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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1915)
THE SUNDAY OREGONTAN, PORTLAND, JUNE 20, 1915. " 7 w 1 1 i 1 h si IB a wv an a he ANY STRAIGHT AMERICAN BOY MAY MARRY A EUROPEAN HEIRESS WHEN CONFLICT IS OVER THINKS WRITER. FAMILY FORTUNES AWAIT "VERITABLE SCRAMBLE FOR MEN EXPECTED. BT STERLING HEIL.IG. PARIS. June 8. (Special.) "Any straight American boy can marry a European heiress!" So spoke an American titled woman In Paris. "He doesn't need to be well off or socially Important." she continued. "But he must be hard and good, cap able to learn to run a business or curse an estate." She showed me newspaper clippings. I read: "San Remo. May 5. The Italian au thorities at Parma have stopped a distinguished-looking' woman who trav eled on the principal railroad lines. Approaching marriageable men. she asked for their cards "in order to pro pose them excellent matches, with a choice of nationalities, after the war.' " I read: "Berlin (Tageblatt), May 21. The matchmakers address innumerable of fers of marriages, emanating prin cipally from widows of officers and soldiers. Such offers follow immedi ately the publication of lists of "killed In war.' The Berlin paper demands that & stop be put to the scandal. Such widows compete disloyally with young girls.". I read, from the Paris Journal: This morning I had the surprise to hear the regimental postman call my name. How describe my Joy? Is there, then, in Prance, some one who takes an interest in me, to whom I can write?" The titled American explained: "It Is the letter of an 'alone' young French combatant, written to his brand-new 'godmother' who is not, at all, an old lady as you might imagine. The Journal, alone, has furnished 23, 000 such godmothers mostly mar riageable girls or their mammas. I read, addressed. "To the editor of the Matin": - "Our only son has fallen on the field Of honor. Will you give us another?" Here we have a war adoption. "All sweetly sad, worthy of all re Hpect," said the American great lady. "What If marriageable girls godmother unknown combatant? Flaming with patriotism, they do not recognize their own heart's need. What if little girls of 12 write letters to their 'knitting soldiers'? What- if widows feel bereft twice over?. Between the cities and the armies fly millions of valentines with bundles of underwear, hampers of wine, food and toilet comforts tied to them. Alas, a million never reach! The brave boys are cut down. From the cities goes the cry for males, the scramble for men!" Can you imagine the situation? American girls, accustomed to being courted, you have men to throw away. Estimates based on the last census show that there are 49,500,000 males la. the United States to 46,700,000 fe males. American girls, big and little, have S.000,000 men to reject! Europe, even before the war, was Just the opposite. Germany had an excess of 1,000,000 females; Austria Hungary, 1,100,000; France, 900,000 girls too many; Great Britain an ex cess of 1,300,000 fair ones, and Italy about 700,000 which made a total of 6.000.000 European girls who might not hope to marry. Old Maids' Day (St. Catherine's) was already a sad date in Paris. The sew ing girls of the smart region overran the rue de la Paix and boulevard, at noon, carrying bouquets. When men asked them who the flowers were for, ARE YOU MASTER OF YOUR MICROBES? Continued from Page 3.) Influences. He began to suffer from dyspepsia at the age of 23.. Later his correspondence is filled with references to sufferings from eye trouble and stomach apd bowel disturbances. His 'Sartor Resartus' was written before lie became deeply poisoned, and his 'French Revolution' Indicates the de gree of irritative stimulation of . his : . . .c.u. 1 v. - . ., Etiuiua. boll ivi was iu vuargv vl xue fundamental genius, but the 'French Revolution was in charge of toxic dis turbances influencing that genius. His pessimism and anti-science in later years were typical ot the scorpion sting of colonic bacteria. "It is said that Carlyle, meeting Dar win in the street, turned his back and walked away. Down went the whole theory of evolutionwith Car lyle. "Darwin's cook thought that his ap petite would be better If he exercised more. Mrs. Darwin objected to th view of the cook, who responded that ..she saw him sitting in the garden for two whole hours doing nothing at all but looking at a leaf. No doubt Dar win at this time was taking very vio lent exercise, more violent than that taken by the boy who is being chased by a policeman, but mental exercise does not seem to oxidize toxins or re sult in carrying so much nutrition to the body cells as we obtain by purely physival exercise. Perhaps as much energy is transformed by mental ex ercise as by other kinds of physical exercise, but the circulation of blood and lymph depend not only upon the driving power of the heart but also upon the mechanical massage of tissue which ocurs In the course of muscle action. "Darwin and Huxley suffered In they answered: "For St. Catherine unless " "w unless. Just unless." sighed the American titled one. "It meant unless some miraculous marriage turned up for them. They were the girls without a marriage portion." A girl spoke up, whom we '-call Diana, having been engaged to three good men and thrown them all down to study philosophy at the Sorbonne. "I used to stay indoors Old Maids' day," said Diana. "A grocery clerk called out, last year, 'She'll find a hus band easy!' A lot of housepainters an swered. 'She's engaged already!' While a red-nosed old cabman bawled: 'Two "francs an hour to hunt a husband!' But now! Now, European girls with money have to face old-maid-dom. War, up to the present, has taken . 