8
THE SUNDAY OKEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 9, 1019.
ESTABLISHED BV HENRY L. PITTOCK.
Published by The Oregonlan Publishing Co..
Sixth Street, ir-orlland. Oregon.
C. A. J1UHDEX. E. B. Pli-KK.
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THE LAW'S DELAYS AND THE POOR.
"The long lesson of human ex
perience in the effort to obtain justice
is easily forgot," as is pointed out by
President Pritchett of the Carnegie
Foundation in his introduction to the
report prepared under the patronage
of the foundation and bearing the
title, "Justice and the Poor." It is
the facts that rankle, and it is not
comforting: to those who are vexed
by the law's delays, and by its failure
to place justice within their reach,
to be told that in theory our laws are
Bound. As indeed they are. "As a
matter of law, the right stands in
violable." "Ours was designed- to be,
and is, a government of laws and not
of men." These sentences, taken
from the report, are not mere bcrm
bast; but they .precede scaUiing ar
raignment of the administration of
law, and of the refinements of court
procedure, which have operated to
deny justice to the poor because the
latter have not the means with which
to pay court costs, to employ law
yers to interpret the highly special
ized procedure which we have built
up, nor to put up with the delays
inherent in a highly complicated
system.
Yet he who is not too pessimistic
will discover a silver lining to the
cloud. At least we have reached the
point where bribery, political influ
ence, incompetent judges, extortion
ate fees or class domination do not
largely enter in as vital factors of
legal injustice. The chief ground of
complaint is not that the poor are
robbed of their rights' by corrupt
agents of the law, but that after a
slow process of building up we have
neglected the great underlying social
and economic changes which have
taken place during the last half-century,
to which our judicial system
has failed to adapt itself. Primarily,
it is held, these changes are due to
immigration, to the rapid rise of
the wage-earning class and to the
startling growth of urban population.
The growth of cities is a prime canse
of legal injustice.
It is altogether to the credit of the
thinking members of the legal pro
fession that the most severe criti
cisms come from among their own
number. Elihu Root writes a fore
word for the report, which is itself
the work of Reginald Heber Smith
of the Boston bar. Both find that
the ideal of the law is high,
even perfect, but that (as Mr. Root
observes), while we haye had in the
main just laws and honest courts to
which people poor as well as rich
could repair to obtain justice, the
rapid . growth of cities, ' enormous
masses of immigrants and the greatly
increased complications of life have
created conditions under which the
provisions for obtaining justice which
were formerly sufficient are suffi
cient no longer.
To this study, addressed to the
source of much current discontent,
the report applies itself. A law,
however good in theory, defeats itself
if its administration is uncertain . or
dilatory. Though we recognize no
class distinctions, and though only
the- demagogue will contend that as
a whole the poor because they are
poor are denied justice once they
obtain their day in court, in practice
court costs have come to be a bar in
many instances. Where these have
been made nominal there is the neces
sity of adopting defensive regula
tions which, though they are de
signed for the very purpose of saving
the poor from oppression, require the
service of lawyers, which means de
lay, which again serves the purpose
of the well-to-do. The. vicious circle
is a vicious circle, though it sur
round ever so many lofty purposes.
The tragedy lies In the fact that a
plain method of administering jus
tice, "honestly designed to make ef
ficient and certain that litigation on
which at last all rights depend,
should result in rearing insuperable
obstacles in the path of those who
need protection, so that litigation be
comes impossible, rights are lost and
wrongs go unredressed."
Quantitatively, the showing made
as to denial of justice in practice is
impressive. In many affairs the
lawyer is as necessary as the engi
neer or the doctor. Yet if we accept
the seemingly reasonable statement
that single persons earning less than
J500 yearly and married persons,
with dependent families, earning
less than $S0O cannot afford lawyers.
it will be seen to how large a num
ber access to the law is denied. It
is estimated that there were in. 1913
S, 758, 000 single persons and 7,040,
000 ' families within these classes.
This would imply that there were
35,000,000 men, women and children
1 unable to pay any appreciable sum
for attorneys' services. If we accept
the conclusion that in the smaller
towns such people usually are able
to secure assistance as a matter of
kindness and charity, the proportion
living in towns of less than 100,000
population being 78 per cent, there
still remain nearly 8,000,000 who do
not .know where to turn for legal
advice when the need arises. The
figures manifestly are approxima
tions. But they show a crying need.
The estimate that "all property
passes through the hands of lawyers
as often as once in twenty-five
years" is interesting, but is beside
the issue. It is not largely in con
nection with property questions that
the poor are denied justice. The
latter's difficulties fall Into four
great classes. These are: 1. "Wages.
2. Domestic troubles, including dis
putes between hjusband and wife,
custody of children, delinquencies of
minors, etc. 3. Personal injuries.
4. Miscellaneous debts, rent, trades
men's bills, loans and the like, in
which the poor may appear either as
plaintiffs or defendants. These are
the chief issues to be settled. In
part, this will be done by determin
ing how far the need for attorneys'
services is artificial. Mr. Root, who
is not without experience in legal
procedure, believes that "there is no
reason why a plain, honest man
should not go into court and tell his
story and have the judge before
whom he comes permitted to do jus
tice in that particular case unham
pered by a great variety of statutory
rules." And as Mr. Smith observes:
There is no reason why a court summons
should read, "We command you to appear
before our justices of the municipal court
on Saturday, the twenty-first day of De
cember, A. D. 191 S, at 9 o'clock in. the
forenoon. Fail not of appearance as your
peril." so that it is necessary to employ
counsel to explain that the plain English
words do not mean what they say, but In
law mean that you are not required to
appear before the court at all, but must
file an answer with thef clerk any time
on Tuesday, December the 24th.
