THE SXJXDAT OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JANUARY 19, 1913.
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PORTLAND, SCXDAT, JANUARY 19, 1913.
MINSEV8 HER&KR SCHEME.
Frank A. Munsey, as a practical pol
itician, proposes that since the Repub
licans and Progressives combined were
shown by the election to outnumber
the Democrats, they should unite their
forces and take control of the Govern
ment under a new name. Theodore
Roosevelt, as another practical poli
tician, says: "We have beaten the Re
publicans, after they had cheated us
out of the nomination, .now ir anv
of them believe In our principles, let
them Join our party. As for us, we
will have no dealings with the men
who swindled us."
The Colonel's reply does not truly
present the editor's scheme, which is
summed up in these words:
vnrm a new nartv a holding party.
take over the Republican and Progressive
parties, a a holding company in tne ousi
ness world takes over and amalgamates
competing concerns. The Republican and
Progressive parties. politically speaking,
are emphatically competing concerns and In
competition with the big Democratic party
they are powerless.
Let the voters of each party In the sev
eral states call a conference, a state-wide
conference, to discuss the plan and appoint
delegates to a National conrerence. jaci
party would hold its own conference mad
im nf i Lit own men.
The National conference, on the other
hand, would consist of an equal number of
delegates from the two parties.
The work of the National conference
would be to get together on principles and
policies and to select a name for the new
holding party. It would not only embrace
the problem of harmonising, but would
have to work out policies and principles that
would be representative of the best thought
of the day.
A thorough study by the conference of the
problems of government, both state and
National, would be a businesslike way of
arriving at a sound basis for amalgama
tion and for nxlng upon the policies and
principles of the new party.
The New York Mall compares the
Munspv arheme with a veil of "Come
back" from the troops to the color
. bearer who has planted the standard
on high ground right in front of the
foe. It makes the color-bearer reply:
These colors never go back. Bring
tip the men in the rear!" It recalls
the 4,000,000 votes which the Progres
sive party polled and says that party's
work has only begun. The Mall takes
the force out of Roosevelt's allusion
to Barnes, Penrose and the "theft" of
the nomination by saying: .
His proposal for a union of voters carries
no plea for recognition of the old Republican
machine and Its discredited bosses. On the
contrary, he distinctly declares against such
recognition. Insisting that they must go out
of business
But the Mail predicts that, the Re
" publican machine being in the scrap
heap. Its voters will spurn It and join
the Progressives.
Munsey Is warned by the Indianapo
lis News that "it is never safe to out
line a policy for his party without first
consulting- Its anointed chief." .The
News sees an edging together of mem
bers of the Republican and Progres
sive parties, but says:
With the leader oppfklng all schemes
looking toward a rapprochement there Is not
likely to be a coming together. The Progres.
etve party Is distinctly a one-man orgnniza
. tlon and what the "one man" says "goes."
The Brooklyn Eagle thinks recon
ciliation impossible for these reasons:
The Republicans and Progressives do not
merely dislike each other. They are ready
lor such bitter business as the day would
quake to look upon.
Nor Is this all. The Republicans have
anme respect for the Constitution and the
courts: the Progressives none. And about
other matters they differ not less rabidly.
As an amendment to Munsey's
scheme the Kagle offers this sugges
tion: As each side wants nothing more than to
beat the other to a fraxzle. Mr. Uunsey
mlght hire a hail for a few of the belliger
ents. He would get his money's worth.
The Eagle heaps ridicule on Roose
velt's revived rage over the Chicago
"fraud" and suggests that, if the Re
publicans accepted his invitation to
Join the Progressive party, the "bare
faced swindlers" might carry the Pro
gressive primaries, "not honestly, of
course, but by the customary tricks
and devices"; that "the thieves who
stole one convention might steal a
party" and that, therefore, "there is
safety only in isolation."
Roosevelt's new declaration of tsar
on the Republican party Is taken by
the Chicago Inter-Ocean as an admis
sion that it Is very much alive. It sug
gests to him that "it has been the
habit of American political leaders to
regard the slate of controversy as
wiped clean by the loss of the prize
over which It arose, and to look to the
future rather than to the past."
- Munsey's advocacy of abolishing
sectional lines in politics meets with
the Inter-Ocean's approval.
The question raised by Munsey is
pronounced by the New Tork World
to be the least urgent, the World say
ing that "neither wing of Republican
ism will be in a position to command
anybody for two and probably four
years to come." It continues:
What may happen In that time no one
ran tell. A great deal will depend upon
how the Democrats, now In power In most
of the states, and soon to be In control at
Washington. Improve their opportunity.
The men who disrupted the Republican
party made a good Job of it. Are they al
ready penitent?
Referring to Roosevelt's reply, the
World says:
It was certain that no holding company
could control the Roosevelt vocabulary. Ilr.
