6 THE SUNDAY ORKf.OXTAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 14, 1010.
ESTABLISHED BV HK BY L. PITTOCK.
Published by The OrcRonian Publishing Co..
135 Sixth Street, Portland, Oregon.
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THE WORST VET TO COME.
Portland was favored recently
with a visit from a lynx-eyed ob
server of bone-dryism and Its appal
ling failures In the person of Mr.
Roberts, who hails from Newark,
New Jersey, where they are wet and
happy and hostile to prohibition and
all Its desiccated ways. Mr. Roberts
wae here as a smelling committee of
one at a time when the two-mill
extra municipal tax campaign was
or. and he was greatly Impressed by
publication In The Oregonlan of a
comparative statement of the fi
nances of the city in 1914 and 1918.
In that time the revenue ($372,179--61)
from .liquor licenses had wholly
disappeared, and the premiums on all
city bond sales had been reduced
practically to nothing, while the
fines In the municipal court had
jumped from $20,000 to $87,000.
The reason for, this disastrous
showing was at once obvious to a re
lentless investigator of Mr. Roberts'
keen and accurate perception. Pro
hibition! Bootleggers! There you
have It.
"This Increase (of municipal court
receipts)," observes the knowing
stranger from Newark, in a letter to
the New York World, "resulted from
bootlegging and the villainous stuff
sold as whisky which Is now peddled
about the city, the evil effects of
which are reflected In the courts
every day."
Let us accept without cavil the
expert testimony of the gentleman
from New Jersey as to the quality
of bootleg liquor, since It is In accord
with common knowledge here; but
he might have gone farther into the
source of court fines and have ascer
tained that they are in considerable
part due to the fact that sundry men
and women, boys and girls, run coun
ter to the law by breaking the speed
limits with their automobiles. But
suppose all of It came from the ped
dlers of illicit booze. Evidently the
law Is being seriously regarded by
the authorities and the public.
But the real test of Mr. Roberts'
powers of observation is to be found
in the following remarkable disclos
ure: "I saw more dopy, blear-eyed,
drunken men on the streets of Port
land under its bone-dry system than
I ever did when the town was wide
open."
Where does he get that stuff? We
can find technical Justification for a
statement notoriously out of tune
with the facts by the supposition that
he was never here when the town
was open, and therefore saw nobody
drunk. Otherwise what a pitiful
falsehood It is to say, tu effect, that
there Is more drunkenness now than
five years ago.
It Is possible, so it is said, to buy
poor whisky in Portland now for $20
to $24 per quart. The reason Is that
bad whisky Is scarce and good whis
ky Is nut to be had. It is all scarce
because the lawful manufacture of
liquor has ceased, and Its unlawful
manufacture has become increas
ingly hazardous. Just now the au
thorities are finding occasional out
fits in houses, devoted mainly to the
making of cheap wines. The time
will never come, probably, when men
will not take risks In turning grapes
into wine and hops into beer and
grain into moonshine whisky; but
the time has come when the public
tares less for any of then) than be
fore, and when it will as a rule take
no risks in drinking "rot-gut" or
"chained lightning" or "forty-rod"
or "squirrel poison."
Once upon a time in Portland the
midnight cars to the suburbs on a
Saturday were filled jvith drunken
ttnd quarreling men; now any woman
or a Roberts from Newark and any
of his family may take such au "al
cohol special" In perfect safety. In
the knowledge that he or they will
havo no unpleasant experiences with
roistering passengers.
If liquor is not made It will not be
Fold or drunk. That is axiomatic
When it Is made, if It Is whisky, it is
bad, and men will not drink it unless
they are topers. If It is homemade
beer or wine, it rarely gets beyond
the front door, and no great harm is
done.
Let Newark cheer up. The worst
la yet to come.
room, is unlikely to find a menace
in the coffee houses, as did the Brit
ish authorities in 1675, when they
attempted to suppress them by royal
proclamation, on the ground that
they were "common resorts of dis
affected persons," who devised and
spread abroad "divers falsa and
scandalous reports to the defamation
of his majesty's government, and to
the disturbance of the peace and
quiet of the nation."