The "most important experiment
in the administration of justice In
the twentieth century" is held to be
the attempt to secure justice through
administrative tribunals. This has
gained ground rapidly within a few
years and administrative officers have
taken over a vast amount of the
work of the courts. Small claims
courts have their place in the,
scheme also. Assigned counsel are
regarded as generally a failure. A
larger hope is seen in legal aid
organizations, with growing tendency
on the part of the better lawyers to
aid them in their work, thus uphold
ing the tradition of the lawyer's
duty to the state. Ultimately, it is
thought, they will pass under public
control, but there is no need to hasten
this process. The end sought is of
direct concern to the well-being of
the nation. There is not, as is
pointed out, any grave defect in the
substantive law, and in the main,
corruption and flagrant misuse of
the courts have been overcome. But
the fact that administration of the
law does work against the poor
that delay, court costs and expenses
of counsel do in practice close the
courts to millions cannot be ig
nored if the theoretical protection
which the law affords is not to be
made a travesty. Solution of the
problem is intimately associated with
the complete restoration of confi
dence which spells social equilibrium
and a better citizenship.
DEADLOCK? OK COMPROMISE
The peace treaty can be ratified
only by a two-thirds vote of the sen
ate. Obviously it will not be ratified
without reservations. That vital fact
must have penetrated even the re
mote and exclusive recesses of the
White House. Nor will it be ratified
with reservations, unless President
Wilson can be persuaded to release
his hold on the democratic minority.
The crying need of the hour is for
some one to show the president that
he must give way. Where is Colonel
House? Or does the great value of
Colonel House to President Wilson
consist in the fact that, as a per
suader, he proves to the president
that he is always right?
The senate line-up on both sides is
political. But the division on party
lines may not mean so much as ap
pears. It will cause no great sur
prise now if the republicans adopt
generally the Lodge reservations.
What then? The treaty will not, .in
all probability, be ratified thus
loaded down with many reservations.
and both sides know it. Nor is it
likely that either side will permit a
final rejection, while the treaty is in
this shape. The administration sen
ators, strong enough to prevent res-'
ervations with the Lodge proposals,
and not strong enough to ratify with
out them, will then probably propose
a compromise.
The compromise is apparently the
only way out of the approaching
deadlock except outright .defeat. It
is not likely that either party will be
willing to take the responsibility of
rejection, or that either will desire or
be able to force rejection by the
other.
THE AMERICAN IJIGIOITS DAT.
Next Tuesday will be the first
anniversary of the armistice of Sen
lis, by which Germany confessed de
feat by the forces of the Unitedl
States and the allies. That date,
November 11, will take its place be
side October 19, when Yorktown sur
rendered in 1781, and April 9, when
the surrender of Lee to Grant in
1S65 ended the Civil war, as epoch
marking in American history. As the
first of those three events won in
dependence and the second ce
mented the union, the third marks
the successful advent of the United
States on the scene as a world-
power which struck the decisive blow
for democracy against autocracy. It
iR a day which should and will be
forever celebrated in honor of the
triumph of American arms which
was completed at Sedan, and of the
memory oi those who gave their
lives that freedom might live.
It Is most fitting that this day
should have been selected for the
first annual convention at Mlnneap
olis of the American Legion, com
posed of the men who served in the
armed forces of the United States In
the great war. Of the more than
four million who served, more than
one million have already become
members of this organization, which,
as befits a .democracy, places all
ranks from general to private on an
equal footing. The convention was
to have been addressed by Marshal
Foch, but his duties have prevented
him from making a promised visit to
this country. The legion promises to
be to the next half century what the
Grand Army of the Republic has
beep to the last half century a
strong, vital force for patriotism,
good government, good citizenship.
progress in accord with American
principles, all of which are summed
up In the word Americanism. That
word leaves no room for anything
but an unrelenting fight on social -
ism, bolsbevism, hyphenism or any
of the other pestilent isms which
now plague the world.
There is good prospect that the
convention next year will be held on
the Pacific coast, for all the cities
and delegates of Oregon and Wash
ington have united in support of the
claims of Seattle. This would be a
most appropriate selection, for Se
attle set the example to the nation
by stamping out the first open out
break of bolshevism in the United
States, and these two states were
second to none in the fervor of their
patriotism as displayed by their
deeds in the war.
The claims of Seattle to the next
national convention of the American
Legion are the special topic of the
November number of the Pacific
Legion, the organ of the society in
Oregon and Washington. Naturally
it is devoted chiefly to the merits of
Seattle and to the purposes of the
legion, but it also contains a well
illustrated article by Sydney B. Vin
cent, of the chamber of commerce,
on the Columbia highway, not only
as it is, but as it is being extended
from the western to the eastern line
of the state. By advertising the
highway, Oregon attracts tourists,
many of whom come to see, but re
turn to live and build up the state.
SIGNS OF DRY TIMES.
