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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1914)
THE SUNPAT OltEGOTSTAX, PORTLAyD, . XOTEMBER 22, 1914 DR. MIRIAM VAX WATERS. ONE'S position on the ladder of success Is. after all, relative, or so one might be led to believe after a discussion of the matter with Miss Miriam Van Waters, superintend ents of the Detention Home. The ordinary observer would call it promising: elevation on the ladder for one to have, at 25 or. 26 years, the record of three university degrees, four years of successful work in one's chosen line and a position at the head of an Institution at Just the stage its de velopment when one can do he most effective work in determining the char acter of the Institution for the future. Miss Van Waters, or let us designate her by the title she earned in her university work. Dr. Van Waters, modestly refuses to regard her position as one of dizzv elevation on the lad der. She looks upon it rather In the attitude of one who succeeded In hook ing hsr fingers firmly around the low er rounds of the ladder and is Just gathering breath for a determined climb. Perhaps this attitude on her part is because her vision gives her a glimpse of upward expanses on the great lad der that, are invisible to the layman or to one who does not know the inner qualities of her ambition or her aims. However, to lay aside the discussion as to whether or iot she stands well up on the rounds of the ladder, which Is exactly what I did when I went to Interview her, having already come to a conclusion of my own and other people's satisfaction, it is a rather in teresting story to trace her progress to the position she new occupies and some of the theories of life that she has accumulated and elaborated on the way. Dr. Van Waters, although she was bqrn in Pennsylvania Is really a Port land and Oregon girl, for she1 came to this city when she was a child and the first years of her educational career were -hi this city and state. Work at University Noted. From St. Helen's Hall, after her graduation in 1904, she v ent to the University of Oregon, from which she - iMbuciur ui aria degree in 1908. While In college she was active In the literary work of the student body, editing the university monthly maga zine for one year and serving as dramatic coach for a term. The recog nition of her effective work In her studies was prompt, for after her grad uation, she was called back to serve as assistant to Dr. Sheldon In the de partment of psychology. It was in her college years, apparent ly, that the fates, or the little gods that tinker with one's destinies, be gan to shape things up to, bring her to Portland in 1914 to take, charge of the Detention Home. Dr. Van Waters denies that she, like most famous peo ple are supposed to do, had the plan of her destiny whittled Into shape' long before she -went to college, and attri butes her success thus far more to circumstances thar. anything else. If this Is true, the circumstances that in terested her more and more deeply in psychological study, certainly were aiming in the direction of the work tha.tshe is now handling. in. isio. while working for her master's degree In the University of Oregon, she did volunteer social work In Portland and in this, the determlnist who. seeks to trace out the course of her career, must find tlje second influ ence that was brought to bear to bring her to the superlntendency of the De tention Home. . At the same time she was one 'of the editors of the New West maga zine, which was struggling to assume Its place In the literary life of the Northwest at that time, and would have done so had it not been for cir cumstances unforeseen. Since I have taken it upon myself to trace Miss Van Waters' career on the determin istic theory, I must either pass over without classification the part played by her work on the New West, or must look upon it as the recrudescence of the literary bent that manifested itself in her college career, but which was pushed aside by the preponder ating influences that were preparing her for a career In social service. Clark University, at Worcester. Mas sachusetts, was the scene of her later university work. She went to niark with a fellowship In anthropology and SUCCESS IN LIFE WORK ' ?