Legality of the proclamation being
then challenged, a court declared
that "the retailing of coffee might
be an Innocent trade, but as it was
used to nourish sedition and spread
lies and scandalize great men. It
might also become a common nui
sance." The first coffee house in Europe
appeared in Constantinople in the
reign of Solyman the Magnificent,
and coffee houses soon rivaled the
mosques in popularity. The gre
garious spirit of humanity has ever
thus been demonstrated. Coffee
houses flourished under heavy taxa
tion and spread everywhere, reach
ing England In 1650. They were the
literary clubs of England In the
seventeenth century. There were
3000 coffee houses in London in
1700.
The latest coffee house venture
involves' questions of finance with
which the saloon did not have to
contend and from which the modern
restaurant is free. The problem
which it will be called on to solve
is that of supplying a center of con
viviality for its patrons with a mar
gin of profit that will make it self
sustaining. The steaming cup will
not foster the "have another" habit
that was characteristic of the social
glass, and coffee house proprietors
will need to be content with a lower
rate of "turnover" in their capital.
To linger half an evening over a few
cents' worth of merchandise is one
thing, while rapidly succeeding
rounds of drinks were another, in an
age of high rents and costly real
estate. This practical phase of the
new plan remains to be illuminated,
and 'the country for that reason will
look with especial Interest on the
Roosevelt family's experiment.
The coffee house as a symbol of
effort to supply a want is neverthe
less a hopeful sign. It declined a
century or so ago because of the
growing use of stronger beverages,
a contingency which we are now
providing against by law. But it has
other competitors of which our an
cestors did not even dream. The
motion picture and the automobile
measurably fill the demand for di
version in our leisure hours. The
public can watch the contest be
tween the new forces with a de
tached interest that was not possible
when the saloon was developing
Into a rival institution. We have
social resources that were unknown
in the old coffee house days.
work at Paris has failed, and House
as his "chief counselor," his "super
ambassador," must be the goat- For.
It being impossible for Mr. Wilson to
err, there must necessarily be a goat.
Who else should it be but the modest,
self-effacing House, who sought to
wield a secret power and let an
other wear the laurels? It is a cruel
and ungrateful fate, but what better
could he expect than to be treated
like any royal favorite or grand
vizier?
REVISING THE BIBLE.
The criticism of Dr. Richard . belng let alon
Green Moulton, who says that the
King James version is not the "true
Bible," and who informs us that the
story of the whale In the book of
Jonah was the work of a commen
tator and not of an ancient writer,
is Hkely to arouse little more than a
languid interest among those who
read their Bible reverently and de
rive positive inspiration from its
pages. The King James version and
the thoughtful and painstaking re-
tween "shall" and "will," to which
allusion already has been made, is
illustrated by the rendition, for ex
ample, of "Behold he that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor
sleep," as "will neither slumber nor
sleep," thus furnishing one more
guide post to the army of writers
wrto Rrt e:t 51 1 v ro fLstrav at this fork
' i ili rnnii TTcA rtf '-m.-i n" anrf
"that" for "which," when relating
to persons, commends itself, also aa
the revisers have suggested, as ''re
quired by grammatical accuracy."
Yet our Bible stands in greater
peril from over-tinkering than from
The "ordinary
Bible reader" clings to the King
James version, for reasons which are
not technical, but which reflect cred
it on his innate sense qf fitness. It
is impossible to read the great stories
and the finer poems without feeling
that ever so slight an amendment
would be a kind of sacrilege. It is
not necessary to try to account for a
preference so well Justified by the
fact itself. To attempt to "simplify"
the book not only would be to com-
vidn m a H a Ir. 18S1.8S hv the En?-l""1 a" "-' u vanaansm. out. wouiu
.. . . . , , foe also be an Insult to the understand
HARU WINTER WARNINGS.
The amateur weather forecasters
who believe that nature always
makes provision against a hard win
ter by a preceding season of plenty
will make the most of the fact that
there seems never to have been so
generous a supply of wild fruits and
nuts as in the autumn recently past,
or a year in Oregon in which rose
hips and candleberries, haws and
elderberries, were as prolific. This
is the observation of those whose
business has taken them out of
doors, and yet it may be that cur
rent observation is fiot always ac
curate.