Munsey will kindly consider himself evicted
from Armageddon -for conduct unbecoming
aa "angeL"
Munsey will be regarded by Roose- ,
vert as' a backslider, in the opinion of
the Springfield Republican, which sug.
gests that he may be read out of the
Progressive party. It says his merger
scheme "has served to disclose the ex
istence of a body of sentiment In the
Progressive party favorable - to the
Idea." and continues:
Several progressive gentlemen like Mr.
Prendergaat and "Tim" Woodruff, of New
York, heartily Indorse It. Others approve
It more warily. It might be added that. In
New Jers, Progressives and Republican
arranged for a get-together conference some
time affo.
Roosevelt's rejection of Munsey's i
scheme Is approved by the Chicago
Evening Post, which comments:
There la plenty of room In the Progressive
party for all Republicans who want to work
for principles. There la no room In the Re
publican party for the Progressives. It ia
futile to talk of artificial mergers and the
reconciliation of irreconcilable forces. The
"Progressive party represents certain Ideaa of
govern meat which are plainly set forth in
the party's declaration of faith. The door
le otgen to every man and woman In the
NarWm who cares to enter Into the faltn.
. EVidently it Is the opinion of news
papers reflecting both Republican and
Progressive sentiment that Munsey's
scheme betrays a decided wavering
in the Progressive ranks. Republicans
smile and jeer at the Colonel s reply,
while Progressives cry: "Close the
ranks" and "Let therh come to us." But
are the Republicans going to the Pro
gressives, or are the Progressives' re
turning to the Republican party?
CLEARING I P SOME ERRORS.
The Oregonlan has a letter from a
valued correspondent, discussing the
auditorium and its site. It prints the
communication here, for it deems the
question .of acute public interest, and
it thinks the opportunity ought to be
taken to clear up several misappre
hensions. .
Regarding the Auditorium: It la not the
purpose of this letter to recommend any alts,
nor to enter Into any controversy, but
rather to ask The Oregonlan to answer a
few questions, questions concerning all cit
izens and taxpayers.
Does the Oregonlan, the Portland plans
committee or the Auditorium committee ad
vocate or recommend the market block for
any other reaaon than that It ia the only
available location (If either doea recommend
said location)?
Is It not true that with streetcars run
ning on two sides, the market block would
be so noisy that It would be Impossible tor
the majority of large audiences to hear a
speaker? This question J am led to ask
because last Wednesday I waa unable to
hear speakers where one line of cars passed
the hall, notwithstanding the crowd num
bered less than 300.
If noise would kill the efficiency of the
Auditorium, and If voters were advised of
this fact, la it not the opinion of The Ore
gonlan that they would readily vote $200.
000 for a site rather than "nave the $800,000
already voted lost by being; Invested in a
useless building? ,
Again. If voters really realized that the
market block la surrounded by shacks, laun
dries and - livery stables, that It Is so near
the waterfront that visitors would be un
favorably Impressed with surroundings, etc.,
would they not vote for the bonds which
they turned down. at the laat election?
Can the market block be legally aold ? Will
additional land required If the Auditorium
la located there be very expensive?
GEO. T. ATCHLEY.
The Oregonlan thinks the market
site the most available location. K
could name several sites in the heart
of Portland such as the Portland
Hotel, . or the Postoffice, or the
Corbett block that would be better.
but they cannot be procured for
obvious reasons. All things constd
ered,' the market block is satisfactory
as to location, and the argument as
to cost is unanswerable. The archi.
tect now says no more ground need
be acquired.
The architect says that street noises
will not be audible within the Audi
torium and there need be no alarm
about passing streetcars. ' .
The market block cannot be sold.
It is idle to talk of resubmitting' the
$200,000 bond issue. The people have
passed once decisively on the ques
tion of more bonds, and it is trifling
with their deliberate judgment to ask
for another vote on any pretext.
Finally, If shacks, laundries and
livery stables orfend the esthetic eyes
of any visitors, we reckon the loyal
Portland man or woman ought imme
diately to distract his attention by
pointing out the beauties of the Audi
torium. .
ONE VETO THAT SHOfLD BE SUS
TAINED.
Two of the bills that have passed
over the Governor's veto by the Sen
ate deserve " thoughtful and mature
consideration by the House before the
action by- that body makes their dis
position final. . ''-.'
In one' of these, S. B. 216, the Leg
islature in 1911 apparently attempted
-to correct what has been an undesir
able: condition in commencing, actions
against 'and . serving summons upon
certain, corporations. It. has been pos
sible for the foreign corporation to
maintain its accredited agency in some
county remote from the places where
most of its business is transacted In
Oregon and practically avoid the ser
vice necessary to get the corporation
into court in a civil action.
The second of the bills, S. B. 217,
was designed to relieve, ior ex
ample, the traveler residing in one
county who might be Injured while on
board a railway train In another
county. Under the present law he
could not bring action for damages in
his own county, but only In the county
where the accident occurred, or in the
resident county of -the railway cor
poration. '
The supporters of these bills per
haps were unconsciously laboring un
der a common delusion that whenever
the word "corporation" is used, a pub
lic service company or trust is re
ferred to. But there are hundreds of
mercantile, manufacturing and other
businesses thut are incorporated and
are not public service corporations or
monopolies or other than properly con
ducted institutions deserving of the
same rights and privileges accorded
partnerships and individuals.
