The Sunday Oregonian., November 02, 1913, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 40

TITE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND. NOVEMBER 2, 1913.
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TCESDAY'S ELECTION.
The election In Oregon next Tues
day will be the first of its kind here
or probably elsewhere. It was called
by the last Legislature in anticlpa
tion that some of that class of laws
rhose forc.e would expire in two years
might be" hold up by referendum un
til November, 1915, and thereby be
nullified by a small percentage of the
people. As a matter of convenience
and economy, the speciar bridge bond
election In Multnomah County will be
held on the same day, and in several
other counties local Issues will be set
tled. But had no laws been attacked
by referendum, a general state elec
tion would not be held. It is a special
referendum election.
The Qregonlan believes that the
Legislature in providing for this spe
cial election has established a wise
precedent. While, in one sense it
magnifies the abuse of the referending
power by permitting selfish, interests
or visionary persons to involve the
state in needless expense, on the other
hand it minimizes the injury to the
public welfare that is occasioned by
ill-considered referending of meritori
ous laws, for it reduces by twelve
months the period of their suspension.
Moreover, if a genuinely bad law has
been adopted by the Legislature and
-JiHS-VwAn subjected to referendum, its
menace is more quickly destroyed,
while the object the Legislature had
in mind the preservation of laws
from expiring by limitation is pro
. noted.
Let it be understood, however, that
jl'he Oregonian is upholding only the
providing against possible contin
gencies, wnen tne legislature naa
done this the responsibility for the
election rests elsewhere. In this in
rHan r-esnonsibilitv rests upon sev
eral groups of citizens who have
sought a vote of the people on four of
the laws adopted. They have caused
the state? to incur an expense of per
haps moe than J100.000, but not a
tingle on of these groups has given
general public expression to its rea
sons, for the procedure. They present
no argument in the pamphlet issued
by the state; they have no newspaper
support of noticeable proportions;
they have . issued no circulars; they
Ljve'ser.t put no speakers. They in
vite 'the people to vote, that is all, and
in at least two of the movements the
sponsors have attempted to conceal
their identity.
It.-. was a wise precaution for the
Legislature to provide for the election,
but. the circumstances that surround
the second step the actual referend
ing or the four acts are enough to
demonstrate a lack of justification In
the attack on the laws and brand the
election as a needless extravagance.
' The, referendum of the workman's
trmpe'nsation act ha been accom
plished by dark-lantern methods. The
cneAnies of the.Jacw the persons who
smlo.lW'd tu fnds to pay petition cir
culaton; have worked from ambush.
Xut by a process of elimination their
iuentitv is reduced to one of two or
S possibly both of two interests. The
compensation law, being elective in
form, obligates no one to be bound by
its provisions. The employer may de
cline to accept its terms and thereby
place : himself on but little different
terms in respect to liability for acci
dents among his employes than are
now imposed upon him. The employe
may reject the law and retain the
identical grounds of recovery in
evnit of accident that he now enjoys
or would posse3 if the law were defeated-
--The jaw would, if generally
accepted by both classes, however, de
prive the casualty insurance compa
. nies of ,arge revenues in Oregon and
put the r ambul.irice-chaslng lawyers
nut of bvness. ;;f'hese are the only
interests Viret VV. the law. Both are
'j;:t"AAlwg'' a hand in the
leferenuum. The Issue Is thus made
plain. The people are asked to decide
whethei their own interests are para
mount to those of the insurance com
panies and the personal injury law-
I yers. The answer ought to be an em
phatic yes.
The university referendum involves
ft more readily understood question.
The Legislature appropriated J 175,-
000 for certain needed buildings and
equipment. One group or citizens is
seeking to have these appropriations
revoked. The amount of money at
stake Is comparatively small. It is
not more than many a town spends
for a high school building. It Is not
disputed that the university is occu
pying cramped quarters, or that it has
reached a stage where growth must
halt unless additional provisions are
made for accommodating those who
are seeking higher education.
The chief causes of action of those
opposed: to the appropriations con
sist of a fancy that the university and
the Agricultural College may- some
time be consolidated and the charge
that the appropriations were obtained
by logrolling methods. Yet the pros
pect of consolidation is extremely re
mote. If accomplished., it could not
be perfected in many years, and
meanwhile one and possibly several
university generations would be de
nied enjoyment of educational advan
tages such as are provided by every
progressive state. - The logrolling
charge is shattered by the fact that
the vote for the appropriations in the
Legislature was almost unanimous.
But were consolidation practicable
and probable, and were -the charges
of logrolling true. there would
still be found undoubted .economy in
the approval of these expenditures of
public funds. . It is not to be expected
that the country at large wiil be in
formed of the grounds for Oregon's
I ... , -r r ...1 t.
internal dissensions. unwn hi u"
"ther states consider an insignificant
pendlture for university facilities
have no other indication outside
Oregon than one of enmity toward
education. The question is in part
an economic one. It Is worth $175,
000 to Oregon not to have this injuri
ous impression spread broadcast.