A great St. Louis brewing firm an
nounces in an advertisement that it
will "re-create" a famous brand of
beer by strict compliance with the
law which prohibits the use in any
liquor of more than one-half of one
per cent of aloohol. It may transpire
that beer without "authority" will
satisfy the most expert and exacting
taste; but whether it does or not,
it is obvious thatj the large brew
ers of the country will take no
chances; and the appetite which re
quires the old brew In the old way
will have to depend on home-made
products, or go without.
The Retail Liquor Dealers' asso
ciation of New York, following the
action of congress in overriding the
president's veto of the prohibition
act, and the immediate performance
of the revenue officers in . raiding
several notorious New York saloons,
sent out word to its members to put
on the lid and obey the law. The
New York Tribune is authority for
the statement that New York has, ac
tually entered upon a "bone-dry"
period. Three stages have marked
the progress of prohibition in New
York since July 1, 1919. The first
was a comparatively dry period, the
second a comparatively wet and the
present is real-dry. Whether the
sajoon men will get over their fright
about law enforcement and will de
vise new ways to fill and dispense the
cup that cheers and also intoxicates
remains to be seen. But it 4s ob
vious that hereafter the New Yorker
hunting a drink will have always the
guilty 'consciousness that he must
defy the law, and go behind closed
or barred doors. He will come to
know, too, that good stuff is scarce
and growing scarcer, and he will get
along with less, and perhaps finally
with none at all. Only the topers
who must have it will take what they
can get.
It is interesting to note that not
withstanding the'laxness of dry-law
enforcement in New York convic
tions for drunkenness fell off about
one-half after July 1. Such statis
tics are not infallible, but they mean
much just the same. After awhile
even New York may reach that in
effable condition when the whole
community looks upon' a drunk man
with suspicion and alarm, and sets
about to hnd out where he got it.
THE SEVEN SEAS.
It is not surprising that in the re
vival of interest in Kipling's works
speculation and interest should have
arisen as to the identity of "the seven
seas." The term is used as the title
of a collection of verses of the sea
published in 1898. An inquiry as to
the meaning of the title was recently
sent to the newspaper contributor
who writes under the name of Flan
eur. He says:
The "Seven Seas" exist In Hindoo my
thology, to which Kipling may have gone
for his well-known title. According to
the Puranas, the earth is circular and
flat, like a flower of a water lily. Its
circumference is 4.000,000.000 miles. In
the center ia ML Soomeroo. On this
mountain are three peaks formed of
gold, pearls and precious stones, where
the deities- reside. At its base are three
mountains, on each side of which grows
a tree tiSOO miles high. The further
most country from these mountains is
bounded by the salt sea; Beyond this
sea there are six others of sugar cane
Juice, of spirituous liquors, of clarified
butter, of curds of milk and of nectar.
Each sea ia surrounded by a separate
continent.
That there is magic and mystery In
numbers is an ancient tale, and the
fact is confirmed by a Flaneur reader,
asking, "Which are the seven seas?"
Kipling may have known, but does the
public in general really know? Upon
Inquiry, there appears to be a common
consensus as to six of the seven. These
ix are: The Atlantic, the Arctic. Ant
arctic. Pacific. Mediterranean and In
dian. And Just as the ancients, agree
ing on six, were divided upon the sev
enth wonder of the world (some voting
for the Pharos of Egypt, others for the
Palace of Cyrus), so there is doubt as to
whether the seventh sea be in the North
Sea or the Baltic.
But the subject is by no means ex
hausted in the foregoing. Kipling
need not have turned to Hindoo
mythology to have obtained his title.
On both sides of the delta of the
river Po, in Italy,' exist large lagoons
of salt water. The best known of
these is the one in which Venice Is
situated. In early times these la
goons were much more extensive and
afforded a continuous means of in
ternal navigation for many miles
along the Italian coast. They were
known as "the seven seas" (Septem
Maria).
Or Kipling, being English, Hiay
have been guided by the ocean no
menclature of the Royal Geographic
Society. That British authority does
not employ the divisions of the Amer
ican school geography, which recog
nizes five oceans Atlantic, Pacific,
Indian, Arctic and Antarctic. The
Royal Geographic Society names
three oceans Atlantic, Pacific and
Indian. Proximity bf the Antarctic
circle to the recently discovered
coast of the southernmost great
body of land has caused British
authorities to eliminate considera
tion of an Antarctic ocean and to
describe the three great oceans as
having antarctic facies. Predominant
British authority adds to ocean no
menclature the names of four great
intercontinental enclosed seas the
Arctic sea, the Central American or
West Indian sea, the Australo-Asia-
tic or Malay sea and the Mediterran
ean sea. Thus we have, the water
surface of the globe earth divided
into seven seas. It is rather curious,
in view cf this British treatment of
oceanography and also of the at
tempted classification quoted from
the American writer above, that the
Century Encyclopedia of Names, dis-
) cussing Kipling's "Seven Seas,
as-
serts that the name was taken from
the seven oceans; .the North Atlantic,
South Atlantic, North Pacific, South
Pacific, Arctic, Antarctic and Medi
terranean. ,
So much for the geographical side
of the question. But it is not neces
sary to presume that Kipling's apo
theosis of British sea power was in
tended to be numerically precise
that in his reference to the English
as "masters of the seven seas" he
intended to overlook the Baltic sea,
the Red sea, the Persian gulf, the
fringing seas of eastern Asia and
others.