Senate Bill 216, which relates solely
to service of summons, would perhaps
not be unfair toward these institu
tions, but its' companion bill. No. 217,
is so sweeping that Its enforcement
would Inevitably result In injustice
and hardship. A corporation must
now be sued in the county where it
has its principal office, or in the
county where the cause of action
arose. The proposed bill would per
mit actions te be commenced and
tried against a corporation In any
county where the corporation had an
office or agency established for the
purpose of transacting or soliciting
any portion of its business, if the
Plaintiff resided in sam county; more
over, if the plaintiff did not reside in
that county, but the cause of action
grew out of or was connected with
such agency, the- action might be
brought therein.
Further severity is given tne act
by the unavoidable implication that
the only ground for change of venue Is
a showing that the action has been
commenced. in the wrong county. In
other words relationship between the
judge and the plaintiff, personal in
terest by the judge in the event of the
action, prejudice by the judge or the
Inhabitants of the county, or conven
ience of witnesses none of these
would be grounds for removing the
place of trial if the defendant were a
corporation.
The effect, say, on the incorporated
mercantile firm "that is sued for al
leged delinquency In some particular in
the delivery of purchased goods is
clear. Even though books, records and
material witnesses for the defendant
might be had only in the resident
county of the mercantile house, and
witnesses outnumbered ten to one the
plaintiffs witnesses, a change of venue
could not be granted, while suit might
be brought wherever the" house had a
selling agency.
The true scope of this bill has ap
parently not been discovered' by the
Legislature. If, after consideration
with care and deliberation, there are
certain points found that have merit,
they should be incorporated in a new
measure. But the bill as it now
stands should not pass.
PROTECTING LIVESTOCK INDUSTRIES.
Senate Bill 43, passed by the 1911
Legislature, ia a lengthy act designed
to eradicate and suppress 'diseases
among domestic animals. It provides
for the appointment of a State Veter
inarian and a State Livestock Sanitary
Board. The bill was vetoed by Gov
ernor West, but has now passed the
Senate.
.' In his veto message the Governor
declared' that the bill had merit and
"ordinarily would have met .with no
opposition from me, but as it carries
an appropriation of $50,000, I feel that
the best interests of the taxpayers de
mand that it do not become a law at
this time. Even if the creation of
such a board is necessary no harm can
come from postponing the matter two
years, when, .perhaps, the people may
be better able to bear the burden."
In the two' years that have elapsed
since the bill was vetoed considerable
harm has come to the livestock in
dustry "through the -spread of, com
municable diseases from other states.
Certain Eastern Oregon localities have
suffered and some parts of Western
Oregon were lately combating hog
cholera. The Governor now says that
he does not object to the passage of
the bill. Whether he has noted the
harm to the livestock industry that
might have been minimized by en
forcement of this law, or believes the
state in better financial condition now
than two years ago, is not definitely
expressed. '
But it would require a remarkably
discerning eye to discover a better
ability now to bear the burden of a
$50,000 appropriation than existed two
years ago, -for the" appropriations for
the biennium have not yet been made
up. The natural conclusion is that the
Governor has discovered at least one
mistake in his free use of the veto
power. ' .
, "LITTLE WOMEN" OST THE STAGE.
Some long extracts from the drama
tized version of "Little Women" are
given In the January number of Cur
rent Opinion. ; The play has excited
so much pleasant interest in New York
that even this somewhat unsatisfac
tory method of learning what it is ac
tually like will be welcomed by per
sons who care for the stage. It was
made by Miss Marian De Forest, who
has transferred the tone of the book
to the theater in a marvelous way.
The plot remains just as Miss Alcott
left it, unartlficial, homely, sometimes
disconnected, but full of that human
tepderness which makes the fortune
of a book or play more surely than
any other quality. The dialogue In
the play Is changed no more than the
requirements of the stage made Jin
avoidable.' All the simplicity and fam
ily frankness remain in it. The four
girls, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy, have
the faults and foibles and, it rejoices
one to say,' all the generosity and
self-sacrificing spirit that . they had
when young people first began to read
and love "Little. Women"; long ago.
Very likely New Yorkers flock to
see "Little Women" not nearly so
much for the story or the beautiful
acting with which it is presented as
for the never failing charm of the life
it depicts. When a play: manages to
show life as It Is, "with the full stream
of love that makes trials dear and dif
ficulties but opportunities for service,
an audience will be charmed by it
whether there is a good plot or none
at all. The scenes may shift with as
little logic as they do in Strindberg"S
"Dream Play," or In dreams them
selves, and frar all that its spell will
hold. Perhaps the best part of the
sentiment, in "Little Women" Is Its
hopefulness.. The March family have
their bad luck. The father is wounded,
the rich old aunt has the worst of a
temper, accidents befall the girls and
poor little Beth pines away into the
grave before the story ends,- but
through it all there is an assurance
that they are adequate to their tasks
and burdens. As their days, so is their
strength. The girls grieve, but they
do not despair and they finally work
out happy destinies for themselves,
each helping all the rest to do so. The
most helpful of the girls may have
been little Beth, who died so pitifully,
for the brief years of her life and her
memory when she is gone pass like a
sweet perfume through all that hap
pens. To some readers "Little wo
men" is a divine essay on the text
The maiden is not dead, but sleep
eth." Beth does not even sleep, so
active is the spiritual life that flows
from her to the end of the story.