& --CP "" " 'r-r'"" ' Ov RELATIVE, SAYS REALIST JyrX -,rlW , ZWAA ) Dr. Miriam Van "Waters, "Woman at Head of Detention Home, Says Prep- j-gf7f " " aration "Was Made for S ' m i - , k" , - v -n- ill - n w m - II 'iiiiii 1r r v V VI ax J I - ? I - I V XV. . VX - ; - i44 is writing IS Wl us grateful Jt "npsp jlT ls tne woman who has been cured of sex who after long suffering has finally found relief and been restored to health and usefulness bv Lvdia E. Pinkhnm's Vegetable Compound. These are the women who KNOW that it is claimed to be there they dwell in all parts of . a..wfw 1 1 this great remedy for women's ills is-all many thousands of such women the country. Every day of every year, some woman, somewhere, letters tor restoration to health. Lydia E. Pinkliam's Vegetable Compound This from Mrs. S. T. Richmond, Providence, R. I. Read this Letter from Mrs. Waters. Camden, N. J. "I was, sick for two years with nervous spells, and my kidneys were affected. I had a doctor all the time and used a galvanic battery, but nothing did me any good. I was not able to go to bed, but spent my time on a couch or in a sleeping-chair, and soon became almost a skel eton. Finally my doctor went away for his health, and my husband heard of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound and got me some. In two months I got relief and now I am like a new woman and am at my usual weight. I recommend your . medicine to every one and so does my husband." Mrs. Tiixie Waters, No. 1135 Knight Street, Camden, New Jersey. " Every sick woman owes it to fifrflf fr trial; for it cannot harm her, and there are restore- her health. For special advice write Providence. R. I.. " For the benefit nf suffer as I have done I wish to state what Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound has done for me. I did some heavy lifting and the doctor said it caused a displace ment. I have always been weak and I overworked after my baby was born and inflammation set in, then nervous prostration, from which I did not recover until I had taken Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. The Com pound is my best friend and when I hear of a woman with troubles like mine I try to induce her to take your medicine." Mrs. S. T. Richmond, 199 Waldo Street, Prov idence, Rhode Island. 1 t give Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound a a hundred chances to one that it will completely The Lydia E. Pinkham Med. Co., Lynn, Mass. J received her degree as Doctor of Phil osophy after three years of study. In those three years, the finishing preparatory touches were put upon her work, which were to bring her back to Portland to the management of the Detention Home. Gradually, from the academic and theoretical side of sociological study, her attention was transferred to the experimental and practical side. While In th Hast she became more and more active In professional social work. She was employed In the work of the Ju venile Court In Boston and in the child clinic In Worcester, over which she had charge for one year. She became intimate with the work ings of the various Institutions for the care of children in making extensive comparative study of the systems em ployed. In the Boston Juvenile Court, where she was employed, she served also in capacity of agent for the Boston Children's Aid Society, her especial care being the cases of girls. Then she was n t FtArlf.it-H Jsiw -p-i-t later she studied more deeply up Juve- J nile delinquents with Healy in Chicago. Circumstances having elaborately weaned her away from the academic side of the work to the practical and experimental work in the lines of so ciological endeavor she had been brought to choose, 'everything was ready for her to come 'to Portland, and In due time she came. Dr. Van . Waters herself says she doesn't know what brought her to Portland, or why she came to be of fered the position rather than anyone else. She had, however, definitely de termined that she would not accept any work involving the purely aca demic side of the profession, and she was also rather anxious to come back to Portland once more. Having started to develop this story along the theory of determinism, we may as well hazard the explanation that, circumstances having prepared Dr. Van Waters for the work and having provided a comparatively new field and an institution capable of much elaboration, brought the two, the work er and the field together. In order to develop in the Northwest an institution EARTHLY HOME that might perform a great new work in elaborating a scientific and efficient method of dealins- with luvenilA rlclln. ! quency. , Having thus dutifully worked out the chain , of events that brought her to her present condition of success, we are Inclined to repudiate it almost utterly and attribute the greater part of it, not to a sequence of circum stances, as she seemed willing to let us do, but to her own ambition and interest In the line of activity which she had selected. Dr. Van Waters, while she claimed to be something of an opportunist, did say, in the course of her conversation, that she had a "more or less definite aim through it all" and the fact that she worked her way through college and fitted herself with such earnest ness for the