi a waterway
were ever constructed, it would be
under American auspices. As there
have been definite rumors of a Ger
man scheme to dig a Nicaragua-canal,
the revolution has come opportunely
to enable us to biocK it-
One gathers from the Eastern news
that there has been an almost miracu.
lmm enlargement of woman a feet in
that region of late years. It Is so stu
n.HjM,a that the nresldent of the
Mothers' Congress proudly proclaims
the feet of New xora ana wasmngiun
women to be the largest In the world.
Naturally, big feet require big shoes,
and the manufacturers of footwear
have been obliged to alter their pat
terns and machinery at an expense of
$300,000. This Is what comes from
othietira and other modern fads. If
woman had confined herself strictly
to her sphere, business would not have
suffered this disaster.
If all reports are true about the
Kaiser's domination over his wife, that
lady will be called to account severely
for promising to secure the girls of
Alsace-Lorraine the privilege of study.
ing French. One of the strongest
points of German policy Is to stamp
out in annexed provinces everything
French and every memory that they
ever were French. The Empress may
be told to make no more reckless
promises.
A cartoon In The Oregonlan says, "Can
ada Hangs Murderers." That la true, and in
consequence Canada la a law-abiding coun
try. The United States does not hang mur
derers only on rare occasions, and the
United States Is the most criminal country
in the world. Grants Pass Observer.
If every man who contemplated
murder felt, or knew, that by his act
he would forfeit his life to society,
who can doubt that there would be
as few' murders In the United States
as in law-abiding Canada?
It Is not surprising that the man
who had the nerve to marry Mrs.
Yerkes should jest as his appendix Is
being removed.
The Rogue River pear may dispute
with the Hood River apple for the
honors in. New York,
Scraps and Jingles
Leone Cass Baer.
The battle cry of the antl-vlvlsec-
tionists should be "Justice has not gone
to the dogs."
A woman's toast Man, mirrors and
modistes.
a .iini .f a vedilina- savs the bride
carried a bouquet of "orchards." Which
beats the horticultural record held by
the girl who had "a garden in her face."
VTaan-llnlahlv T read. "Man kill a
million wasps." Reading further I see
he's all swelled up about it.
see
I.lttle Housekeeper Writes to ask
what is the nicest kind of book mark
ers. Children, is the answer.
Note: Fashion's last decree Is that
rat fur is to ba used in trlmmlna.
Go little rat-
Speed from my lady warily
For Fashion's chat
Says thy skin lor decking Da
And her vanity la death for thee.
She does not think.
an wno s to faanion tioa.
Of you, behind the kitchen sink
She loves you only aklnned and dyei.
For at the eight .
Of alazed eyea and stuxenea iim
Her eyes shine bright
Thy lurry coat Will niceiy turn.
Tha faclni of my lady'a brim.
So" sklddoo. rat, for she
Who takes her pick of all things rara
Will include thee.
And your rodent life she will not spare,
For Same Fashion says you are a bear I
Read that the man who wrote "How
to Save Money" is going to have
benefit tendered him,
Man in Indiana who prided hlmaelt
on his title of "The Greatest Whisky
Drinker on Earth" has been forced to
omit the last two words of his designa
tion. And he was a comparatively young
man, too.
m a
Truly It Is gratifying to note that the
world improves. In an account of the
"Passion Play" at Oberammergau a
little deferred account the accountiat
records that "Adam and Eve are re
spectably married."
a e
Isn't It about time for our Ministry
of Public Amusements to reopen tha
Thaw case?
e
Local man is compiling a book on
crime and criminals. Reckon we'll each
buy a copy to see if we are in it,
Review says actress made a hit sing
ing "All Night Long." Personally I
wouldn't want to hear even my idol.
Rose Bloch Bauer, do that.
At Dallas, Oregon, the Bull Moosa
leaders, by an ironical twist of fate,
have opened headquarters in the Wilson
building.
a a
The very latest resignation that of
the public to having Its morals cleaned.
Haven't read anything about Dorothy
Arnold for the 1-o-n-g-e-s-t time.
a
Miss Calamity Step-and-fetchlt, the
clever and cultured lady poet of the
Willamette Valley, formerly of Kansas,
has, sent In a joyous outbreak called
"To a Wild Oyater."
It was Inspired, she says, by the ex
press agent in her village. Unable to
find oysters under the classified lists,
he entered a consignment of them under
wild animals. Calamity sings thusly
Deal mollusc of the briny deep
Hating vulgar speed.
So quietly your daya are spent
Are you wild indeed?
Are you passionate and proud?
Do you cry out In despair?
Or whine, dear" bivalve, when cold acorn
You ara forced to bear?
Do pale gray emotions wend
Your soul to wondrous heights?
Would you, like I, be a poet.
And take to litter-airy flights?
Oh, dear oyster, would that you
Might your naked soul reveal
And in a palpitating stew
Tell exactly what vou feel.
But maybe In a coming age
Jack Londons shall rehearse
Stories of your wild, fierce rage
And the oysters' curse.
Aloysius Enters College
By Dean Collins.
Aloysius, fledgling from the High
School's hall
Hath answered Higher Education's call. '
Last week, matriculated, he began
Careering aa a full-fledged college man.
Today alraady he is scheming how
He can save up and buy a bull-dog
now
A brute with jaw protruding, a creation
"Sine qua non" to college education.
Not the Aloysius of yester year
He seemed, when I beheld him in his
year
Such as is worn by the brave youth
who talks
With Mentor, and pursues high Learn
ing's walks.
"What dost thou study 'Loysiua?" said I.
"Oh, economics," was his prompt re
ply "But say, you would die laughing Just
to see
The stunts they pulled when they were
hazing me.
"Crawling upon my fingers and my toea
I rolled a sprightly peanut with my
nose
I said, "Tea. yes, Aloysius! But I yearn
To know what else you do Intend to
learn."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to take," said
he,
"Some rhetoric and maybe history
And, by the way, if things go as I
dream,
I have a chance to make the football
team.
i.
" 'Tls a grand bunch, the football bunch.
One night
Down at the gym tbey staged a small
dog-fight,
I'm strong for them. I'm hoping may
be that.
When I get on, they"ll bid me for some
frat.
There's the We Tappa Keg, and BIta
Pie.
A going bunch and say they go some
high."
"But pray Aloysius,'' said I, "tell me
more
"Of the deep texts that you will ponder
o'er."
Aloyslas looked at me and winked an
eye
"1 won't know certain, until bye and
bye-
I have a friend who's doping out a line
Of studies that he thinks will do for
mine;
Nothing too heavy, for of course yog
- tee
'Twould put an awful social crimp in
me.
If I get down too deep into the grind.
And let my college duties lag behind."
Portland, .September 21.
Education for Fntnre Hooaewivea.
Indianapolis News.
The Board of Education In Denver,
Colo., has established a course to fit
girls above the age of 12 for mother
hood and the duties of the housewife.
The course includes cooking, sawing,
laundry work, general house manage
ment and the care of children.
3