"Little Women" Is notable for the
total absence of that class feeling
which plays such a part in later Amer
ican books by women authors, those-
of Edith Wharton . for example. In
"The Custom of the Country," which
she has Just begun in one of the maga
zines, the gulf between classes in New
York yawns before us as wide as the
Canyon of the Colorado at the very
beginning ai a we feel perfectly sure
that it will be just as wide at the end.
There is an aristocrat in "Little Wo
men," two aristocrats. Laurie and his
father, Mr. Laurence", but they are not
snobs. Compared with their opulence
the Marches are miserably poor. The
shifts they are put to in order to make
both ends meet are despicable, or they
wduld be despicable, in the eyes of
Edith Wharton's great people. But
neither Mr. Laurence nor his highly
educated son ever feels the slightest
scorn for the humble condition of their
neighbors. Louisa Alcott s art in de
scribing the relations between the two
families seems to us to have been ex
quisite, though it may have been un
conscious, for she belonged to that
sturdy New England stock which
predicated human ' distinctions on
something very unlike money. Laurie
is the girl's playmate from the begin
ning and he finally, marries one of
them. Amy. He wanted to marry Jo,
but her astounding ; common sense
would not permit the match. She un
derstood that as a man of wealth he
would need a handsome wife who
liked society, while Jo was homely
and preferred writing stories to teas
and gossip. Amy with her refinement,
the trace of frivolity in her character,
and her pretty face withal, was Just
the wife for Laurie. He found this
out for himself when they were all
sobered by Beth's death.
Would It not look strange in an up-to-date
novel to read that the million
aire hero's tutor had married one of
two sisters and the millionaire himself
the other? That is what happens in
"Little Women." Perhaps the defi
ance of convention in such a combina
tion forma part of the play's charm in
New York, where occurrences of this
nature usually lead to the police court.
Laurie married Amy and Laurie's
tutor, Mr. Brooke, married Meg. The
millionaire parent, Mr. Laurence, was
not put out of temper by the awkward
combination of partners. On the vcon
trary. Miss Alcott makes him favor it.
His original plan was for Laurie to
wed Jo, so little sway had modern
ideas of i propriety gained among
middle-class New Englanders of his
time". These are some of the factors
which contribute to make the play
"Little Women" as much loved by New
York audiences as the book has been
by all Americans ever since it was
written. It is full of a sturdy individ
ualism, but an Individualism which
never asserts itself to another's Injury.
It is charmingly unconventional. It
abounds with audacious defiance df
hard luck and difficult circumstances.
But after all we believe that most peo
ple 'love the play because it shows
them a simDle' picture of an ideal
home.
The Marches form precisely such a
family as we should all like to have
grown up in, with Just enough struggle
to form the character, and just enougn
affection to lend life its share of gold
en glow and sunlit gardens, and Just
enough sacrifice to bind hearts to
gether and just enough happiness to
make the promise of heaven real. It
Is the light of life and not its shadow
that schools the soul for the better
world. We shall not know how to be
gay in heaven unless we practice the
lesson a little on earth.
A NEIGHBOR SCARED TOO JSASH.Y.
. The Bend Bulletin ought to knon
what It Js talking about when it dis
cusses the proposed scheme for a sur
vey of the Deschutes, through which
the state is to be asked to appropriate
$50,000 for co-operative effort with
the United States Government; for the
Bulletin is printed along the banks
of the dashing Deschutes, and can see
for itself every waking hour that its
waters are all its own, and that no
body has interposed or offered the
slightest successful resistance to their
progress. - Yet now this watcnrui
guardian of the great Deschutes is so
mightily scared about the proposed
survey that it prints a long protest
wherein it ignorantly makes the rol
lowing statement:
What of this "narrow conservation" policy
at which The Portland Oregonlan and Ore-,
gonlans In general have hurled so many
just anathemas? How often have they
scathlngly attacked the efforts of the
landless East and the treeless Middle West"
to tie ud the resources of Oregon. And yet
here we see the same men and the same
organs that become hysterical at tne very
mention of the word "conservation" pro-
Doslng that Central Oregon's greatest asset.
the Deschutes, be sewed up In the tightest
kind of governmental reserve. It 1
colossal conservation scheme. It is putting
Into local practice the very methods which
Oregonlans decry when Easterners try to
foist them upon Oregon. One section of the
state, politically the strongest, proposes to
gag the resources of another section, it Is
the story of National conservation revised
and adapted for home use.