The number "seven" has in the
past been used in the symbblical
sense, the mystical sense and the
numerical sense. ' Symbolically, it
may have meant either an Indefinite
or an entire number.
"The sluggard is wiser In his own
conceit than seven men that can ren
der a reason," -says the proverb, but
who is there that supposes that
"seven" here means seven-count-them?
Converted into latter-day
American it would read, "Wiser in
his own conceit than one hundred
and one men that can render a rea
son." Such is an example of "seven"
used to indicate an indefinitely large
number. There is still preserved in
(-occasion! usage the reference to
one's "seven senses." Cervantes and
Sir Walter Scott both employed the
expression. We still hear now and
then of one who is "bereft of his
seven senses." Yet the school boy
is taught that the senses, like the
oceans, are five. Reference to the
seven senses is to consciousness in
its totality. "The seven seas" may
well be taken to mean all the seas. 1
- An argument in favor of the latter
assumption is that "seven" has ever
been a favorite numeral in miscel
laneous titles. One recalls the Greek
legend of the "Expedition of the
Seven Against Thebes," the medieval
tale of the "Seven Champions of
Christendom," the myth current In
the sixteenth century of the "Seven
Cities" of the present New Mexico;
the fabled "Island of the Seven
Cities," the Greek legend of the
"Seven Sages," the legend of "The
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus," the old
collection of tales of eastern origin.
The Seven Wise Masters. Dekker
entitled a pamphlet, "The Seven
Deadly Sins of London," and Ruskin
wrote a treatise on "The Seven
Lamps of Architecture." "Seven" is
the mystic number of the Old Testa
ment, where it stands either alone or
in multiples. Shakespeare's seven
ages of man are familiar to all and
our own president enunciated twice
seven peace points.
"Seven" is more or less standar
dized as the classic number. One can
but suspect that authors and myth
ologists have occasionally pondered
long to devise reason or excuse for
using it. "The seven seas," if it at
tains general usage as an expression,
will probably come to be. a poetic
title for all the seas.
WHAT ARE YOC GOING TO DO
ABOUT IT
If any citizen of Portland will at
tempt to imagine the plight he would
be in- if his income for living ex
penses were no greater now than in
1912, while the size of his family
had increased materially, he will be
fancying a condition similar to the
situation In fact of the city today.
It is true that tax revenues of
Portland have increased consider
ably since 1912, but the people have
voluntarily relinquished other in
comes and have authorized several
bond issues. Increased interest and
sinking funds, together with surren
dered revenues, almost, if not quite.
consume the difference between the
tax revenues of 1912 and those of to
day. Meanwhile by annexation, also
approved by the people, and by a
large increase In population, the
city's obligations have grown.
The point has been reached where
it is necessary to do one of two
things submit to municipal depriva
tions or increase the revenues. The
city is no different from the private
enterprise in one respect: Its labor
and materials cost mor9 than for
merly and it must pay its bills. Now
it needs, too, a larger police force
and its bureau of public works must
be increased in capacity or improve
ments long held in abeyance must be
still longer delayed. It is pointed
out' that if these district improve
ments, to the cost of which tlfe city
must contribute 5 per cent, are per
mitted to proceed a threatened un
employment situation will be avoid
ed. It is not a proposal to grant
charity as one writer asserts. Charity
gives no return to the donor except
soul satisfaction. Money expended
for public improvements is for value
received.
But the issue before the ' voters
next Wednesday is whether they are
willing to do without or curtail num
erous municipal services now ren
dered and heretofore vehemently de
manded, get along with inadequate
police force in troublesome times
and witness continued stagnation in
public improvements whether they.
are willing to submit to all of these
things in order to save an increase in
taxation. What are you going to do
about it?
A FIELD DAT FOB PHILATELY. .
It has been a glorious year for the
philatelists, with nearly two thou
sand new stamp issues since Decem
ber, 1918, and more to be heard from
as plans are matured for unification
of the issues of Serbia, Croatia, Bos
nia and Slavonia. 'No year in the
history of stamp collecting has been
so prolific. Fifteen hundred of the
two thousand new stamps are due to
new states whose autonomy is guar
anteed by the Paris conference.
Others are changes made in the is
sues of already established nations.
The previous record was made in
1914, when there were 1286 new Is
sues, .chiefly due to changes made In
the water mark of the British colo
nial issues.
The woodrat instinct manifested
by most men in their desire to col
lect articles without regard to in
trinsic merit reaches its height in
the philatelist. It is said that the
number of persons seriously inter
ested in stamp collecting in the
United States alone exceeds a mil
lion. Some of the thirfty European
governments have not failed to take
this into account. It is a curious
fact, for example, that one stamp
issue of the isolated republic of
Georgia, in the Caucasus, should
have been practically absorbed by
philatelists, without serving the
original purpose for which it was
intended, the facilitation of forward
ing of the mails.
Multiplicity" of new stamps means
a new collectors carnival. It is the
nature of an enterprise so vast and
complicated to develop specialists.
The most that the average collector
will be able to do in the next few
years will be to assemble the com
plete issues of a few new states. The
essence of collecting is completeness,
and the value of an entire collection
may turn on the success of its owner
in finding a single stamp needed to
put the cap sheaf on. It is yet too
early to set more . than a tentative
valuation on most of the stamps now
flooding the world, but within a few
years these will begin to respond to
a law of supply and demand as 'in
exorable as any that ever regulated
the price of a useful commodity.