There is no need for serious concern
over the fate of the sterilization law
and the County Attorney act, but
application of the referendum to them
does typify those abuses and misuses
of direct legislation which must be
discouraged and condemned if the
Oregon system is to remain in good
repute. The opposition tq the steril
ization law is fostered upon miscon
ception of its terms, scope and pur
poses, and is led by panicky, super
sentimental individuals who are al
ways suspicious that some law will be
warped to ignoble purpose. The
County Attorney act is supposed to be
objectionable only to a few District
Attorneys who will suffer a reduction
in salary by its enactment. The state
and society would not suffer serious
discomfort without either of these
laws, yet they are wise in purpose and
worthy of support, and their approval
is important for the rebuke it will give
to trifling with the referendum power.
xne voters of Oregon have a nlain
and important duty to perform next
Tuesday. The Legislature has given
tnem in the special election an imple
ment that can be made an effective
club against unwarranted, secret.
selfish or fraudulent tampering with
laws that are acceptable to the ma
jority. The club will not be effective
unless it is taken up and wielded by
the mass of voters. It may even trans
pire that reliance upon one's neigh-
Dor to do the voting may result in vic
tory by a small and irresponsible mi
nority. The voter can perform an ef
fective service to the state -by going to
tne polls. He can give aid to sane ex
ercise of direct legislation, orderly
government and state progress by vot
ing yes on every one of the referended
measures.
JEROME'S rtTRSUIT OF THAW.
The indictment of Harry K. Thaw
for conspiracy has brought forth an
interesting combat of technicalities
between prosecutor and prosecuted.
Mr. Jerome holds Thaw to be in
sane. Then how can he be legally
held responsible for a crime? ask
Thaw's lawyers. Thaw was confined
in Matteawan instead of being electro
cuted or sent to prison, because he
was insane and therefore not respon
sible for his acts. If he was legally
responsible for the conspiracy to es
cape he could not have been insane
and therefore was unjustly imprisoned.
If he was still Insane, then he was
not legally responsible.
Mr. Jerome probably maintains that
a crime has been committed and that
Thaw was party thereto. He should
be tried for participation In the con
spiracy to escape and, if convicted,
can only be exonerated on the ground
of insanity. In that case he would be
returned to Matteawan, where . Mr.
Jerome wishes to put him. If con
victed and declared sane, he could be
sent to the penitentiary. Hence the
mad murderer's relentless pursuer
would have him on one horn of a
dilemma in either event.
If Mr. Jerome could only get action
he w6uld have a good chance of land
ing Thaw either in an insane asylum
or a prison, but the Thaw family's
money has blocked the wheels of the
law. Both Thaw and Jerome may be
old men before all the courts finish
grinding out decisions and the case
may throw that of Jarndyce versus
Jarndyce into obscurity.
It will have served one useful pur;
pose It will have fastened the atten
tion of the American people on that
absurdly ingenious contrivance, how
not to do it, which lawyers call e min
istration of justice.
HKEPROOF -8HXPS COME NEXT.
The fate of the Titanic taught us
the necessity of a double hull to
render a ship unslnkable and of ex
pert crews and ample boats in, order
to rescue crew and passengers. The
fire on the Imperator and the burning
of the Volturno teach us the necessity
of fireproof construction and of au
tomatic fire alarms and fire extin
guishers on board ship.
The Imperator took fire while she
lay at the Hoboken wharf and fire
engines and fireboats were chiefly in
strumental in extinguishing the flames.
Had the fire occurred at sea, where
these aids are not at hand, the conse
quences might have been appalling.
Having the double hull which the
Titanic lacked, the Imperator has
been called the world's biggest and
most unslnkable ship, but the Safety
Engineering Magazine says that, as re
gards safety from fire, her construc
tion is "In certain respects somewhat
better than the clothing factory that
burned in Binghamton, causing thirty
one deaths," and "in other respects
no worse than the Binghamton factory
and not quite as good as the old Equit
able building." The Imperator is
nothing else than a floating hotel, yet,
Safety Engineer asks, "who would
think, of building ashore a hotel of the
same rank in the way she is built?"
The interior trim Is all of wood, the
partitions are of wood and charcoal
in the cold storage rooms, where the
fire originated from defective wiring.
The burning woodwork heated to in
candescence the steel bulkhead sep
arating the section where the fire orig
inated from the adjoining section and
the woodwork close by was in serious
danger of ignition.
The system of fire detection and ex
tinguishment is condemned as not au
tomatic, dependent on human agency
in sensing a fire, only roughly deter
mining the location, dependent on
smoke as an indicator and therefore
tardy, not flexible and efficient in in
verse ratio to the size of the ship
With a modern automatic fire-alarm
system the fire would have been de
tected, twenty seconds instead of
twenty minutes after it began, its ex
act location would have been indicated
and the junior officer's life would
have been saved. The automatic fire
alarm is used on lake and river steam
ers and is extensively used ashore.