Prophets are inclined to for
get the seasons which exceptional cir
cumstances did not call especially to
our attention, and there is the possi
bility that there have been other
years of plenty not followed by deep
snow In December. It Is this phase
of weather forecasting that the de
partment of agriculture is now in
vestigating in scientific derail, .with
the prospect that in another decade
or so we shall know what to expect
after given conditions have prevailed
throughout the summer or fall, and
that we shall know a good deal more
than we do now about the interpre
tation of nature's signs.
gether with the American standard
Bible published in 1901 by the Amer
ican members of the committee, con
stitute the Bible that the people
want. The revisions alluded to have
changed the King James Bible in
no important particular. It was the
aim of the committees of revision to
clear up obscurities in certain in
stances, to return to originals for the
spirit and meaning of a few passages,
and a "rectification" of translations
in some other particulars. In a few
instances the grammar has been re
vised, where It may be supposed that
the King James translators nodded,
or where our language has since
undergone changes. The standards
of taste in Shakespeare's time were
somewhat different from those of
today, so that translations from orig
inals that were often unobjectionable
appear in forms that the twentieth
century regards as questionable.
They do not, as has been suggested,
materially affect the principle that
the King James version is the one
which' holds the affections of the
people and to which they will con
tinue to cling.
Henry Ford's amusing proposal a
few months ago to have the Bible
rewritten in "simpler" language may
have been the source of a more re
cent rumor that revisers are already
at work again. But it is denied on
good authority that thla is so. The
fact that stands out in all the his
tory of Bible printing is that the
commission of forty-seven appointed
early in the seventeenth century by
the archbishop of Canterbury at the
suggestion of King James I was un
commonly competent to do the work.
We owe more than many appreciate
to the circumstance that there were
poets on the commission, who saved
for us the musical cadences of the
Hebrew classics in the beauty of the
original, as well as scholars whose
care for niceties of meaning added
ing of the many millions who find
there the statements of the greatest
moral truths In their simplest pos
sible terms.
SPELLrSO I)II FICI I.T1ES.
The desirability of more econom
ical use of the child's time In educa
tion will be admitted by those who
also concede that school years are
precious and that every possible
advantage should be taken of them,
so that a feasible plan of imparting
spelling that will not waste the
efforts of those who do not need
especial Instruction ought to have a
hospitable reception. Albertine A.
Richards, who writes in a recent
number of School and Society, be
lieves that such a plan is being
developed at the San Francisco nor
mal school. .
It has gone out of fashion to make
much of spelling in the schools; at
least the constant drill and the ac
companying "spelling bees" that used
to be a feature of primary education
have been abolished. It is not clear
that the result has been altogether
favorable, but It probably is true that
dropping of "stunt" spelling has been
wise and that there has been a gain
from omitting the seldom-used words
that used to be included, largely for
the purpose of making lessons dif
ficult. More scientifically compiled
lists supply a better test of spelling
ability. But a more interesting point
made by the writer is that it Is pos
sible to determine with a fair degree
of accuracy where the difficulty aa
to spelling lies, and by concentrating
on it to make definite progress with
out returning to the "grind" method
of comparative educational antiquity.
The number of pupils who learn
spelling "through the mere business
of living," whose e very-day experi
ence with words Is sufficiently ln-
Russia." tells the allies they have
not paid their debt of honor to Rus
sia, and says that If Belgium had
acted as they are acting toward Rus
sia, they would have said: "Belgium
has failed in her duty." He con
tinued: In my humble judgment we shall not
and cannot have peace in the world until
wa have peace In Russia. The unrest and
disturbances tn Belgium. Italy. France,
and other countries are traceable to the
upheaval In Russia. All the world over
there la nnrest and murmurlngs. So long
aa this great empire of Russia Is In the
throes of revolutions the repercussion must
continue to be felt by the whole world. It
Is a constant danger and menace to the
peace of the rest of Europe and to the
efforts at reconstruction.
In my humble opinion the allies are In
dutv bound to continue to support Kol
chak and Denlkln, or any other approved
friends of order. All the alllea should
help in this direction. If they do not do
so, then assuredly Russia will fall under
the dominance of Germany. It is to Rus
sia that Germany looks for her recuper
ation. All the wrongs which Germany has
done Russia will be forgotten If Germany
la left free to restore order according to
her own Idea, and Germany will reap the
reward.