An ingenious citizen, who, how
ever, is without much comprehension
of the nature of collectors, has pro
posed that the vast energy and in
genuity which ' they will expend in
indulging their propensities be di
verted to the useful end of bringinj;
material and spiritual order to a
world somewhat In need of recon
struction. But the plan will fail. The
collector's spirit rises above the utili
ties. The buyer recently in Phila
delphia of a first folio Shakespeare
for $100,000, who could have pos
sessed a much more legible and in
every way more readable edition for
about two dollars and a half, repre
sents this idea at its zenith. The
born collector is deaf to the utilitar
ian appeal. The Philadelphia buyer
probably began life as a collector of
postage stamps.
SOCKS FROM SAWDUST,
Unlimited possibilities are sug
gested by the announcement of the
chemists of the college of forestry of
Syracuse university that they have
perfected a process of making silk
from sawdust. Phonograph discs
sausage casings and binder twine
have been produced from the same
source. It is true that sawdust silk
is still in tie laboratory stage, which
is a long way from factory output,
but it is a promising discovery, just
the same, and no more incredible
than imitation dotton fro"m nettles,
or a good many other of the com
paratively recent discoveries by
scientists.
The public will be skeptical, how
ever, as to the Syracuse prediction
that "stockings that now cost $5 to
$25 a pair will be produced at not
more than 50 cents a pair." Some
how, it does not seem to have worked
that way in the past. We no sooner
perfect a process for making a new
vegetable oil, or a new metal kitchen
utensil, or a substitute for rubber or
leather from materials that formerly
were a total waste than something
happens to drive the price upward.
In theory silk stockings made from
sawdust ought to stimulate the
healthful exercise of home wood
sawing; no man with a family of
beautiful daughters could resist the
appeal to go out to the shed and
make enough sawdvlst for a set of
silk hose all around; but in the prac
tical working of it there is almost
sure to be a hitch somewhere.
Still, if sawdust does acquire a
high market value there will be com
pensations. Think of having a saw
yer insist on making three cuts in
stead of two when he calls to cut the
winter's wood! If we recovered from
the shock we would be willing to
pay almost any price for our saw
dust socks, to say nothing of our
phonograph records, sausage casings
and the rest of them.
IS IT A I.ITERARY HOAX?
Discussion of the authorship of
"The Young Visiters" will not be
materially abated, in all probability,
by publication in London of a letter
purporting to have been written by
a relative of "Daisy Ashford," and
declaring that Dasy is not only an
actual person, but also the author of
the story, just as J. M. Carrie in his
preface to the tale has said she Xvas.
For the benefit of the few who may
not have heard of "The Young
Visiters," or the debate that it has
precipitated, it should be- explained
that it is a story said to have been
written some years ago by Daisy
Ashford, then a miss of only nine
years and published with an ex
planatory foreword by Mr. . Barrie
who declares at the outset that the
"owner of the copyright" (quo
tation marks are Barrie's) guar
antees that the book is the unaided
effort in fiction of an authoress of
nine years. Mr. Barrie then goes on
to relate some of the circumstances
under which the story was written,
inserts a pleasing reference or two to
the "triumphant countenance of the
child herself," which la reproduced
as a frontispiece to the book, and
concludes by saying that it is a
remarkable work for a child, "re
markable even in its length and com
pleteness, for when children turn
author they usually stop in the
middle, like a kitten when it jumps."
Thus having given an air of veri
similitude to the story, which, if
Daisy Ashford indeed wrote- it the
story did not need, Mr. Barrie has
not escaped the charge made by
sundry critics that he wrote the book
himself as a literary hoax and that
even as he reads what people are
saying about it he is chuckling with
a glee which we would regard as
more becoming to G. Bernard Shaw
than to a writer of the Barrie stamp.
Quite obviously, though, Mr. Barrie
would not lend himself to deception
by another, however much he might
be willing to perform a harmless
prank on the public, which could be
later explained away without leaving
a disagreeable effect. Truth in au
thorship, especially authorship of
fiction, plainly is not the same thing
as truth in business or personal af
fairs. Poe wrote his "Balloon Hoax"
without subjecting himself to criti
cism on ethical grounds, and Sir
Walter Scott told straightout false
hoods enough about the authorship
of "Waverley" to have damned him
forever in the estimation of his best
friends if he had done the same thing
In a matter in which his own honor
was Involved.
"The Young Visiters" has served a
purpose, if it has done nothing else,
by renewing interest in the subtler
elements of literary criticism. Not
recently has a. work been studied so
painstakingly for the internal evi
dence that it might contain, and not
in a long time have so many com
petent judges been found so widely
at variance. The very facts that in
dicate to one that only a child could
have written with the refreshing in
genuousness of Daisy, Ashford con
vince another critic that no child
could possibly have done it. There is
agreement that If Mr. Barrie Is the
author he has succeeded admirably
in submerging his own personality.
The deadly parallel with- his own
known works cannot be Invoked ef
fectively. Yet there are passages
or rather phrases that to one critic
seem altogether too apt to have been
written in utter innocence, and to
another only to strengthen belief in
the child's authorship.