Had the ship been equipped with
automatic sprinklers, the fire could
have been extinguished in a few raln
utes with 200 gallons of water and
could have been confined to the sec
tion of the ship where It originated.
As a matter of fact, 2,000,000 gallons
of water were pumped into the ship
five hours were consumed- in this
work, the fire spread beyond its orig
inal location and thousands of dollars'
worth of provisions were destroyed
Had the fire occurred at sea, it could
only have been fought from below by
partially submerging the ship through
pumping water into the hull, while
the flames gained headway above; the
operation would have taken much
more time and passengers and crew
might have gone on short rations. The
steelwork would have been damaged
and the bulkheads would have been
rendered unsafe and could not have
stopped the flames.
The experience of these two fires
on board ship proves that new pre
cautions are needed, in addition to
those adopted after the Titanic dis
aster. Steamships, especially those
carrying thousands of persons, must
be proof against fire from within and
must have the most modern appliances
for detecting and extinguishing fires.
The danger to be guarded against is
not rare, for a steam vessel has been
burned, wholly or in part, every day
during the last seven and one-half
years.
FOR THE HUMAN RACE.
The Oregonian is disinclined, for
obvious reasons, to discuss the ster
ilization bill in Its particulars or
even in its general purposes. It is a
forbidding and forbidden topic. Tet
the people are to decide on Tuesday
a measure passed by the recent Legis
lature providing for surgical opera
tions, under certain conditions, and
under prescribed safeguards, on mor
al degenerates, sexual perverts and
habitual criminals. The intent of the
legislation is to prevent low crim
inals and bestial men and women
from propagating their species.
The proposal has excited loud pro
tests from certain individuals and
a more or less general opposition
among others not informed, who mis
takenly assume that there Is to be a
gross outrage of human rights.
The Oregonian prints today, for
purposes of enlightenment of the pub
lic which must vote on the steriliza
tion bill Tuesday, an article by George
A. Thacher, who may be described -as
an expert investigator of social and
hygienic problems. One sentence in
the article we reproduce here:
If the people refuse to accept the verdict
of the Legislature about as Important a
matter as this, then the people must -dig
in the slums and learn the facta about
degeneracy and sexual perversion and what
they cost society In Ufe and health and
what they cost. In taxes for insane asy-
ums, jails, homca for the feeble-minded
and reformatories.
Severe laws to prevent the deterior
ation of breeds in horses and cattle
are passed and enforced without pro
test. But laws for the protection of
the human race are denounced as an
invasion and inversion of human
liberty!
JOlOf Pl-RROY M1TCHJ5L.
Not long ago Mr. Fitzgerald, one of
the New York Congressmen, comment
ing on the Mayoralty contest in the
metropolis, said that "a campaign of
momentous importance to the Demo
cratic party is being waged. All the
enemies of Democracy in the city and
the country are aligned in an effort to
overthrow the organized Democracy"
and thwart its "attempt to place Dem
ocratic officials in power." Fitzgerald
will be remembered as one of the
Democratic Congressmen who stood
loyally by Uncle Joe Cannon when the
first great effort was made to unhorse
him. At that supreme moment he
heeded the spoken or suspected wish
of Tammany Hall, and he was doing
the same when he made the speech
from which we have quoted. For
Tammany realizes. If nobody else does,
that its power is of National scope and
that the war which is now being waged
upon it in New York Is of National
interest. Mr. Fitzgerald continued his
remarks into a description of John
Purroy Mitchel, the principal oppo
nent of Tammany In the Mayoralty
contest. "The candidate of those ene
mies of the Democratic party is a
Democratic official appointed by a
Democratic President and confirmed
by a Democratic Senate." From this,
if it Is true, there Is nothing to con
clude but that John Purroy Mitchel Is
a renegade of the blackest type.
But is it true? What does Mr. Fitz
gerald mean by "Democracy" and
Democratic party" in these eloquent
outpourings? He means Tammany.
Tammany, with Murphy, its adored
chieftain, and its hosts of retainers, its
police captains, judges. Senators and
Representatives, to say nothing of the
hosts of voters whom it controls, fills
his vision, and President Wilson, Mr.
Bryan, Mr. McAdoo and the rest of
the Democrats who detest Tammany
and all its works are to him a mere
nothing. John Purroy Mitchel did be
gin his career as a member of the
Tammany organization and he re
ceived his first political preferment
through the influence of some of its
potentates. It was under Mayor Mc
Clellan that his public career began.
when he was appointed special assist
ant corporation counsel. From that
he was promoted to be Commissioner
of Accounts and thus he rose from
humble beginnings to be Collector of
the Port of New York, a post to which
he was appointed by Mr. Wilson, as
the eloquent and outraged Fitzgerald
so pathetically points out. .