9,000,000 in killed, wounded and miss ing. The wounded who ara fit. daily, return to be killed or wounded again. If the war continues six months more they calculate 13,000,000 killed, mutil ated or permanently invalided by sick ness. "One-armed men of good ramlly are at a premium," said the lady of title. An American trained nurse looked in. "Around the hospitals of France alone, she said, "9000 one-legged men have become advantageously engaged to marry. Observe, there is no calculation in this choice. Pity and gratitude which are akin to love make girls and widows with good in comes compete for the honor to look after them through life. I'm not sure they're making a bad bargain there Is going to be an awful scarcity of men!" , Diana spoke of adoptions. "I know five French moneyed fam ilies who have lost their young men sons and nephews," she said. "All but one of them have 'adopted for the war,' as they call it, one or more young fighters apiece, at the front. "It Is a great and pious movement. Paris newspapers solicit names of all young officers and men who have no fam ilies or whose families cannot send them comforts. Frequently, their su perior officers are the Intermediary. " And the papers, by private letter, hand such young heroes over to applying families." - I objected that they were not real adoptions. "Wait and see after the war," said the grand dame. "At present they write to the adopted ones whom they- have never seen almost as If they were their sons or nephews. Later, when they meet, all will depend. War is a great refiner. Rough young fel lows, taken up and made much of, often show true gold. These family fortunes cry for men. The adopters always have daughters or nieces to be married, directed, protected." The scramble for men Is so glorified by pure patriotism that none . dream of criticising the rush of girl-god-mothetrs (marraines) Into letter writ ing. The papers are full of touching examples. "How beautifully does this frightful war re-educate the simple!" exclaims . the French page of the Paris Herald. "A godmother has shown us letters re ceived from her godson at the front. The first missives were short, awk ward, scarcely intelligible. Then, day by day, the style becomes correct and limpid, the descriptions gay and pre clse, the story flowing, the handwriting tensely from eye trouble and stomach and bowel disturbances, but their lit erature is so purely scientific in char acter that it presents no occasion for specific baterial reading. . "The letters of genius In literature and in art sound the note of one long wail about the eyes and bowels. The wall is that of the crew of a sinking ship. That is precisely, what it really is In fact a wall from the sinking. The geniuses are that part of , hu manity that is going under. Is there no ear acute enough to catch the souna and to know its meaning no mina with sufficient co-ordinating power to take us to the aid of suffering genius? Not yet! Preparation for such co-ordination is under way. Gould goes part way. "Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes said that the best work In the world Is done by men who are not quite well. He perceived a truth," but did not recog nize what he meant by 'best.' "Some of the world's greatest liter-' ary masterpieces owe their expression to the influence of specific bacterial poisons in the minds of the authors. The works of Robert Louts Stevenson show an optimism due to the peculiar action of the toxins of the tubercule ba cillus. On the other hand, the works of Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and many of the French writers of the 19th century reflect the action of the colon bacillus or of anerobic bacteria. ."Stevenson wrote th 'Child's Garden of Verses' when he was almost physi cally disabled by toxins of tuberculosis, but when at Vailima and in much bet ter health he himself noted . the ab sence of toxin stimulation, under which he had previously worked. Under the Influence of climate and life out of J ' : v' . "Y ; - VV I Bii lp; '' :: III' f I I f It xr si f ' ' r . r I .-j I rib n: I itself refined! It is no illusion. When he comes back, the godson will be quite another man." When he comes back. If he comes brack! doors his bodily health and vigor were at a high level, and the tuberculosis process apparently rested. . "The quantity of toxins thrown out was then diminishing, and he keenly felt the deprivation. Colvin says that during this year Stevenson found him self unable to do any serious Imagina tive writing, and consciousness of the loss caused him many misgivings. Ho wrote that he had come to a dead stop so far as literature was concerned, but In health be was well and strong, and that it would be six months before he would be heard of again at least. He died from apoplexy before another ex acerbation of Infection of tuberculosis had again awakened his literary genius. "Stevenson could more easily have written thi 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' because of warfare be tween his colon bacilli and his tubercle bacilli, but the real literature which, endures through the centuries, after all, is that of the calm reasoning of an Aristotle. "Microbes develop freely when pro tective organs lose their efficiency against bacteria, a3 In the course of the development of the doubling rose a decadent phenomenon. Some of the most famous painters and poets have been almost or quite brutal in their re lations to the world at times, when they were developing beautiful master pieces. This represents action