work, would lead one to believe that her aim was certain and definite. Perhaps not definite as to the selection of the exact place in which she was to pursue her work, but cer tainly most definite as to the charac ter of the work. "The Detention Home is bound to fail of its true purpose If we are to regard it merely a hotel where de linquent children are to stay over night or longer, until then- case can be disposed of finally by the court." she said, and thus went on to give the clew to what the real, and definite plan In her shaping of her career had been. "The Detention Home is not to bo regarded as a mere hotel or a tempor ary dumping ground for children, if we are to make It serve its proper purpose in society. For an Institution so regarded would be no better 100 years from now than it was yesterday, nor would .we have gained from it a single idea or suggestion as to how to handle delinquent children or how to prevent delinquency. "The real office of the , Detention Home is to serve as a laboratory for the study of the whole problem of de linquency, besides performing such im mediate . relief work as the specific cases that pass through it demand. Not only is It a place where the Ju venile Court may turn for the diag nosis of the cases of delinquency that come through It, but It must be wrought into a laboratory in which we may ascertain something of the causes of delinquency. "I intended at first to go in for the scientific and theoretical side of social work, but in the end, after I had looked over things carefully, I decided that work in the field was what society most needed at this time." Thus briefly Dr. Van Waters out lined her own motives which led her into the work and gave a prophecy of what she hopes and intends to make of the Detention Home, if she remains superintendent. It ls almost certain that society can rely upon her giving It her best and most effective service each day and every day, for: "I am a realist," she said. "It seems to me that one day is the same as another a day in which one may do to the best of their ability whatsoever that day brings them to do. For after all, the process by which we arrive at our goal is just as important as the goal at which we are seeking to ar rive." USED AS SIMILE FOR HEAVENLY HOME Dr. Hinson Draws Picture of Love and Devotion Shown by Parents to Plead With Weary Travelers on Terrestrial Planet to Heed Voice Calling Them Toward Celestial Home. I BT IR. W. B. IIINSON, HOME. "A place for you." John xiv:. N HIS last delirium, an American statesman murmured. Now I lar mo down to sleep. I pray the Iord my aoul to keep; : If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. In those closing moments of life, his mind strayed back to the prayer he bad learned In his youth; to his child hood, his home, and his mother. My conception of heaven is insep- ly rably associated with my childhood days. For my first distinct dream of the other world was occasioned by some verses my mother taught me, in those hallowed hours wnen the falling twi light found me by her side. The verses were those of Mrs. Hemans, called "The Better Land," that simple song that holds Its charm In spite of the rushimr years, and the more matured thought of growing life, I hear thee tell of a better land. Thou callest its children a happy band; Mother, oh where ls that radiant shore? 8hall we not seek It and weep no moreT Is it where the flower of the orange blows. And the fire-flies stance through the myrtle boughs? "Not there, not there, my child." Es H where the feathery palm trees rise. And the date grows ripe under sunny skies? Or mldBt the rreen islands of flittering seas. Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze. And BtranKe. bright birds on their starry wlnjrs. Bear the rich hues of all glorious things? "Not there, not there, my child." Is It far away in some region old. Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold? where the burning rays of the ruby shine. And the diamond lights up the secret mine. Ana the tearl gleams forth from the coral It there, sweet mother, that better land? , "Not there, not there, my child." Ah, no! The radiant shores and springing flowers, the gleam of the firefly and the fronded palm, the per fume of forest, and the wealth and shine of precious things, will not se cure us from the assaults of sorrow, or bar the heart's door against the ap proach of grief. For circumstances and surroundings cannot insure happiness, and perfect Joy Is a flower that blooms: Not here, not here, not where the sparkling waters Fade into mocking sands as we draw near. The undisturbed repose and the full ness of joy, the great glory and unal loyed happiness foretold by Christ is a prize for which he seeks too low who seeks beneath