During his public life Mr. Mitchel
has been, with Tammany, but not of it.
When he was Commissioner of Ac
counts under McClellan he terrified
that flabby official and delighted de
cent New York by investigating some
of the Tammany borough presidents.
officials who wield great power in the
city, and throwing three of them out
of office. .Among his finds was the no
torious Ahearn, who went with the
rest to limbo and has been there ever
since. After this feat Mr. Mitchel was
made president of the Board of Alder
men and president of the Board of Es
timates. This gave him an effective
voice in controlling the new rapid
transit contracts, which were Just then
under consideration. They had al
ready been framed at the dictation of
Tammany In the usual manner. That
is, they gave the richest of pickings to
Murphy and his horde of retainers,
high and low. Mr. Mitchel inspected
the contracts with an honest eye, an
official proceeding which always aston
ishes New Yorkers and sometimes wins
their esteem. In consequence of his
criticisms the contracts were rewritten
with some reference to the public wel
fare and the city was saved $40,000,000
at one stroke. This is the kind of
work which Mr. Mitchel has been do
ing throughout his public life, and this
is also the reason why men like the
tearful Mr. Fitzgerald call him a rene
gade in shrill Jeremiads. In their view
the only genuine Democrats are those
who join in looting the public. The
fact Is that Mr. Mitchel is one of the
very few men who have been con
nected with Tammany In any way and
have come off without a smell of graft
on their garments. It is a wonder how
he did it, but he did. Perhaps the
fact that he was fundamentally honest
helped, him a little.
Naturally Mr. Mitchel, like all the
rising young men in this country, has
a strong sense of justice. He has taken
the side of the public against the
banded thieves, and for that reason he
has been called harsh names. We
have seen how the lachrymose Mr.
Fitzgerald dubs him a renegade. Mr.
Murphy adds a scorpion's sting to the
taunt by calling him a "radical." In
the Murphy dialect a sane and safe
conservative is one who either shares
In the loot or looks on complacently
while others divide up. Mr. Mitchel
does neither. He drives the thieves
from their prey and puts them in jail
. if he can. Were he true to the Mur-
phy and Fitzgerald standard, he would
do his best to put honest men in jail
and let the thieves go free. The ordi
nary run 'of New York Justice as dealt
out by Tammany punishes the friends
of the people and rewards their ene
mies. Mr. Mitchel has reversed the
procedure as far as he could. Natur
ally, the Murphys and Fitzgeralds de
nounce him for it.
Mr. Mitchel's principal opponent in
the New York Mayoralty race Is Ed
ward E. McCall, who enjoys the envia
ble distinction of having been a faith
ful servitor of Tamamny all his life.
Nobody can truthfully say that McCall
is a renegade. He has- stood by the
black flag with dauntless zeal through
victory and defeat, and Murphy well
knows that if McCall were to be elect
ed Mayor the city treasury would lie
wide open to the confederated thieves
of Tammany Hall. McCall was one of
the noble band who conspired last
February to drive Judge Gaynor out of
office, and as long ago as that he was
chosen by Murphy to be the Tammany
candidate for Mayor. He is now run
ning for office to serve the purposes of
the worst gang of pirates who ever
disgraced New York politics. It Is said
in his favor that he himself Is respect
able, but is "lending his honored name
to the service of a crooked organiza
tion." But that is an error. Mr. Mc
Call Is not repeating the sad history
of poor Dog Tray. He is quite as bad
as the gang he is running with. The
only difference is that he is a weakling,
while some of his fellow pirates are
dangerously strong.
THJS EPISCOPAL CONTENTION.
The forty-third triennial convention
of the Protestant Episcopal Church is
said to have been the largest and
most successful ever held. It consid
ered a number of fundamentally im
portant matters and made an enviable
record of progress In Its deliberations.
Naturally the matter of changing the
name of the church attracted most at
tention from the public because the
Issue was spectacular, but many other
points of greater ' genuine moment
came before the convention. What
really interests the world is the stand
of the convention toward social service
and divorce.
The Rev. Mr. Arthur B. Klnsolving
of Baltimore expressed the common
feeling of the delegates when he said
that the relation of the Episcopalians
to church unity could best be ex
pressed through "practical social
service reform." However much
creeds may differ in other matters
here they are all alike and the
churches can join hands in working
for human betterment. Rathborn
Gardner, a lay delegate from Rhode
Island, offered a resolution calling
upon the church to "put herself on
record as in favor of the reform of
industrialism and as standing for the
ideal of social Justice and a social
order in which there shall be a more
equitable distribution of wealth."
The sentiment of the convention
about divorce we have noticed before.
Episcopalians seem to oppose any di
vorce whatever and they especially
dislike the idea of their clergymen
remarrying persons who have been
divorced. "Our conventions," said one
speaker satirically, "have consumed
days and days legislating against di
vorce, while ministers have been com
placently marrying couples whose past
habits make happy married life Im
possible and Joining in wedlock those
who have been . disunited' by the
courts." In all this the delegates saw
incongruity. If not sin, and the gen
eral wish was for some more consis
tent line of conduct.