There are, for example, enough
Incidents of adjacent sleeping apart
ments occupied by persons of oppo
site sex to suggest that the author was
not unacquainted with the bedroom
device upon which many a farce has
been constructed. The view that
"little pitchers have amazing ears"
does not explain why such a little
pitcher as Daisy (the propriety of
whose bringing up is conceded)
should have taken no account of
chaperons. A certain allusion to the
criginal of a portrait being "the sin
ister son of Queen Victoria," recall
ing as it does the passage from Mark
Twain, in which Tom Sawyer boasts
to Huckleberry Finn of his bar sin
ister, seems to be another touch
beyond the probable Intention of any
child, fcholce of the name "Cllnch
am" for the earl who Introduces so
cial climbers into royal society for
a money consideration and of the
name of "Edward Procurio" for a
groom of the chambers considering
the philology wrapped up in the
word, and its connotation of procura.
tAn ,AAm n o-lv-A t Vi a riiTitptit t
. . ,
iur tzie moment, lu luc i.. nuv .
aerainst child authorship. So, too,
with sundry other phrases which
cannot easily be accounted for even
by the little pitcher theory. "Sour
grapes and ashes," "twittering of the
birds and smell of the cows," "court
life as "a profession" "oozed fourth
into the streets" are quite adult in
their conceptions, as are passages
like these:
His lordship coughed loudly. You may
not marry while under Instruction he said
firmly.
Oh I shall not need to thank you said
Mr. Salteena.
Or the following, which many are
unwilling to believe is not a satire on
the royal court itself:
Tou must decide on a profession said his
lordship as your instruction will vary ac
cording. Could I bo anything at Buckingham
Palace said Mr. Salteena -with flashing
e es.
Oh well I don't aulte know said the
noble earl but you might perhaps gallopp
beside the royal paroushe if you care to
try.
Oh Indeed I should cried Mr. Salteena
I am very fond of fresh air and royalties.
Quite the most ingenious test pro
posed in support of the child-authorship
contention is that of the re
viewer who proposed that it be tried
on other-children. "It is not a book
that appeals to other children"; ergo,
it probably was written by a child.
Unconscious humor, suggests this
critic, is not a"pt to be appreciated at
its full value by those who have only
that kind of humor for their own.
"Children do not laugh at them
selves," indeed, but there seems to
be something In "The Little Visiters"
besides the artlessness of Daisy to
provoke a smile. "Intelligent con
versation of the prime minister" may
be pure naivete and then again, in
view of the way affairs are going on
abroad, It may be a quite unchildish
thrust.
One test of the art of the novelist
is the ability of the author to sink
himself unreservedly in his char
acters. We do not suppose that Mr.
Barrie is unmindful of this, or un
skillful at it, or that he would.
merely-on ethical grounds, neglect an
opportunity to practice on a kindly
indulgent public. As has been sug
gested, the fiction writer is not bound
as others are by the laws of truth,
and the fresh fancy which Mr.
Barrie has brought into his work,
and which shines so brilliantly in
"Peter Pan," marks him as wholly
capable of having for the nonce suc
ceeded in finding a Daisy Ashford
point of view. It is a singular thing.
too, that when we regard "The
Young Visiters" as Barrie's it be
comes a more remarkable book in
many ways than if we accepted the
theory that Daisy Ashford was a
reality and wrote the story at the
age of nine.
The ease with which the hog lends
itself to home packing in part ac
counts for the fact, just revealed by
the bureau of estimates of the de
partment of agriculture, that the
rural districts consume 150 per cent
more pork per capita than the cities,
and another reason probably is that
farmers customarily do not count the
money value of thelr'own products
which they consume. The city, eats
beef, mutton and veal in increasing
proportion because of the soaring
price of pork, while farmers could
sell tljeir pork and buy double the
quantity of beef in some instances
with the proceeds, but they do not
do so. The brine barrel and the
home smokehouse are nevertheless
emblems of thrift and there can
hardly be too many of them. Fork
and poultry now constitute 71 per
cent of the meat consumption of the
rural regions. By geographical di
visions, the west is the largest user
of beef and mutton, the east uses the
most veal and the south Is away in
the lead In pork.
The German mark at present
seems to be worth about as much as
a Chinese cash, and there is a stand
ing wheeze about the Chinaman who
takes his money to market in a
wheelbarrow and carries his pur
chases home in a bag.
The Joke seems to be on the Ger
mans, who thought that the Turks
were telling the truth, and now will
be compelled to keep a bad bargain
that they probably expected to lie
out of.
"Friends of Carranza" seem surer
that he would be pleased to reim
burse us for the ransoms we have
paid for captured Americans than
the general is on his own account.
Now that "better English week" is
over, suppose we make it a better
English year? A week Is hardly long
enough to fix a bad habit, to say
nothing of a good one.
Cornell students recently staged a
"drive" in which the slogan was
"Feed the Profs." And the whole
teaching profession has about come
to that. - "
The country doesn't doubt that
Herbert Hoover knows a thing or
two, but it is still waiting for prices
to go down, as he predicted they
would.
Forced to choose merely between
forms of tyranny, we wonder how
many Russians would not rather be
ruled by the czar than by the bol
shevikl. Those discharged Yakima firemen
should have read the newspapers and
taken warning from the outcome of
the Boston police strike. .