But the allies are so exhausted, and
bolshevism has gained such a hold
on their working people that they
feel powerless to help Russia
further. Then will the United States
give any help? We have the power
if we will use it. Try as we will to
silence it, the Russian question will
not down. If we do not rightly
answer the question: "What are we
to do about Russia?" the country
will fall into the power of Germany.
Then the question will be before
many years have passed: "What will
Russia do about us?" and we shall
not be able to evade it.
structlve, has been shown by a
a touch to moral purity as well as survey to be larger .than most per
beauty to the version. It Is our high 1 sons will have supposed. It amounted
good fortune that so conscientious I to 60 Per cent ot the entire number
and so capable a group of scholars i of pupils in the survey In question.
could be assembled at that time
The King James version Is des
tined for a long time to remain the
basis for new translations made for
non-English-speaking peoples. The
Arabic Bible, which is the latest
translation made for use among Mos
lem races, is from the King James
version, while the first missionary
Bible ever printed In a foreign
tongue was translated from the same
version by John Eliot for the Ameri
can Indians. Partly because Ameri
cans have been most active In "mis
sionary work, but largely because of
the completeness of the labors of the
commission at Hampton Court, the
ri.VtHiING AN ACHINti VOID.
In orening a coffee house in New
Tork, announced as the first of a
great chain, three sons of Colonel
Roosevelt, Theodore, Kermlt and
Archibald, their brother-in-law. Dr.
Richard Derby, and their cousin,
Philip Roosevelt, will hardly subject
themselves to suspicion of grasping
a commercial opportunity for the
money that may be made from It.
Their composite purpose may more
reasonably be supposed to be to fill
the void left by the coming of pro
hibition. The coffee house has been
returned to us as a means of pre
venting sociability, the one good fea
ture of the old-time saloon, from
perishing from the land. There is
reason for believing that the de
sired result can be accomplished.
Voltaire, who is said to have drunk
his seventy-five small cups of coffee
a day, and Shakespeare, who said,
"Coffee, thou art all the- comfort
the gods will diet me with." were
chosen aptly enough, ;is the patron
spirits of the new Institution. It Is
an experiment that will be watched
with interest. The American public,
which, so long tolerated tho bar-
THE FINAL EFFACEMENT OF IIOISE
So even Colonel' House has fallen
into disfavor with President Wilson.
He has gone the way of George Har
vey, the original Wilson man when
Wilson was but a well-known college
president with an itching political
ambition, the friend whose support
was spurned as a handicap; of Henry
Watterson, who fiercely resented the
treatment accorded to Harvey; of
Lindley M. Garrison, whose pacifist
successor. Baker, was selected in
preparation for his expected resig
nation when his preparedness plans
were rejected. House has lasted
longer than any, but the reason for
his full is not hard to find by one
who has watched the Wilson ways.
Colonel House not only was con
tout, but preferred, to keep in the
background. He chose to be the man
behind the throne who pulled the
secret strings. He was willing to
do the work unseen which promoted
the schemes and enhanced the glory
of his chief, and to take no glory to
himself.
If the opinion be correct that he
was the author and the hero of
"Philip Dm, Administrator," House
had cast himself for this part as
long ago as 1912. That opinion is
supported by the similarity of views
attributed to Dru and to House by-
House's intimate biographer, Arthur
D. Howden Smith, in "The Real
Colonel House," published in 1918,
and by others. Dru is described as
an iconoclast, so is House, and there
is a strange parallel between pass
ages in the two books. Smith de
scribes House aa "the president's
principal counselor"; as holding "a
power never wielded before by any
man out of office"; as "chief adviser
in the formulation of all the presi
dent s most Important decisions; as
"political next-of-kin to Mr. Wilson,
an all-around counselor and concili
ator." He, like Wilson, foresaw in 1913
the world war for which the presi
dent persistently refused to prepare.