BETTER REMEDY PROVIlEI.
The State of New York is to vote on
an amendment to the constitution giv
ing the Legislature power to pass laws
for the protection of lives or safety of
workmen; also workmen's compensa
tion or insurance -.acts. This amend
ment was recommended by the Court
of Appeals in declaring the workmen's
compensation act invalid, when it de
cided the Ives case, the case which
Colonel Roosevelt has- used as an ar
gument for recall of judicial decisions.
By calling attention to the need of
this amendment, the court showed in
which direction its sympathies lay and
what were the personal opinions of the
judges. It decided against Ives be
cause the constitution required it so to
decide. The amendment which the
court recommended will probably be
adopted and will render possible far
more sweeping reform than could
have been effected by recall of the
Ives decision. Recall would simply
have annulled that decision and estab
lished a . precedent confined to the
principles Involved therein. Many
other cases might have arisen where
the law would have done cruel wrong
without remedy, because they were not
exactly parallel with that of Ives. Thus
under recall the remedy would be re
stricted and reform would be effected
by retail, a separate election being
necessary to recall each decision which
differed In any material particular
from one which had been already re
called. The constitutional amendment will
effect reform by wholesale, for It lays
dowa a new general principle on which
laws shall be based. Every claim for
compensation which conforms with
that principle and with the laws passed
under it will be upheld without further
appeal to the people. Adoption of
this amendment and passage of laws
under its authority will prove the in
adequacy of recall of decisions as a
remedy for wrongs which the courts
are prevented, by the strict interpre
tation, of the law, from righting.
RIVALRY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.
Naval rivalry in the Mediterranean
Sea has become keen since the Tripol
ltan and Balkan wars, and is one of
the reasons friven by Admiral von
Terpitz, Naval Secretary of State, why
Germany cannot accept Winston
Churchill's invitation to a "naval holi
day" that is, a suspension of battle
ship building. The Admiral said In an
interview:
Great navies are rising everywhere.
France, Russia, the United States, even
Greece and the South American states, not
to speak of Austria-Hungary and Italy, are
all buildlax great fleets. France and Rus
sia are allied, and together are spending
far more than Germany on naval construc
tion. Is not Germany, then, to have a
fleet for her protection?
In this statement the United States
and South America are probably
thrown in only for good measure: it
Is the European powers which Ger
many aims to match In naval power,
and they are most active in the' Med
iterranean. Italy's need of a large
navy has grown since she annexed
Tripoli: and Austria, which is her
rival, though her ally, is racing to keep
up with her. Their activity in ship
building has found a new Incentive in
the rise of Greece as a naval power
during the Balkan war through defeat
of the Turks at sea, extension of the
Greek coastline along the Aegean and
Adriatic and annexation to Greece of
Crete and many Aegean islands.
Greece, exultant over her victories
over Turkey and Bulgaria, has become
an aspirant for naval supremacy In the
Eastern Mediterranean and, in alliance
with Servia and Montenegro, may
play an independent part in future
events in that region. These three lit
tle states have ambitions which con
flict with the designs of Austria. Italy,
Russia, Germany and England. At
present they must recuperate, but they
will doubtless soon begin expanding
their armies and navies in preparation
for the next war.
Austria has provided for four bat
tleships, to be completed by 1916.
These will increase her navy to thir
teen battleships, but Admiral Monte
cuccoli wishes the number increased
to sixteen, that he may have four
divisions each of four ships of equal
speed and power. Small cruisers and
auxiliaries will bring the expenditure
in the next five years to $88,750,000.
Italy has decided on four more super
dreadnoughts, to cost over $40,000,000.
France and Russia are both strer
ening their navies and Englr.nd,
longer leaving France to repi t the
triple entente in that region, ha sent
a strong squadron to the Mediterra
nean. Far from taking a naval holiday, the
great powers have put on a spurt in
naval armament.
"THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY."
Edith Wharton's new novel, "The
Custom of the Country' which has
been running In Scribner's for several
months, has now appeared in book
form, and, as etiquette requires in such
cases, the critics are making believe
that they never heard of it before. Of
course it has already been discussed
by thousands of Intelligent readers,
most of whom are perfectly able to
make up their minds about a book
without any assistance. The newspa
per reviews are months behind the
times. We think the common opinion
has long been that "The Custom of the
Country" does not add much to Miss
Wharton's fame. She began her lit
erary career as an exceptionally
bright writer of short stories for the
magazines. Nothing like the warm
humanity of Mary Wllkins' tales ever
found its way into her work, but she
was witty, pointed and deft. From
the beginning Miss "Wharton appealed
to "the better class" of readers, those
who pride themselves on appreciating
a precious style and a sparkling dash
of satire. It was her "House of Mirth"
that made Miss Wharton a popular au
thor.