So far as the Bulletin implies that
The Oregonlan is supporting the Des
chutes survey scheme, involving a
state appropriation of $50,000, it is
utterly mistaken. The Bulletin has
seen nothing in The Oregonlan in any
way justifying its complaint. To com
fort the disturbed soul of our too-excitable
contemporary, we would say
that Tfie .Oregonlan is not at all con
vinced that the expenditure by the
state of so large a sum for the sur
vey of a particular project is war
ranted. It can see no other serious
objection to the plan, which contem
plates investigation, and not im
mediate, or necessarily ultimate, cre
ation of a reserve.
A NEW VIEW OF INSANITY. -
A conviction is growing up among
scientific men that a great many cases
of insanity are caused by "conflicts
In the minds of the patients. To un
derstand these conflicts, which are of
a singular nature, we must begin by
remembering that the mind of an or
dinary person is divided up into a
number of logic-tight compartments.
One such compartment may be a
hobby, such as fondness for fishing.
A man might be devoted, to this pas
time without any expectation of catch
ing fish. He may not be able to give
any reason whatever for his predilec
tion and yet there it is fixed in his
mind and all the argument in the
world cannot shake it. The mentality
of a great many people is composed of
just such logic-proof compartments as
this Irrational fondness for fishing.
They may have begun In some neces
sary routine habit, or in some course
of instruction, or in a hundred other
ways, but once solidified in the mind
they stay there forever and it is per
fectly useless to attack them with ar
gument or evidence. Sometimes even
the law is powerless against them. If
we think of our friends' minds as made
up of sovereign independent States
whose- boundaries are unalterable we
shall not be far wrong.
Now we come to the "conflicts." The
Interests of these states are not always
the same. Sometimes they are incom
patible. An example of this is very
easy to find." Suppose our friend who
loves to go fishing has a wife and fam
ily dependent upon his dally labor.
His "herd instinct," which means his
duty to society and the law, urges him
to stick to his Job. His love of fishing
Invites him to the woods! and streams.
Thus a conflict arises in his mentality
which may become fierce and pro
longed. The bitterest fights of this
nature arise between the deep-seated,
fundamental instincts. ' The herd in
stinct is one of these. This Is the
mental compulsion we all feel to obey
the law, go to church on Sunday, pro
vide for wife and children and, in gen
eral, to yield to the social conventions.
But this herd instinct acts in flat op
position to others which are even more
fundamental. The sex passion is. one
such. The tendency to live a lawless
life is another. Any of these profound
mental "complexes," as the scientists
call them, may come into flat opposi
tion, with the herd instinct and then
there is psychological trouble.
When a conflict of this nature
breaks out in the mind one of two
things must happen. . The individual
may sit down and deliberately make
p his mind which of the contending
complexes, or logic-proof compart
ments, he wishes, all things considered,
to retain. When his decision ia made
he completely suppresses the rejected
complex and the battle is over. -We
see instances of this kind every day
when a man with some bad habit de
cides to swear off and does so without
paltering or evasion. His action
amounts to an execution in his mental
world. An offender has been con
demned and put to death summarily.
This is one way of endlirg the internal
conflict. The other Is to let each of
the combatants go on living in Its
own compartment and keep peace be
tween them by alternately obeying one
and the other. We are now upon the
verge of "double personality." One
complex. Is Jlr. Hyde, the other the
pious and conventional Dr. Jekyll.
Victory may alternate between them. I
One may gain the upper hand for
months at a time, completely - ob
literating the other, and then we
have an instance of a man forgetting
house and home and beginning a new
life with a new character. Usually
the suppressed complex resumes its
control sooner or later, and then we
say his memory has returned.
- Probably a great many flagrant
hypocrites carry about with them an
internal war of this sort. Their mu
tually hostile complexes take turns at
ruling, their conduct and discord re
sults which we, in our blindness, at
tribute to moral obliquity. No doubt
conflicts between the herd instinct and
the sex passion are more frequent than
any others because it is this particu
lar passion which social conventions
have restricted most rigorously, or
tried to. It Is a hopeless rebel, how
ever, and chooses every imaginable
way' to obtain control of the individ
ual. Among the consequences of the
struggle - are those perversions of
which the law sometimes takes notice.
The revolt against the herd instinct
may become so widespread that the
whole mentality is affected by it. In
its lighter manifestations It makes a
person solitary, unsocial, disinclined
tp take part in the ordinary affairs of
the world. When it becomes more pro
found the -patient's behavior disin
tegrates. He grows "slovenly, filthy,
degraded and shameless." Of course
these are all symptoms of insanity. In
fact there is "a vast group of insani
ties" which are directly caused by the
triumph of a confederation of primi
tive instincts over the herd instinct.
This species of mental disease results
from an internal war, in other words,
where the original tendencies of the
individual have won a victory over the
social control. " -
Some writers ascribe the fury of the
conflict to hereditary " anarchism in
the mind and tell us that the best way
to prevent it is to cut off its victims
from the hope of progeny. In their
view social control is always right and
ought to prevail over the primary in
stincts. Others teach differently.