He made four trips to Europe on
secret missions while the war was
on. Before the United States de
clared war he advised the allies to
attack the central powers from with
in with propaganda designed to stir
the masses to rebellion. In 1915 he
proposed to Germany a principle of
freedom of the seas which would
have nullified the allies' blockade.
He, according to ex-Ambassador
Gerard, would have been "doubly
welcome as the bird with the olive
branch" in 1916. He was selected to
organize gathering of data for use by
the American peace delegates. He
alone of the delegates was in fre
quent close conference with both the
president and the allied premiers.
The president realizes that his
Those needing spelling Instruction,
but presenting no specific difficulty,
were 29 per cent; the "problem
cases" 11 per cent. It will be inter
esting especially to the 60 per cent
to know that there are so many
who may safely be permitted to omit
this, and devote their study periods
to other branches.
The fact stands out that the pres
ent generation of school children
have acquired the reputation of being
"poorer spellers" than our grand
fathers were. Yet, like a good many
other accepted notions, it may be
well if this Is taken with a grain of
salt. The 60 per cent or so who
English version of which has been nave natural aptitude for spelling
standard ever since 1611 has been
the basis of practically every trans
lation made for use by missionaries.
The toil of modem revisers has
been play by comparison with that
of the pioneers. The original manu
scripts of the Bible are not now In
existence, nor have been in hun
dreds of years. The Bible of today
has come from translations from
manusclpts which have been lost or
destroyed. Saint Jerome, who in the
fourth century undertook revision of
then existing versions, was the true
pioneer of nearly a thousand years.
His work was the parent of every
version of the book in Europe. Eng
land received a new Bible from Wyc
liffe In 1384. Tyndale directed the
printing of the first ' English new
testament, and the Importance of the
event in its relation to English lit
erature cannot easily be overestimat
ed. The Coverdale Bible, another
edition by John Rogers, and . still
other Tyndale Imitations left the
fame of Tyndale undimmed. But the
world was suffering by that time
from a surplus of Bibles, which di
verted contemplation of them from
the high moi-alities to relative minor
issues of context and authority. Re
ligion is indebted to King James and
the commission which he designated
for more than a readable text. They
succeeded in ridding the English-
speaking world of an interminable
controversy over non-essentials.
We are not insensible," say the
revisers who have produced the
American standard edition, "to the
Justly lauded beauty and vigor of
the style of the authorized version,
nor do we forget that it has been no
part of our task to modernize the
diction of the Bible."
Obviously it was no easy under
taking to discover the dividing line
between irreverent "modernizing"
and such changes as might be neces
sary to adapt the spirit of the book
to a language in flux. The King
James Bible, which did so much to
crystallize English, nevertheless did
not halt progress. Other influences
have continued in operation which
have brought about changes In our
speech. It would. Indeed, be "ex
travagant to hold that it could not
be improved in any of the details."
"Good usage" changes. Our purists,
wrestling with "will" and "shall," are
to be sympathized with if hey are
vexed by excessive use of the latter
when connected with verbs denoting
an action of the Divine Being. It
ro nnnt rnh tlin tTf rf an.
value to render it Into modern gram- J
matical forms. A fool's vexation
is heavier than them both" (Proverbs
xxvii:3) will be given as "they both"
by any school boy who has studied
his English lesson to advantage. A
few other changes exhibit the style
of speech that might be called "im
provement in a modern time.
In Genesis, for illustration, the older
version Is, "Let the waters bring
forth abundantly the moving crea
tures that have life, and fowl that
may fly above the earth," which Is
better rendered by the revisers as,
"Let the waters swarm with swarms
of living creatures, and let birds fly
above, the earth," The conflict be-
probably are a nearly constant quan
tlty, since the inherent mental,
capacity 01 me people nas not varied
greatly In recent times. It is a more
plausible theory that a greater num
ber of the "problem cases" are find
ing themselves in situations In which
their spelling deficiencies are notice
able. By concentration on the dif
ficulties of the 11 per cent It is
possible that the pedagogues of the
future will succeed in producing a
higher average of competency In
spelling than we have ever known
before.