the skies. For, as iua Btius goes on 10 say: Eye hath not seen It. my gentle boy; Ear hath not heard Its deep sounds of Joy; Dreams cannot picture a world so fair. Sorrow and death mar not enter there: Time does not breathe on its fadeless bloom. Kor bevond the clouds, and beyond the tomb " 'Tie there, 'tig there, my child." Heaven's Beaaty Conceded. Now we are ' certainly warranted In supposing that heaven as a place will be eminently beautiful. We are ac quainted with one world of God's mak ing; and albeit sin has sought to spoil God's handiwork, the glorious auto graph of Its maker has never ' been erased from the fair earth. The writer of Genesis has told as that after God had spoken the world Into existence; after decking the sky with a million stars, and carpeting the. earth with a flowery sod, God looked upon creation's face; and he. the all-wise and all glorious, pronounced It "very good." And doubtless there have been times In the experience of us alJ, when we al beit our knowledge is so limited and our sight - so dim have realized that we, too, could feel the truthfulness of the creator's speech concerning the earth. And It ever remains true, that if we have no conception of the beautiful. It Is not on account of the natural sur roundings In which God has placed us; for verily the earth is full of thought, and full of beauty, too. And, not only for the presence of the lovely in na ture, but also for our realization of that loveliness, we should adore our Maker. For. as Festus said, "some souls are redeemable by the love of beauty"; and it ls certain the world without will grant fuller revelations of goodness and beauty to those who love it and appreciate its fairness, than to those who, with the eye of ecstasy, have never seen the flowers beneath, or the bright blue sky above. From Nature up to Nature's God. is where we should all be led. When we consider God's heaven and no less God's earth we gratefully acknowledge that all his works praise him, and in our adora tion swell creation's psalm; thus mingling our voices with the song of birds, the murmur of the wind, the roar of the sea, the roll of the thun der, and the music of the ever-rushii.e spheres. For O, but the world ls fair, ls fair. And O, but the world is sweet; -And out In the gold of the blossoming mould. We can sit at the Master's feet. Boundless Gifts Are Noted. And then again, we are within the bounds in supposing the heaven of God's building to be very magnlficeDt and glorious. When ' we consider the boundless resources of our God, when we ponder the fact that not only the gold and silver of earth are his, but also the massive grandeur of all worlds; that In addition to all created material he has the boundless re sources of his own infinite nature, and the innumerable possibilities of his omnipotence; then are we sure indeed that the world above must be most fair and glorious. And as the Idolatrous temple of Diana was so bright and dazzling, that the doorkeeper cried out always to those who entered, "Take heed to your eyes"; so" I have some times thought that our faculties of vision must be greatly strengthened ere we can behold the pearly palaces of heaven. Oh, that city of the Kins, that home of the redeemed, that fair coun try where the unfading flowers bloom, and the unending song is sung: "What must It be to be there!" . To see as John saw the Holy Jerusalem pos sessing the glory of Jehovah; with a brilliancy like that of precious stones; with Its walls of Jasper and streets of gold; with its crystal river and trees of life; to behold its scenery, bathe In its ligrht. nnrfl.ln,. In 1. 'What must It be to be there!" O, the earth Is flecked wl flowers, many tinted, fresh an' gay. The birdies warble blithely, for my father made thera sae; But these sights and these "soun's. will as naethlng be to me, When I hear the angels slngln' in my am countree. And blessed be God, this heaven no beautiful and grand ls a large place. In my Father's house are many man sions, and they will be all filled; not one unoccupied mansion In all heaven. Nineteen centuries ago. when the be loved disciple saw paradise, he beheld a great multitude that no man could number; and ever slnco then the num ber has been increasing, while E'en now to their eternal home. Borne happy spirits fly. Shepherd's Klo-t Larch . For the Good Shepherd has, not only a large fold, but a large flock also; the great Father has many children; and as Jesus told us. many shall come from east, and west, and north, and south; and until the number of the fallen leaves of all the ages, and of thA fiAnri riiist ctt all . i JropH of all the floods have" been tuuuicu, ii win ue iropossiDie to tell how great that throng will be, who escape "all evil by being sheltered In