They admit the possibility that the
herd instinct may be fallible and that
it ought to yield occasionally to other
mental complexes. Their doctrine is
that the best way to prevent this spe
cies of insanity is to modify society
in the direction of individual liberty.
Let the fundamental instincts have
their way to a reasonable extent and
internal discord will not become so
destructive as to break up the mind.
The reader will perceive that this dif
ference of opinion goes to the founda
tion of eugenics. Shall we prevent in
sanity by sterilizing the insane or by
giving people a rational world to
live In?
OUR. LIVES GROW SHORTER.
While medical science has won not
able battles over disease in decreasing
the death rate among the young, the
growth of luxury and sedentary occu
pations has caused the ' .death rate
above the age of 40 to Increase 20 per
cent in the last 30 years. This is the
meat of an address by E. E. Rltten
house, delivered before the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science.
His conclusions, based on statistics
for 30 years from Massachusetts, New
Jersey and 16 , cities in other states,
are: " -
In Massachusetts the mortality rate from
apoplexy, paralysis, diseases of the heart,
circulatory system, kidneys and liver has in
creased 86.4 per cent in 30 years.
In 16 Important cities the death rate from
organic diseases of the heart and from apo
plexy, Brlght's and nephritis has alone in
creased 4 per cent in SO years.
In ten registration states the death rate
from thesa causes has increased 10 per cent
in 10 years.
In Massachusetts the death rate from
cancer has increased 66 per cent In 30 years
and 81 per cent during tne last J" years.
In the entire registration area the death
rate from external cancer alone has in
creased 03 per cent in 10 years from 1900
to 1010.
The increase In mortality from diseases
of middle life and. old age Is reflected In
the v-eneral death rate bv an Increase com
mencing In Massachusetts and New Jersey
In age group'40-44; In Ifi cities group 45-54;
in ten states group o-:j.
The death rate of the total population,
ago 40 and over, has increased, 1010 over
ls-ff:
In Massachusetts and New Jersey, SO
years, 21.2 per cent.
In JO cities, 1V Jara, 40.0 per veiiw
In 10 states, 10 years (1900-1910), "3 per
cent.
Mr. Rittenhouse affirms that at
least 50 per cent of the deaths from
degenerative diseases could be pre
vented or postponed. He suggests
that Americans of middle age submit
to' periodical examination by their
physicians, that these diseases may be
detected and checked or cured in
time. We would add the suggestion-
that every man and woman remem
ber that luxury can only be purchased
at the cost of length of years; that a
life spent mainly indoors and at se
dentary occupations is not the natural
life and that- nature will inevitably
punish violation of .her laws. The most
vigorous men in Oregon today are
those who bore the hardships and en
dured, the labor of the pioneer and
those who work -on the farm and In
the lumber camp. Their lives, far from
being shortened by labor, exposure and
hardship, are lengthened by those
means. The frame is toughened, the
blood Is purified and the man is
equipped to fight and conquer disease
If it invades his body.
While statistics compiled from the
limited registration area may not be
conclusive that the death rate above
40 is increasing generally, it neverthe
less Is true that if the people will enjoy
a life of luxury, they must do so with
their eyes open to the fact that they
will pay the price in' shortening of
their years on earth.
RECONCTIJATION.
The desire expressed by ex-Governor
Osborn, of Michigan, for a re
union of the two parties Into which
the Republican party has split is
shared by many men, both Republi
cans and Progressives. But the time is
not yet ripe. It may not be ripe until
one of the two parties has so decisively
beaten the other as to destroy all
hope of the defeated, that they can
ever "become supreme.
The election of 1912, so far as the
Republican and Progressive, parties
were concerned, was a drawn battle.
Each considers that it won a -victory
in foiling the hopes of the other. The
battle cry still rings too distinctly In
the ears of the combatants, the
wounds each Inflicted on the other are
too fresh and smarting for them to
meet at friendly council board and
talk of forgetting bygones.
The permanence of the Progressive
party will be decided by the extent of
the natural drift of the rank and file
back to the Republican party, by the
degree of success Roosevelt has in ef
fecting a permanent organization and
perhaps most of all on his ability to
make an issue which has a popular ap
peal. We must not reckon without
the remarkable intuition by which
Roosevelt is able to say today w-hat
the people will think tomorrow. That
and his energy In pushing his pro-J
paganda and In executing his plans
are the chief sources of his political
strength.
In his appeal for what he terms
social and industrial Justice - Roose
velt undoubtedly struck a popular
chord. The policy of social reconstruc
tion which it implies will loom large in
the nroeTammes of all parties. One
may not approve all, or even any, qfi
the specific means Roosevelt proposes
for attaining his ideal, but measures
of the same general type will find al
most universal support. There is a
growing protest, amounting -to revolt,
against the reaping of rich harvests by
those who never sow and against en
richment by legislative favor of a few
who recognize no social obligation as
a consideration for the favors they
receive. Such revelations as those
made recently of the horrible condi
tions existing in canning camps add
Impetus to this revolt, . .