This book came dangerously near
being a best seller. It was read and
praised by everybody. Devotees of
culture reveled In it because, as they
said, the literary style was so refined
and almost classical. There was no
body who could say a thing so delicate
ly and at the same time so cuttingly
as Miss Wharton, The moralists liked
the book because "it taught a great
lesson." Just what the lesson was no
body seemed quite able to specify, but
there it lay enshrined in Miss Whar
ton's classic chapters, and you might
find it for yourself. The great sister,
hood of climbers liked It best of all
because it described with what ap
peared to be scientific accuracy, and
from the inside that gilded society to
which with ardent longings they all
aspired to rise. When the first whirl
of enthusiasm over "The House of
Mirth" had swept by it occurred to
some readers that the character draw
ing had been a little wan. The names
of the people in the book might per
haps be remembered, but that was
about all. Their inner nature re
mained a dim guess. The gifted novel
ist had told her readers scarcely any
thing about it, and what she did tell
was quickly dropped out of recollec
tion. "The House of Mirth" was more
in the nature of a handbook to Amei!
can high society, with its luxury and
vice, than a work of art
Miss Wharton's new book, "The Cus
tom of the Country" introduces us to
another set of automatons, but upon
the whole they are more interesting
than any that she has previously ex
hibited. Her skill in depicting them
is not greater nor has there been any
improvement in her literary style. How
could perfection be improved? But
the people themselves are more hu
man. The heroine of the book is Un
dine Spragg, who is meant to be a typi
cal American girl. In some respects
she is true to life. She domineers over
her meek parents and forces them to
sacrifice their own interest and pleas
ure to hers without pity or scruple.
This Is American through and through.
Jn no other part of the world do par
ents submit to that sort of tyranny,
while here it is the custom of the
country and we all look upon it as
quite natural. Undine has already
been once divorced when she makes
her first appearance. The husband,
whom she fell in with back in Apex
City, was an undesirable, and as soon
as Undine began to aspire to high so
cial ambitions she dismissed him. Soon
afterward she moved her parents to
New York in order to mingle with the
"four hundred." This was her ideal
of a useful and happy life, and she
was ready to sacrifice herself and
everybody else to attain it. While she
was waiting for admission to the para
dise of her dreams Undine lived a sor
did and almost solitary hotel life with
her wretched father and mother, who
are drawn with much fidelity to truth.
She tyrannizes over them pitilessly and
they submit patiently. Her first con
tact with the aristocracy comes by way
of Claud Washington Popple, an artist
who frequents the company of the
grossly rich and imagines himself to be
a gentleman. Miss Wharton skilfully
shows us that he is not, but poor Un
dine does not know the difference,
such is her darkened spiritual estate.
Through Popple's good offices Undine
meets Ralph Marvell, who is the real
thing, a scion of the ineffable old
stock, not very rich but aristocratic to
the tips of his toes. His lack of money
proves fatal, for Undine is extrava
gant. She loves luxury and cares not
how the bills are paid. Her parents
skimp along on the edge of bank
ruptcy and Ralph has only a meager
income, so that Undine is constantly
tantalized by the sight of pleasures
which she must not share. She wor
ries Ralph for money until he shoots
himself, and she tries to ensnare a
fabulously gorgeous millionaire who
loves her but will not desert his law
ful wife to wed Undine. This drives
her to make love to a French Count,
whom she "ropes" without much diffi
culty. The Count de Thezac is, of
course, of the old nobility. To her as
tonishment Undine finds that he cares
a great deal more for his family than
for his wife. This puts her under a
constraint which she cannot endure.
It is a fine thing to be a Countess, but
what is glory without freedom? The
natural consequence is another di
vorce, especially since the prehistoric
original husband of Apex days has
now appeared on the stage of the
great world and made himself a mil
lionaire, which is also in strict accord
with the custom of the country. Still
following this custom, Undine finally
remarries her old love, and, we are
bound to suppose, lives happy ever af
ter. Is this not an enchanting tale? That
there are such people as Undine and
her father and mother in the world It
Is useless to deny, but who i3 any hap
pier or better for reading the story of
their sordid adventures? There Is not
a person in Miss Wharton's book who
Is worth a moment's attention from a
reader of sense. They are all phan
toms and most of them very weak
phantoms. Undine is the only charac
ter "who has any vigor, and she is a
greedy and passionless fiend. We hope
that in her next book Miss Wharton
will show us some people who are not
so miserably uninteresting. Her un
doubted genius is capable of better
things than "The Custom of the Country."
The American Iron and Steel Insti
tute gave deep attention to an address
on "The Causes of Fatigue" by Dr.