The movement will have the good
wishes of everyone, especially em
ployers of clerical help. It may be
that high thoughts can be couched
in misspelled words, but the ineffi
cient speller still labors under a
definite handicap. It is encouraging
to be told that there Is a prospect of
raising the standard of spelling efii
clency as a whole, while at the Bame
time simplifying the task for lndl
vldual teachers and furnishing an
Incentive for more self-Instruction In
the study that, next to mathematics,
used to be the greatest bugbear of
the student
WHAT ABOTT RUSSIA?
Since the army of Yudenltch in
the west and that of Kolchak In the
east have been routed by the bolshe
vlsts, silence has settled over Russia
It is the silence of death for all who
are in the power of the soviet and
who do not enjoy Its favor. What
is In store for Petrograd, the once
proud and populous capital of
great empire, can be Judged from
this description given to the London
Times by "a competent witness" who
left the city on November 11
A deadly stillness prevails evrrhr
The Inhabitants look like ghosts rather
man living people, ana those seen In the
streets are chiefly women and children.
nope 01 rener nas vanished, and the ar
rival of the frost Is the last blow. Now
all await tneir late in complete apathy.
Aiany nouses are empty.
The principal street croselnrs are hnrrl.
caded and guarded by Chinese and Bash
kirs. The latter brought with them I
virulent variety of tvphus: the hnnnitnl
are full to overflowing, and thousands.
weaaenea oy starvation, ale dally. i
A recent French refugee confirms tho
reports that the commissars live luxur
iously. Their women, he says, are covered
with furs and diamonds and hold frequent
musical soirees.
Paul Dukes, an Englishman who
spent almost a year In bolshevist
Russia disguised as a Russian, tells
of a secret combination of anti-bol-shevist
parties to Join with Denikin
In establishing true democracy nd
writes to the Times:
Time and time again has the hope been
expressed to me by representatives of all
sections of the community that It will
be England and not Germany that will
be the guiding light of Russia: that
Kngland. and not Germany, will restore to
Russia conditions which will admit of the
Russian nation freely expressing Its will
as to what form of government is desired
by the people. .
For if we do not assist in the establish
ment of democracy in Russia, then that
country will most surely fall a prey to
German designs and greed. That this is so
Is clearly evidenced by the late event In
the Baltic States, not to speak of the foot
hold Germany is securing within soviet
Russia by means of secret commissions and
influential German "soviet" In Moscow
and Petrograd. posing temporarily as sym
pathizers with too communist system.
BIOGRAPHY AM) INCIDENT.
In the third volume of his "Life of
John Marshall," Just published after
a lapse of some years since the ap
pearance of the first two volumes of
that remarkable work, ex-Senator
Albert J. Beveridge devotes a chapter
to a somewhat humorous account of
the least satisfactory labor of Mar
shall's life. This was the biography of
George Washington, and it is inter
esting not only because of the light
it throws on the general topic of
writing biographies, but for the col
lateral incidents which it relates
and the memories that It revives.
The biography of Washington -was
based on manuscripts in the posses
sion of Judge Bushrod Washington,
nephew of the general, and under
taken at the solicitation of Bushrod
Washington. The latter seems to
have had no clearer idea of the
magnitude of the task than did Jus
tice Marshall, who found It un
utterably tedious to wade through
and attempt to put in order the
great mass of mtaerial put before
fore him. Marshall was a novice at
historical research; he seems to have
thought it easy, whereas it was the
most irksome possible kind of work.
Mr. Beveridge Illuminates the dif
ficulties with which the Jurist-biog
rapher was beset. No sooner had the
compact been entered into than Mar
shall's political opponents in con
gress repealed the judiciary act and
compelled him to ride the long, la
borious southern circuit. Two years
ater he had not begun the promised
biography and had not read a line of
Washington's papers. The work
lengthened as he got deeper into it.
His publisher, estimating that the
first volume would "make at least
eight hundred pages." was dismayed.
There was a publisher's price limit
of about $4 a volume In that day (a
limit that does not prevail in these
times) and this publisher saw bank
ruptcy staring him in the face. More
volumes followed, of nearly equal
length, and the publisher pleaded
with Bushrod Washington to dam
the flow of words- Marshall actually
completed four of the five volumes
In 1804, but he had written nearly
twice as much as he and Bushrod
Washington had planned. He found
the task of revising the last proof
sheets the most disagreeable of all.