In view of the epidemic of burg
laries, it behooves careful house
holders to lock up their jewels as
well as their coal.
Prohibition may not prohibit
altogether in New Jersey, but the
price will exercise a certain restrain
ing influence.
The present demand for cider in
dicates that we shall have to find a
substitute for vinegar or go without.
It is safe to say that no man seek
ing a physician's prescription for
whisky will go to a homeopath for it.
We won't need coal to keep us
warm if the Armistice celebration is
as enthusiastic as it ought to be.
Now that the frost is here, just
what is the difference between a
pumpkin and a squash?
The striking diamond diggers are
evidently counting on continued de
mand for their services.
PHILOSOPHICAL GF.MS
HOWE.
OF E. YV.
The common-sense philosophy of E. "W.
Howe, the Kansas editor, has made him
one of the outstanding figures In American
literature and Journalism. Mr. Howe
the author of many books, the most fa-
mous of which is the "Story of a Country
Town." He was long editor of the Atchi
son Globe, and now, having retired from
actual daily newspaper work, he Issues
the "E. W. Howe Monthly," because, as
he explains, he desires to have a medium
through which he may say exactly what
he pleases. Following are extracts from
the current number of the Monthly:
Englishmen haven't as good hearts
as xve have, but 1 sometimes think
they have more sense; and certainly
they are bolder. In that country the
railway workers actually did what
our railway workers threatened to do:
they struck, and tied up the country.
But the chief ruler, instead of mak
ing a disgraceful compromise, bold
ly said the railway "man were un
fair; that every possible concession
had been made them; that they were
not only getting all the profit earned
by the railways, but more, which was
paid by a general tax on an already
greatly burdened people. So the chief
ruler .proceeded to break the strike;
and the best citizens joined him.
Noted Englishmen enlisted as engine
firemen; others drove trucks; others
handled freight, or peddled fish, stop
ping occasionally to fight pickets.
How differently we conduct things in
this country! When there is a strike
we all yell: "Compromise!" And
after every success, Sam Gompers
becomes more impudent, and makes
harder terms. We shall finally be
compelled to do what the English
have done. The present rioting is bad
enough, but it will be very much
worse next year unless checked.
A noted man writes me an agree
able letter, and ends up by saying:
"Keep from becoming sour." If others
think I am verging on that condl
tion, I wish to say that if I am sour,
I do not know It. As a people, we
are lately In at least an awkward
position, and, while I wish to frankly
discuss the situation, I am good-na
tured. I think this is a time when
all should be serious, frank, and above
all honest. The cheerful, optimistic
stunt has been overdone, and we
must all talk the best sense we are
capable of; the cause of the trouble
is, we have been talking through our
hats. In chasing beautiful fire-flies.
we have reached deep water, and
must swim out. If we are still the
richest nation In the world, we have
executed a mortgage that should
sober us. for Interest must be paid;
andi eventually the principal. I i
of the opinion that the Tollyanna and
Merry Ha! Ha! gents should put cri
what old-fashioned people used to call
thinking caps.
There were three sisters in this
neighborhood noted. as girls. as
possessing good looks and womanly
charms. The elder and prettiest mar
ried, and soon went to pieces, as mar
ried women sometimes do. The young
er one also married, lost all her teeth
had two operations, and is a ghost o
her former Belf. Their husbands are
good, steady men. The middle one
remained single, took a course at the
business college, and now has a fine
nnnltinn in a bank. She drives her
own car out to the hills every Satur
day afternoon,. nd remains unti
Monday morning. She is a blessing
to her mother, and as pretty and
amiable as ever. I make no charges
against marriage, husbands, wives,
or nature; I only narrate a fact.
Lawyer Plumb says he has a plan
whereby the railroads could be oper
ated much more economically and
efficiently. I recall that Lawyer
Brandeis also had a similar plan: he
said government operation would re
sult In a saving of a million dollars
a day. This amount seemed worth
while, so to show our gratitude. Bran
deis was given a high government
position for life, and his plan put
into effect. Last July, government
operation of the railroads cost five
million dollars more per day than
private operation had previously cost.
So you Bee lawyers do not always
know what they are talking about.
The world has also gone crazy
about doctors. Just now. the fad is
to have teeth pulled, the doctors hav
ing decided that pus at the roots of
filled teeth are the cause of rReuma
tism, stomach troubles, etc. I know
a dentist so intelligent and expert
that I have long gone to him about
my teeth. He told me the other day
that 'Within a few months he had
extracted 25 teeth said to have pus
at the roots, and that in every case
the teeth were healthy. He advised
against extraction, but some doctor
had recommended it, and he was help
less. Men are notoriously "funny;" wom
en have made the charge against
them for centuries, and proven it
What ia the funniest thing men do?
I believe It is drinking whisky. There
are enough bad habits for men that
are natural, but there is no excuse
whatever for drinking whisky. Think
of the absurdity of a man standing
at a bar. swilling whisky he doesn't
want, and spending money his chil
dren need for groceries and clothes!
No other animal is equally absurd.
A gentleman in New England
writes me a dignified protest because
I do not believe In spiritualism. I
thank him for politeness critics are
usually so unfair and mean but if
In the course of a long life I have
seen nothing to cause me to believe
in a certain thing. I cannot believe in
it. My correspondent names a num
ber of books he wishes me to read. I
care no more for a foolish statement
in print than I care for a foolish
statement in private ' conversation.