Thomas Darlington, who urged conser
vation of the human energy of steel
workers as promoting the interests of
employers. As thf food in the work
man's lunch basket is poorly adapted
to produce energy, he recommends
that cheerful dining-rooms be provid
ed, where freshly prepared food of the
right kind be supplied at lowest cost,
and that plenty of time be allowed for
eating. He also Insists on good ven
tilation, avoidance of open fires and
hooding of furnaces to protect work
men against the poisonous carbon
monoxide gas which furnaces gener
ate. He would provide free shower
baths and plenty ot cold drinking
water, all with a view to getting the
best out of men. This is enlightened
selfishness, while the prevalent
fcwelve-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week
system with none of these benefits is
benighted barbarism.
Those who imagine that govern
ment ownership would decrease the
loss of life on railroads should study
some figures published by the Rail
way Gazette relating to accidents on
French railroads. In the fiscal year
1910 only five passengers were killed
on the 20,000 miles of privately-
owned railroad in France, while sixty-six
were killed on the 5000 miles
of state-owned road. For every ten
billion passengers carried one mile,
the private roads killed six and the
state roads killed 315. If the latter
proportion had prevailed in the
United States in 1912 on our 244,000
miles of railroad, the slaughter would
have reached 1050, when in fact it
was only 107.
The Krupp armament scandal con
tinues to vex the German authorities
It is no sooner quieted in one form
than it bobs up in another. The gist
of it is that the Krupps were mem
bers of a secret international clique
formed to hatch up war scares for
the profit of the gun makers. There
is some reason to believe that the
clique had allies in the United States
However that may be, it has been
pretty thoroughly exposed in Ger
many and the disclosures are any
thing but pleasant.
Our Naval gunners are doing their
best to compensate for the failure of
Congress to maintain the strength of
the Navy by their excellent target
practice. The great 12-inch gunners
of the Wyoming smashed small tar
gets two, three and four miles away
In a manner to astonish spectators.
Given ships of equal gun-power,
range and speed, gunners such as the
Wyoming's can make their ship equal
to two iwith gunners only half as ex
pert. The only shots that count are
theo that hit.
Iceland Is to vote on a new const!
tution giving women votes. What is
there about the northern women that
men are more disposed to give them
the franchise? Women vote in Swe
den, Norway, Finland and in some of
our Northern states. The Southern
chivalry falls short.
French military experiments show
that it Is practicable for the com
manding general to remain a dozen
miles from the fighting zone in bat
tle. Entirely satisfactory to the com
manding general, we should imagine.
A Chinese freshman at the Wiscon
sin univpr5itv refuser! tn wenr n frpoi
cap because it is a mark of infamy in
nis country. in the United States
nowever, it merely indicates that th
wearer is an ass.
Julian Hawthorne has written an ex
pose of conditions in the Atlanta jail
where he served. The jail authorities
doubtless will call attention to his
mining literature by way of defense
Now the New York brokers declare
themselves at sea over the income tax.
A New York broker, you see, may
have prospects of a $50,000 income
and realize only a ruinous deficit.
Saved once by the police from a
smooth swindler, a California man of
means fell victim to the same bunco
man. Money and that fellow aren't
congenial.
Mrs. Lind says she hurried from
Mexico because she couldn't bear to
see men hanged. But they don't hang
them in Mexico; they shoot them in
the back.
With her vertebrae hanging by a
shred a Boston woman will die if she
laughs during the next few weeks.
Don't let her get wind of our Mexican
policy.
President Wilson will personally
give his daughter away at the wed
ding. Too bad he can't apply the
same methods to his Secretary of
State.
The youngest Astor aspires to be
a big league player. He has too much
money ever to be anything other than
a rich man's son.
No one will object, however, if the
soapbox orators use dirigibles to speak
from. We respectfully suggest the
Zeppelin type.
According to market reports butter
isn't strong. We insist, however, that
the report does not apply to the
whole output.
Sulzer is declining campaign con
tribution. Probably wants to iwnain
free from temptation. '
A promiscuous kisser was sent to
Jail at Oregon City. Yet Hobson was
sent to Congress.
Doc Friedmann may return. Why
not form a medical partnership with
Doc Cook?
Even. the weather boosted for the
bridge.
Stories of Natural Science
Synopsis of Lecture at Reed College,
Delivered by Dr. William Conger
Morgan.
The Behavior of Hydrogen.
Inconceivable as It may seem for wa
ter to have no other constituents than
the two gases, oxygen and hydrogen.
there are few facts of science that can
be so conclusively demonstrated In the
laboratory. For beside the resolution
of water into these two gases the re
verse can be accomplished and the two
gases united to form water again. More
effective evidence that water is so con
structed would not be demanded by the
most sceptical inquirer. The synthesis
of water has taken place by means of
various forms of apparatus and with
unvarying success. Oxygen and hydro,
gen are only too ready to combine Into
water, and under favorable auspices .
will effect a union in a spectacular and
conclusive manner. In fact, a mixture
of one volume of oxygen and two vol
umes of hydrogen, given the proper
mpulse. Is capable of exploding with
such violence that the most conserva
tive spectator would be stimulated to
admitting that something noteworthy
had happened. The disturbance which
accompanies this reaction Is merely an
evidence of the energy that is expended
when oxygen and hydrogen unite.