He wrote his publisher, C. P. Wayne
- ni.il. l. 1 v.
Ul nitiauciiuia, mat liic inuiri wSk.
a ntVin.iaVilT linH Hnl 11 tl V H ijan hi d'r
him for proofreading. He intimated
his incredulity that he could have
made the number of mistakes" that
the prootsheets revealed, but it Is of
record that he subsequently repented
his Impatience and declared that "it
is one of the most desirable objects
I have in this life to publish a cor
rected edition."
If Marshall's motive in accepting
the commission of authorship was
largely a mercenary one. as seems
probable, he showed how nearly im
possible it was for one of his tern
perament to leave it half-finished
once it was begun. The Federalist
bias which the book betrayed was
not the result of Imperfect study of
sources of information, but the effect
of lack of perspective in a work
published so soon after the death of
its subject. Marshall did not pander
to a popular taste, though he is
shown by Mr. Beveridge to have
been In need of the money that a
brisk sale would yield. His salary
and other income were quite unequal
to the demands on them. He cal
culated that no fewer than 30,000
American subscribers could be found
for the work at a price that would
yield him and his partner $1 a vol
ume, or $150,000 in all, and that the
British rights would add further to
their profits. In these expectations
he was doomed to disappointment.
A character who figures pictur
esquely in the venture is Parson
Weems, Mmself the author of a life
of Washington that had been
"best seller" from the very date of
its publication. Mason Locke
Weems is described in the en
cyclopedias as an "author." Mr,
Beveridge depicts him as an evan
gellst and vagabond, lecturer and
politician, writer and musician. He
became chief agent of Marshall's fin
ished biography and set about his
work with enthusiasm if not with
discretion. His own "History of the
Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits
of General .George Washington
(published in 1800) had been respon
sible for the legend of the cherry
tree, which we do not suppose will
ever be entirely forgotten so long as
there are American boys, and for
other unconfirmed anecdotes that
have so effectually shrouded the real
Washington from the. public view.
He was a Virginian; having with dif
ficulty, according to Professor Mc-
Masters' "History of the People of
the United States," obtained in Lon
don the necessary authority to
preach, he became rector of Pohick
church near Mount Vernon, which
Washington attended. He had begun
to eke out his income by- sellln
pamphlets before resigning his
charge, and later' became a book
peddler. Entering a tavern while h
was selling his tract, "The Drunk
ard's Looking Glass," he would make
himself an object lesson to illustrate
the evils of intemperance, and then
proceed to sell the book. His orig
inal life of Washington was a vol-
anecdote after another, and an
edition now current contains 288
pages.
This strange business relationship
between a mountebank and a Jurist
who has since left the impress of his
amazing personality upon the very
constitution of the United States Il
luminates the history of the era in
which John Marshall lived. Parson
Weems made political speeches at
conventions, exhorted at prayer
meetings and played his fiddle at
country dances and always ended
by selling a few copies of Marshall'
book. Mr. Beveridge tells how
Weems wrote to Marshall: "I average
twelve subscriptions per day. Thank
God for that"; and, "In six months
the postmaster here got 1. In Va
day, I thank God. I've got 13 sub
scriptions." But in the autumn of
1803 fewer than 4000 subscriptions
had been obtained. This was a se
vere blow to Marshall's financial
hopes.
It is interesting, with a copy of
Weems' history before us, to read
the original cherry tree story in con
nection with the light that has been
thrown by Mr. Beveridge and others
on the career of its author. The
anecdote, observes Weems himself,
"Is too valuable to be lost, and too
true to be doubted"; and he goes on
to say:
When George was about six years old
he was made the wealthy master of a
hatchet, of which, like most little boys, he
was Immoderately fond, and was constant
ly going about chopping everything that
came in bis way. One day in the garden.
where he often amused himself hacking
his mother's pea-sticks, he unluckily tried
the edge of hiB hatchet on the body of a
beautiful young English cherry tree, which
he barked so terribly that I don't believe
the tree ever got the better of it. The
next morning the old gentleman, finding
out what had befallen his tree, came Into
the house and with much warmth asked
for the mischievous author, declaring at
the same time that he would not have
taken five guineas for his tree.