of the will becoming superior to bacterial action temporarily, while other bodily functions are suffering from the lat ter action. "The relation between bacteria and art or literature is a subject which science has not as yet marked for at tention. The literature of any decadent nation becomes pessimistic in- propor -3WHHHri1 ' ' '--:-v..:v.t:.Jv:--::-:,,: :v w itstsaMfMrsMrsrsas. - - n In France, the boys of 20 years of age (class 1915) are the youngest who are actually fighting. Those of 13 years old (class 1916) have been called. have left their homes, are being tion as the protective organs of indi viduals lose control over bacteria which are depressing in their effect. In com prehending the subject it is best, per haps, to begin with toxin ot a fungous microbe, the saccharomyces. Alcohol Is the toxin which it produces, and alco hol has a well-known effect as a tem porary agent of stimulation, - stirring the brain cells into great activity. Toxins of other microbes, like those of the tubercle bacilli or of the colon bacilli, act like the toxin of saccharo myces in producing their influence upon the mind. Each toxin has its pe culiar way of acting. Some toxins in tensify a man's normal mental charac teristics, making the brain cells work more rapidly. Tbey may Inhibit the action of certain groups of brain cells and act as a whip to the other cells. The unusual associative faculty of gen ius is Increased by the Influence of toxin of certain bacteria. "Just as a drink of whisky results in brain cells being whipped into activity, so toxins of colon bacilli or of tubercle bacilli whip brain cells Into activity In their peculiar way. Those who have had dealings with victims of tubercu losis know of their tendency to be hope ful and cheery. This illogical cheer fulness is often caused by poison of tubercle bacilli. On the other hand, the colon bacilli have had. perhaps, more definite connection with the lit erary world than have tubercle bacilli, because they find more victims. "The poison of colon bacilli, how ever, afreets the mind of an author in a depressive rather than in an elative way. The poison of colon bacilli is often depressive to the point of in sanity, which may be temporary, clear ing up as soon as overproduction of the toxin of this bacilli la stopped by medi cal means or by natural control. Un der ordinary circumstances In healthy individuals bacteria are kept la check. er7 s7-3 ZSoTi (y4-G? trained In camps, barracks, depots. Those of 18 (class 1917) have been simply summoned for medical exami nation to be ready when called out. "Boys of 16, all the same, are seri ously training," said the trained nurse. "Have you seen them at the Porte Maillot?" The sight is remarkable. Any af ternoon (or morning), the vast old Luna Park, momentarily dismantled, vomits forth regiments of 15 and 16-year-olds, with real guns, real officers, on long marches. In the fields outside Paris, they dig trenches, charge them. They are straight, vigorous, already broad-shouldered by the military prep aration of which the Boy Scout move ment is a remarkable form. "You see," said the titled American, "they are the future husbands of little and. whatever toxins we produce are disposed of. ' "The world commonly holds that great authors succeed despite the poi sons In their blood. Wa hear of their heroic struggles, but we must stop now and consider how many succeed, and to what extent, because of those very poi sons. Would, an empire builder like Cecil Rhodes have accomplished, his great work if he had beentuberculous? We do not. know to ' what extent the spirochete pallida has influenced lit erature, but we know that some ac complishments in history have been done by men in elative paresis due to eplrocneta. "Extreme intellectual brilliancy often is a sign that a subtle poison has be gun to work upon the brain cells. Just before patients become clinically insane the mind may work in a wonderfully brilliant way, with exhibition of re markable spirit and unusual associa tive faculty, in cases in which we know the attack of clinical insanity is soon to be precipitated by toxic Influ ences. Physicians know that we have a disturbance of the normal chemistry of the blood when brilliancy in undue degree suddenly appears either from the influence of the alcohol Just after it has taken effect or from the influ ence of other microbe products which we can discover to be In excess by turning our attention to the subject and having examination made by experts in that department. "Gout and the so-called rheumatisms appear to take their origins largely from microbe organisms or the colon group, and the point of view of gouty or rheumatic individuals must be clas sified on the basis of microbe sensitiza tion of protoplasm. Bulwer-Lytton's morbid irritability and melancholy were undoubtedly due to microbe sen sitization of protoplasm, and we in stantly think in this class of Gibbon, Landor, Sidney Smith and Frelding in literature.'" z S5) -'cr fj7& girls today 12, 12 and 14 years old. Even . their chances of marriage are tbreatenedl" It Is the same in Germany and Aus tria. The Germans already propose, after the war. to import young men in mass, for marriage. She showed'me a clipping. I read: "Frankfort (Zeltung), May 10. After the Thirty Years' War. as on similar occasions during the Renaissance and Middle Ages when dearth of men threatened marriage and the future of the state, periods of ten years legal polygamy were made honorable and meritorious. As the modern family cannot recourse to such devices, there remains only the importation of edu cated bridegrooms cf good German