A good way to bring about a chemical
union between these two gases is
to seal a properly proportioned
mixture of them up In -a glass
container with electric wires so
connected as to deliver a spark In
side. Before touching off the spark It
would be advisable to put some stout
boxes over the container, for a few
inches of wood will give a more or less
complete immunity to spectators. In
deed, a quart of the mixture has more
than once demolished its containers and
reduced to shreds four or five boxes in
an instant, thus establishing among
watchers a wholesome respect for the
potency of the mixture.
When it is seen that water is formed
of hydrogen and oxygen in certain
proportions, it would be proper to aslc
if these certain proportions of the gases
will unite to form water; and nature
answers the question put to her with
startling promptness and vigor. In
deed, it is only after properly render
ing himself bomb-proof that an in
quirer now cares to learn about this
property of oxygen and hydrogen from
first-hand experience. In classifying
the properties of hydrogen, it was no
ticed that it would burn in the air like
many another gas, so in this reaction
as well as in the one just described, it
could be believed that a compound with
oxygen is formed which rn this case
would be water. While the explosion
of the two gases misrht scatter by
standers, and strew any container
through space in fairly wide separation
of particles, the gases themselves have
only come closer together in the for
mation of minute water particles. In a
hydrogen flame the same result could
be detected; on a cold glass Jar held
close to hydrogen burning there will
be a visible deposit of moisture.
The flame of hydrogen is very hot,
even when the gas is burned in the
ordinary atmosphere. But with the
supply of oxygen increased, the heat
given off becomes very intense; hydro
gen burning in oxygen produces the
hottest flame that science can attain.
This flame is possible with the oxygen
hydrogen blowpipe, which is so con
structed that the two gases are mixed
only as they reach the flame. Having
in mind the violent activity of mixed
oxygen and hydrogen, to give them
stimulus by flame would not seem a
well-advised impulse; hence the in
ventor of the blowpipe wisely kept
them apart except as they were allowed
to flow into the flame.
Of course the lesson of being cau
tious has been well learned in chemis
try, and survivors of accidents have
rarely suffered from extraordinary
astonishment twice from the same
cause. However, an occasional zealot
has been known to attempt an experi
ment having consequences of which he
is either careless or ignorant, and then
receive a sudden introduction to hither
to unsuspected facts. These are the
conditions under which a lecturer in
chemistry once proceeded to show a
class of boys what a hot flame oxygen
and hydrogen can make. The fact that
chemistry was only a side line with
this good man explains his method of
producing the wonderful oxygen-hydrogen
flame. Instead of causing the gase3
to be mixed only in the flame, he con
sidered the efficacy of burning a
ready prepared mixture. Accordingly
the gases were mixed In a bag, and a
plank was laid over It: then to get a
good pressure at the turner, the lec
turer stood on the plank. When he lit
the gas he was blown clear over the
lecture table into the arm's of his class
who were not fully prepared to re
ceive him in this manner. Lighting the
gas in this Instance barely fell short of
being as ill-advised as blowing out the
gas has often proved to be. Needless
to say, the lecturer, like other enlight
ened beings, was more discreet in the
future.
The formation of water by both of
these methods is accompanied by the
liberation of an immense amount of
energy. The heat of a hydrogen flame
may be 1800 degrees Centigrade for a
considerable length of time without
forming more than a few grains of wa
ter. The amount of water on the earth
gives but a faint conception of the
energy that was once liberated in its
formation, energy, It is said, sufficient
to run all the Industries of mankind for
all time.
Besides the Importance of hydfosren
In being a constituent of water, it has
many properties which make it of gen
eral use as a gas. Its most striking
peculiarity is lightness, for as far as
can be ascertained it has less weight
than any other element. It is a popu
lar impression that all balloons are full
of hydrogen, though, by the way, they
are usually filled with the much less
expensive illuminating gas. A balloon
would rise too rapidly if it contained
nothing but hydrogen. Unfortunately
also the gas leaks from the envelope
with great rapidity and the balloon is
likely to come down too rapidly also.
The principle of hydrogen's ascending
through the air is of very general ap
plication. All substances move upward
or downward, according to the relative
weights of these substances as com
pared with the substances in which
they are Immersed. Some very interest
ing phenomena result from the prin
ciple. Just as water pours downward
through air. hydrogen pours upward,
and to be kept In an open vessel, the
vessel must be inverted. Were not air
the medium through which we ordi
narily see things poured we might aee
a great many substances pouring up
ward Just as hydrogen does. In an at
mosphere of mercury, water would
show the same behavior, so that to get
a drink, it -would be necessary for a
man to stand on his head. The direc
tions in which water, potatoes and
grain usually pour would be reversed.
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