glory with Jesus. And if It ls allowable to Judge of a poem by the poet; of a building by the builder:' of a houf bv the o,v.H.t what boundless suggestion Is open to our view as we realize that Christ ls the maker and builder of heaven! This being so, I am sure the home of the soul, the Paradise of Christ's prepar ing, will be a sure defense; secure against all time's ravages, or sin's as saults. For on the sure foundation, even the Rock of Ages, the great Lord will build a mansion that shall be eternal in the heavens. Ah, children of God, into that heaven above there shall enter nothing that deflleth; no disturbing doubt, no som ber foreboding, no darkening tempta tion. For the Great Shepherd who so loved his sheep that he died for their redemption; who sought them patient ly, earnestly and long; who sought them o'er moMntains thunder-riven, and through the deep valleys where there was loneliness and pain, surely he will house those sheep In a fold of perfect security and peace. ' And thank God we shall then be ab solutely sinless. Then we shall see his face. And never, never sin. Tea, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he Is." His name will be written on our foreheads; and we who have trusted In his mercy and worn his righteousness below, shall then be robed by him In the beauty of perfect holiness and spotless purity. But from what we might reason ably expect heaven to be, we now turn to what Christ in the text declares it certainly is. . Heaven to Be "Home." If in talking to me, my brother Sn the flesh should speak and say "my father's house," I should understand his language to be a reference to my home to our home. And so when. Jesus, who is the elder brother of those who believe, speaks of "My father's house," are we not Justified in saying he ts speaking of heaven as our home? What a wonderful word is the word "home"! O, home, ray home, O, river in the valley of my home, cried an American boy, who lay dying far away from -the place of his birth. "Dying, you say; then carry me home to die";- so murmured an English lad to whom death approached on the shores of Africa. Verily there's no place like home. For the best friends are there. We make friends along the highway of life, and the friendship of these fellow pilgrims is a Bweet and fragrant thing; but the home friends are the truest after all. For when all the world is cold and re- pellant, there's a refuge at home. When the citizens in the far off country have no pity, there's a welcome at the old home. Ah, lads and lasses listening to my words, remember what I tell you concerning these home friends. Oh, forsake not the mother whose hair is white and whose eye is dim through watching for you; forsake not "the father whose hand is hard through toil ing for you: for wherever you wander, whatever you do, however wide the. i circle that knows you, or however numerous the friends that surround you, there will be no love offered so 'noble, and so unselfish, so pure, and tender, so all-forgiving, undying and strong, as the love of the dear ones at home. Oh, you young people who have left your country.homes and are dwelling in this city; yon who sometimes smile at the simple ways and natural speech of the old father and mother, I beseech you let your smile be very tender and kindly; remember, the home friends with a warmness about your heart; write to them often; see that their way to the grave ls made smooth as pos sible; for girls, you may in the days to come prove many a friendship and find it wanting in earth, but your mother's love will be as gold no fire can de stroy; for boys, you may drift Into seas where sympathy and kindness are un known, but even then remember that your old father loves you even in your waywardness, and will welcome you home agajn. Ah, friends, I would once more repeat this simple, unadorned sen tence, that of all the loves there Is none like the home love. And what a place of confidence is home. In the world we are cautious and - reserved; for he who bears his heart upon his sleeve will be sore wounded and distressed. But at home; ah, at home no one will accuse us of egotism; and no one deem us foolish; there we lay bare our hearts and ap pear as we really are. Thrice happy la the roan, though bearded and bronzed, though possessor of great gifts and ringing renown, who at vacation time can go home and tell mother and fath er what the busy years have done for him; what he has gained, and what he fears most. For In the home there is perfect sympathy. "Carry me home," is not only the cry of the dying; but it is the cry of all those whose cup of existence is filled with misrepresenta tion, scorn and sorrow. "Carry me home," is the cry of the woundeff, weep ing, sinning, sorrowing ones, the wide world