JSefore the Democratic Administra
tion has completed its prigramme of
tariff, trust, currency and ' conserva
tion' laws, new issues of the type de
scribed may have pushed those ques
tions to one side in public estimation.
The question will then, be,-not whether
women's labor shall be restricted and
regulated; not whether child labor
shall be prohibited; not whether men
who sell shoddy as wool, paper as
leather, poison as food, shall be pun
ished, but how the law shall do these
things. There are many, of whom
Jane Addams and Judge. Lindsey are
types, who regard a party as a mere
Instrument and will readily support
any party which will do that which
they consider of first importance. That
party may well be the Republican
party if progressive leadership is
now accepted. It would then draw
to its support, the whole band of
social reformers which constituted the
most sincere and disinterested. element
of Roosevelt's following.
The automobile owner, too, has his
troubles with the trusts. One of his
worst foes is the rubber trust,' which
keeps adding a little' here and a little
there to the price of tires. Tire ex
pense Is the motorist's heaviest cur
rent outlay and It' will grow neavier
every season until, some " inventive
chemist discovers how to make syn
thetic rubber. H. G. Wells' hero in
"Marriage" actually perfected the
great discovery, but it is one thing to
do these feats in a novekand another
to" make them go in the laboratory.
Synthetic rubber still waits for its for
tunate inventor. When it comes, as it
surely will before a great while, the
price' of tires will collapse. The other
trust which threatens to devour, the
motorist Is Standard Oil with its con
trol of gasoline. The price of this
delectable liquid has advanced from
2 cents a gallon a few years ago to 40
and even 50 cents now, in some in
stances. There was a happy time,
long, long ago, when the Standard Oil
Company actually gave away gasoline
as a useless by-product. Imagine any
body giving it away now. As the price
goes up, inventors are seeking a sub
stitute. Alcohol promised great things
at one time, but it has. finally been
dropped and expectation turns fondly
to kerosene, which is an explosive
liquid and can be used In most motors
after they are once Well heated. The
development of the motor car ought to
interest every intelligent citizen of the
world, because its influence on civiliza
tion for the next dozen years will
probably far outweigh that of r.ny
other factor. It is revolutionizing the
conditions of human existence both in
town ani country.
The Oregonian stated yesterday-that
Thomas McCusker voted for Elihu
Root for temporary chairman of the
recent Republican National conven
tion. The record discloses, however,
that McCusker did not vote at all on
that question. McGovern, a La Fot
lette man, was proposed by the Roose
velt forces to oppose ifoot, but the
candidacy of McGovern was repudiated
by the La Follette managers and led
to a split in the Wisconsin delegation.
McCusker's action in voting for Wil
liams for National committeeman
greatly offended the Roosevelt dele
gates, particularly Dr. Coe, who was
himself a candidate.
How thrilling it will be when those
electors get together and name the
next President of the United States.
Woodrow Wilson, of New Jersey, is
said to be a prime favorite in the run
ning. The Rotary Club of this city ran the
sane New Year's eve open air festival,
stood most of the expense, and' now
reports $5.45 in the treasury. Good
for the men of the Rotary Club.
Illiteracy and character tests for
Immigrants are needed. We already
are cursed with tod many aliens with
the poison of anarchy in their brains.
Wives for bachelors aie guaranteed
by a Boston woman. But wouldn't it
be more to the point if she would offei
to provide husbands for old maids?
Taft will attend five banquets in
the next two days. We shall not be
surprised if the dispatches shortly re
cord another attack of gout.
' Congress proposes to save- twenty
minutes on every rollcall- by dropping
the "Mr." And then, too, the title may
soon not invariably apply.
Control over artificial limbs is the
latest medical innovation. Science may
eventually be able to supply even miss
ing or deficient brains.
Lieutenant-Colonel Du Paty de Clam
may be made a full Colonel. Who
fished him out of the chowder of fif
teen years ago?
i In these days of many pardons it
is far easier to get a crook .out of
Jail than to put him in. .
The plan in Washington for a grid
iron of highways points the way to
substantial progress.
Blushing, is a disease, according to
the announcement of a French neuro
path. Also an art.
French candidates shy at reporters.
American candidates pursue them,' if
necessary.
- Anyway the snow was a boon to
indoor workers who cleared their own
walks. . .
Portland's bank clearings indulged
their favorite habit the past week.
The stingless veto appears to be the
latest in political hybridization.
Supposing all those bills should be
put through the Legislature!
Feed the birds while the snow is on.
Scraps and Jingles
Leene Cass Bacr.
"Man and wife quarrel over religion," ,
wails a headline. Another case of cat
echism and dog-tnatism. I reckon.
Paradox note: It's the woman 'with
the past who gets the present.
m e
Dispassionately ruminating, It seems
to me the Legislature is a bundle of
sticks bound together by red tape.
Legislature's minstrel
your seats, gentlemen."
cry: "Take
Too often the flight of genius Is to
the attic.
The average poet
Is an ass
If we heed the bray of them.
They're flehly.
And since flesh Is grass
We must make hay of them.