Most of the great sayings of the
masters of men In the past are known
to the living; thus about all that can
be known of life is familiar to the
humblest. The wise sayings of the
past are preserved In every day con
versation; I hear them in distorted
form daily, and the quotation 13 near
enough to carry the original senti
ment. So no man need complain of
lack of guidance.
A force of men are now engaged
in digging the grave of The Dearborn
Independent, Henry Ford's "Inter
national Weekly." If the editor of
The Saturday Evening Post has been
worrying because of Mr. Ford's ven
ture into the publishing field, he may
quit it.
Good thing written by a subscriber.
"Those things which have proven
good during the past 2000 years
should be used now, instead of the
new forms of deviltry."
Two Views.
By Grace E. Ball.
She s-aid we were alike I did not care
To argue on a point so strangely
wrong;
I could not well explain she was so
fair.
So eager to be Just- She's waited
long
To grasp my hand and tell me Just
how we
Were as twin souls I could have
laughed aloud!
Her sphere had been selected care-
tuiiy
My own? Ah, I had been one in the
crowd !
She knew mankind as figures In a
dream.
Appareled in her fancy's chosen
garb,
knew mankind as flotsam on a
stream.
Caught here and there on cruel snag
or barb;
She sensed in them what pleased her
Dest to sense,
And loved them all which was her
recompense.
And yet. with all her generous, kindly
tnougnt.
She could not grasp the Justice that
demands
Exemption for the traits by nature
Drought
To frustrate and despoil life's better
plans:
She failed to comprehend that some
men yield
Because there is within no latent
force
Which gives resilient rebound,, as a
shield
Protects and flings an arrow toward
its source:
And thus she failed most dismally to
see.
The fact that makes life tolerable
to me;
For, had I no idea of why men fall.
-o toleration for their mental lacks.
No logic as to weaknesses in all.
Because each brain is short on cer
tain facts
In brief, were I convinced that any
man
Had full control of self, to choose
at will.
I'd lose my faith In every mortal plan.
because so many yield but pain and
Hi:
But, feeling that men do the best they
know.
I can explain away a world of woe!
A YEAR AGO.
The sun is shining today, warm
On the ruin of Audenarde;
The citizens have fled,
Leaving the town to the soldiers.
This .smiling day is the tenth of No
vember; We should relieve the French today.
But no order comes.
Rumors of peace travel like fire.
E.irly In the chill, dark mornins;
We had entered the town;
And now. after brief sleep.
We ramble among ruined mansions.
One glorious day. No duty and no
enemy.
We seek food, preserves and poulet.
Tobacco, clay pipes and drink;
For tomorrow we may fight Germans
again.
And tomorrow we may die.
The day goes fast In feasting and
Drinking Belgian Schnapps;
All day columns'of soldiers marching,
till the cobblestone streets.
We sleep at last and are roused at
midnight
To mount a guard on the Escaut,
ine river tnrougn the town.
By the pontoon bridge in the out
skirts, I establish a Cossack post
In a shattered house near the river,
With blood on the floor.
The night wears away and morning
Brings a driving rain
That drenches the sentry
And pits the grey face of the river.
A detail of French engineers
(.'rimes to work on a blown-out bridge;
Volubly they chatter.
Working little.
Their officer comes running.
waving his arms. It is peace.
Finis la guerre. Finis la guerre!
They embrace, and laugh, and weep.
Now another winter closes down on
Flanders,
And wet winds lull the blasted fields
in healing sleep;
And I am home.
Trying to realize where I was
A j ear ago.
MELVIN T. SOLVE.
University of Oregon. .
THE POET,
Ye voices of the wind.
Ye larks and nightingales.
Ye wintry storm that dinned
Along the leafless vales.
Hast thou met him, the Soul of Song,
In all thy hasty flit along?
Or you, ye flowers that kiss
The very flitting light;
Ye leaves that shake in bliss "
Of transcendent delight.
Hast thou not seen him. the Poet,
born
To wake on earth Immortal morn?
Ye little- lads at play.
Hast thou met one a-dream
Along this path astray.
Like starlight on a stream?
A noble one who looked at you?
Perchance a on who played with
you?
He roves somewhere, we know;
We almost hear htm speak;
"We feel the words aglow
Of him we vainly seek.
The wish Is but a hope deferred;
We yet shall hear his spoken word.
His word, his song, we feel
Unuttered yet, but there;
A fragment now doth steal
Along the listening air.
Whose notes orchestral yet shall swell
In endless paean bell on bell.
EVA EMERY DYE.
FAITH AND LOVE.
When I behold the leaves of autumn
fall
And flutter multitudinous o'er the
grass.
Laying a varied garment over all:
When winged squadrons to the
southward pass;
When rain-drenched mountains smoke
with steam;
When clouds hang, bosom-pierced.
on trees;
When hoar-frosts o'er the woodlands
gleam;
A faith and hope immortal speaks
In these.
And when the leathered regiments
return
And bring with them blue skies and
springtime's showers.
While underneath earth's molded
blanket yearn
Soft buds and blades that burst in
gladful flowers
Then doth the whole of earth, below,
above.
Teach faith in autumn and in spring-
time Love :
M. A. YOTHERS.
Medford. Or.
"T"