over. For at home tBe hands are gentle, and the hearts are kind; at home no word of reproach will be spoken, and there, if anywhere, the damning thought of the far off country may be lost, and the soiled soul made clean. There is rest at home! O, brother, whose early life was spent in the coun try, can you rest anywhere under the sun as you can in the old accustomed places, where the very fences are fa miliar, and the streams talk to you as though they were glad to see you again? Or you, whose home was by the sea! Is there anything can soothe your trou bled mind or cool your heated brow like the sound of the waves that have murmured on those well-known sands for many a hundred years? "Take him home," said a hospital nurse, speaking of a man whose llstlessness betrayed his indifference to life. "Take him home; if aught will rouse him. that will." True, oh friend, quite true! For to ears that care not for the world's praise, the brooks will be welcome; and eyes that no eulogy can make bright, may kindle with Interest at the sight of an old-time flower, with Its old fashioned name, and its modest look. Greater Home In Open. But dear friends, while these earthly homes may furnish relief for many a pang, and balm for many a wound, we have to acknowledge sadly that life brings to us some woes that even the dearest friends of earth can neither mitigate nor relieve. And for our com fort while' pondering this fact, we should be careful to remember how. in the home above, there shall enter noth ing that could sadden or disturb the soul's peace. For there the Inhabitants are no more sick; they hunger no more: they thirst no more; they are never weary; they never sin; but God wipes away all tears from their faces, and they '"From the rivers of his grace Erink endless pleasures In." I have read how when the invalid soldiers of the Crimea were carried aboard the troopship, the bands upon the shore played the old hymn. "Home, Sweet Home," and as the wounded war riors heard the pathetic strains they the strong men who had dared the fury of the battle wept, while they remembered their comrades dead on Crimean soil, for whom there was no return home; and also pondered the possibility of some of their number dying on the voyage, and instead of sleeping under old England's daisies, becoming prey ' of the waves. But brethren beloved, we have no such cause for sorrow. All who fight In this fight are sure of a crown. All those who sleep in Jesus are safe. And when the general roll is called we shall all be there. 'You remember the time far back in the past when in the falling twilight your mother used to stand In your boy hood home and call you to shelter for the night. Ah, friends, tne days will be but short and few ere God will send for you the messenger who shall con duct you home! Or you recollect the day when by your father's side you wandered far out into the country, and as you wearily walked homeward father comforted you by saying: "Child, you are getting nearer home." Even so, brothers, we are getting toward home. And every heart throb and pulse best, every waning moon and setting sun finds us nearer the end. The father's hand holds us, and the father's voice cheers us. We shall soon be home. O, that home of the soul. In my visions and d reams Its bright jasper walls I can see: 'Till I fancy but thinly the veil Intervenes Between the fair city and me. That unchangeable home la for you and for me. Where Jesus of Nazareth stands; The King of all kingdom forever ls be. And he holdeth our crowns in his hands. I read some lines long weeks ago (Concluded on Page 10.) STOMACH FINE! INDIGESTION, GAS, SOURNESS GONE-PAPE'S DIAPEPSIN In Five Minutes! No Stomach Misery, Heartburn, Gases or Dyspepsia. "Really does" put bad stomachs in order "really does" overcome indiges tion, dyspepsia, gas, heartburn and sourness in rive minutes that just that makes Pape's Diapepsin the larg est selling stomach regulator In the world. If what you fat ferments Into stubborn lumps, you belch gas and eructate sour, undigested food and acid; head is dizzy and aches; breath sour; tongue coated; your insides filled with bile and indigestible waste, re- ( member the moment Pape's Diapepsin comes in contact with the stomach all distress vanishes. It's truly astonish ing almost marvelous, and the joy Is its harmlessness. A large firty-cent case of Pape's Diapepsin will give you a hundred dollars' worth of satisfaction, or your druggist hands you your money back. It's worth its weight In gold to men and women who can't get their stom achs regulated. It belongs in your home should always be kept handy in ease of a sick, sour, upset stomach during the day or at night. It's the quickest, surest and most harmless stomach doctor in the world. Adv.