London correspondent says Cowes i
suffering from' a deficiency in the wa
ter supply. Over here we'd say cows
"are" and- milk is not.
e
Motto for profession of dentistry: A .
tooth will out.
see
That account ' of the woman who
married the mart who cleaned her chim
neys should have been under sporting
records and labeled, "she won the
sweep." .
Apparently the understanding of the
average orchestra' Is "when in doubt
play 'William Tell'."
see
(With apologies to ."The Lost Chord.")
Tatting one day at the Circle
I was happy and quite at ease.
A pianola was playing "The Lost Chord"
Outside In eight different-keys.
But I cared not how they were playing,
Thore fat. Impossible men.
For I'd broken the tatting record
And was tat'tlhg champion then.
II.
It flooded my chf-ks with crimson.
The praise of my co-tatters fair.
Though the band seemed blending "Old
Hundred"
With a touch of "The Grlrlly Fear.
But rov loy soon turned Into sorrow.
My calm into mental strife.
For my record was broke on the morrow
And It cut me, too, like a knife.
A woman had tatted ten million yards
In a tenth of a second less.
And henceforth my name. In silence,
Was dropped ty the whole tatting mess.
III.
I have sought, but I seek It vainly
With the circle again to shine.
'Mid names In our cluu of tatters.
But they never mention me there.
It may be some day, with hard work,
I may break that record again.
But at present the glory all goes
To a speedier tatting hen.
Story says many horsemen have na
moral feeling. S'pose their hearts ar.
'ossified.
Apropos the Snow
By Dean Collins.
PROLOGUE.
Make haste, good Muse, 'tis apropos
That we should warble of the snow.
LAnd laud tha spreading "mantle white
And praise the IiaKes as iney aiigni;
In short, that we should strike the
string
And In the proper fashion .sing
About "the beautiful." Now gush,
Before the snow has turned to slush.
r- '
Oh beauteous scene, of vision fair
Of snowflakes whirling in the air; i !;
Spreading a mantle without speck.
Till 'neath its covering is hid t
The steel expanse of cellar lid;
So that I slip and breack my neckl
Oh. whirling fairies, in the track
Of Winter's wind;' you gently float
Inside the collar of my coat, ,
To melt and tr-r-r-r-rlckle down my
back.
IX.
The artless children's voices call!
They soak me with a hard snowball!
Oh' spotless blanket, full of grace!
How pure upon the streets you He
Until a taxi slithera by,
"Sploosh!" And you spatter in my
face.
Oh, dancing horde of Winter bees
White flakes, on twig and branch you
pile.
And when I'm walking afterwhlle, '
You dribble on rrle from the trees.
III.
Oh,- noble altruistic chap
Who sHovels clear the walk, mayhap.
And when, with thanks, I gladly will
Repay you, you demand from me
A portion of that lonely V
I kept' to pay the doctor's bill. 1
Oh, beautiful, white, shining snow!
I sing, I chant, I worship thee
' But much delighted I shall be
When the Chinook doth bid thee go.
EPILOGUE.
Thus, Muse, our duty is complete.
We've sung the snow a ditty sweet;
Now please excuse me while I get
Some quinine, for my feet are wet;
Then let us watch the snowbanks go
And, while the warm winds softly
. blow.
Keep our feet dry and stir the fire
And, as the leaping flames aspire,
Knock wood and hope the Winter's
maw
Will not disgorge a "silver thaw."
Portland, January 18.
KlBbt-Huur Lnvr.
PORTLAND, Jan. 17. (To the Edi
tor.) In the late election we voted on
.,im vrt of an elKht-hour law for all
city, county and state employes, and
The Oregonian has printed Items con
cerning that law's effect on different
employes.- especially dredgmen In the
Port of Portland employ. Afrain, you
mention the trouble at the City Hall
about an engineer who wants to work
ore than eight hours.
xt innnirv la this: Does the law
apply to employes of the School Board,
mechanics. Janitors and engineers?
GEORGE T. GOO DELL,
Secretary of the Marine Engineers
Association.
The law is. considered inoperative,
because It was adopted without an
enacting clause. 1he Legislature may
re-enact the bill.
' Section 4 provides that, "In all eases
where labor is employed by the state.
county, school district, municipality,
municipal corporation or' subdivision,
either directly or through another, as
contractor; no person shall be required
or permitted to'labor more than eight
hours In any one day, or 48 hours In
any one week." We think "there can
be no question that the act was In
tended to include School Board em
ployes. "
School of JotirnallMBa. '
PORTLAND, Jan. 11. (To the. Edi
tor.) (1) Can you tell me someone
who rives lessons to beginners in car
tooning? (2) Is there a place in Oregon where
one can take up a course In journal
ism? RAYMOND M'MAHON.
(1) We know of no one making a
specialty of cartoon Instruction.
(2) University of Oregon, Eugene.
Wlreleaa Llaks Pern and Brasll.
Indianapolis News."
. Although mountains 20,000 feet high
Intervene, Teru and Brazil, heretofore
Isolated from each other, have been
linked by wireless telegraphy.