stock, from North and South America, CHILDREN OF THE RICH Continued from Page 2.) Owing to the great pressure of her fashionable duties, she is an extremely busy woman. She never gets up until the middle of the day and her after noons are spent in making calls. Oc casionally she may see the children at luncheon or one of them may be brought to her for a few minutes while she is dressing for dinner. Of course they are never present at the morning or evening meal and at lunch their ab sence is enforced If Invited guests are present. So far as their father is con cerned the case is much the same. When ie is not engaged at his busi ness he is at the club or else going about In society. Under such circum stances it is not surprising that the little ones should grow up without much affection for their parents a fact of which the latter, nevertheless, often complain with much bitterness. It has become quite the fashion of late to endow babies with fortunes while they are yet In the cradle. Only the other day, at Newport, a iittla heiress of a wealthy family reached the age of S months and the happy event wis celebrated by placing in her tiny fist half a million dollars' worth of bonds. She gazed upon the precious bunch of documents and, as if with as intuitive idea of. the misery money sometimes brings, immediately burst . into tears. Little Miss Midas has been brought up to be so helpless that she cannot even dress herself, but must be helped into her garments, even her stockings and shoes being put on for her. So high a degree of cxpertness Is required of the nursery maid that her wages are proportionately high, usually 140 or $50 a month. One reason why the children of the V Wro Zs ffy Jb7cerm l Tr'eren Z jFTfrcxf z'n or other lands of previous German emigration." The French, who have no hyphen ated sons abroad, must call on plain Americans, or sympathetic races like the Swiss who, being on the spot, so to speak, have a remarkable chance. As for young Americans already in France physicians, hospital aids, vol unteer soldiers and professional and commercial bucks the matchmakers are already busv with t.hftm. "A young fellow of good Western Pennsylvania family displeased his father by enlisting and then pleased him by getting promoted Lieutenant." told the titled American. "Cited in the order of the army, he has recently en Joyed a short leave in Paris, and made a few visits to please his mother. He is on the point of getting encumbered with a great South of France estate and a sweet girl in the bargain if he doesn't look out. The Joke is, the French family doesn't know he is rich." The nurse told of an Embassy clerk (there are 60 such, now. In our Paris Embassy)- who is engaged to be mar ried to a third Interest in one of the Lyons silk factories. "That American college boy stranded In Paris, Just before the war," she said, "working his way round the world. He won a. few boxing matches, and. during one week, carried an ad vertising sign. When the war broke out, he went with the American Hos pital Ambulance, where he stayed six months and learned French. As soon as he got to the Embassy, the match makers fell on him. He is the kind they want. The matchmakers are looking for boys physically hard, early-risers, who laugh at dissipation, who can learn to manage an estate or help to run a business. Merely "nursing" a fortune in stocks and bonds requires good brain and principles. And the parents of brotherless French girls are worried sick about it France is the land of such cosy for tunes. The matchmakers are getting ready for the American campaign. There is even talk of a governmental marriage bureau, to be patronized by the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. Its work will be to seek out and Investigate our youthful Barkises and pay their trips to France for In troductions. America is the "western reserve" of men. But what if Barkis won't consent to live in Europe? Tut. tut! It's a good chance. Think about it! . . rich are so closely guarded is that their parents are apt to entertain a not alto gether groundless fear lest they be kidnaped. A youngster of a multi millionaire's family, successfully de coyed, and hidden, may be worth a ran som of $50,000 to those enemies of so ciety who naturally regard the very wealthy as their most appropriate prey. That these holders of great possessions realize to some extent the dangers to which they would te exposed in case of riots and other circumstances fa vorable to the' operations of the crimi nal class Is shown by the way in which many of them build their houses, which are actually forts in disguise. Some ot the most superb mansions on Fifth ave nue, in New York, are. constructed for defense, with outer walls several feet in thickness. These dwellings could well sustain a siege, the numerous re tainers keeping the mob at bay witb rifles, while streams ot hot water might be thrown through hose, connected with boilers (used in Winter to clear away snow) upon the enemy. Ammunition for Allies. World's Work. The armies of the Triple Entente number approximately 10,000,000 men and the allies must allow for an ex penditure upon a most conservative es timate of at least 50,000.000 rounds of artillery ammunition per month. It is difficult to estimate accurately the quantities being furnished by America, but roughly speaking at present the total output of our factories is not more than 100,000 artillery rounds per month, or less than one-fifth of 1 per cent of the total expenditure. One eighteenth of 1 per cent, by the same accounting, represents the total amount of cartridges shipped from this country per month.