George, said his father, do you know
who killed that beautiful cherry tree yon
der tn the garden!" This was a tough
question, and George staggered under it
for a moment; but quickly recovered him
self and, looking at his father with the
sweet face of youth brightened with the in
expressible charm of all-conquering truth,
he bravely cried out. "I can't tell a lie,
pa; you know 1 can't tell a lie. I did cut
it with my Ilttie hatchet." "Run to my
arms, you dearest boy," cried his father
In transports, "run to my arms; glad am
I, George, that you killed my tree, for you
have paid me for it a thousand-fold. Such
an act of heroism in my eon is worth
more than a thousand trees, though blos
somed with silver and their fruits of purest
gold."
The cherry tree story, of course
has nothing to do with Mr. Bever.
ldge's life of Justice Marshall, yet it
fits somehow into the picture of a
century and more ago. Weems' own
book was a financial success, with
all its fiction; Weems himself could
not make Marshall's labored biog
raphy "go," for all his exhorting and
fiddling and cajoling. 'It seems some
times as if the "reading public" still
insists on a little glamor with its
facts, and yet Mr. Beveridge's own
work, which It is perhaps not too
much to say is the most noteworthy
piece of painstaking biography In
recent years, may prove that this Is
not always true.
BY-PRODVCTS OF" THE TIMES
Aro Burr's Dnrliaa: Pistols Sold at
Public Aartloa ia Philadelphia.
Few. if any, firearms in existence
possess greater Interest than two pis
tols sold at auction In Philadelphia
recently. They are a pair of dueling j
weapons of the flintlock type. In a ;
plush-lined mahogany case. In per
fect condition, made with barrels lm- I
ported from London by Booth, one i
of tho best known of early Philadel- '
phla gunsmiths, they would command '
the interest of collectors of firearms ,
simply aa specimens of the art of the
gunsmith of their period. They pos
sess, however, a human interest and
historic value, which lifts them quite
out of the class of mere curios.
The tradition in the family of Cae
sar A. Rodney, for whose estate they
were sold, is that they were given to
Mr. Rodney by Colonel Aaron Burr,
and are the pair used in the duel
which resulted in the death of Alex
ia der Hamilton.
That Rodney and Burr were inti
mate friends is shown by the letters
they interchanged and which were
sold last spring. There appears no
reason to doubt 'the authenticity of
the weapons. An interesting instance
of the changed personal relations
which political life brings about ia to I
be found in the fact that later, as
attorney-general under Jefferson.
Rodney had the disagreeable task ol
prosecuting Burr, his intimate friend,
for treason. Philadelphia Public
Ledger.
The Temple of Silence.
By Grace E. Hall.
Oh, come to the temple of Bilence.
where the magic of earth is
wrought.
By the gods who are weaving the
mystery that thrills in the
hearts of men.
And witnesa the treea low-bowing"
neath the garment of snow
fleece brought
From the land of the mystic weav
ers, who are draping it over
them.
Oh, come to the temple of silence, and "
listen and look and dream:
There ia the brook snow-crusted,
where the voices of fairies
dwell:
And yonder a fern-lined alcove, and
the sping's slim silver stream.
Which charms with Its merry tinkle
that's rung on a ailver bell.
Hush! Do you catch the discord? A
woodsman fares over the way.
His steps slow-sped o'er the carpet
v that's deep on the mountain
stairs:
And the temple of silence echoes to
strains of an alien lay.
Aa he crumples the nap on the vel
vet that he's ruining unawares.
The fir trees huddle and whisper of
the dresses the bushes lautit:
A lone pine stands like a guards
man in uniform new and brisrht:
An oak, with its lean arm. beckons.
like skeleton black and gaunt.
To the farmhouse down In the val
. ley, brown smudge on a sheet of
white!
Fritz Krelsler, the violinist, is
meeting with rebuffs from the patri
otic American public, rebuffs that, in
the opinion of the Chicago Evening
Post, might be saved for use to better
advantage against more objectionable
individuals.
"Kreisler is accused of having served
as an officer in the Austrian army.
He did. Before America entered the
war Kreisler answered his country's
call, laid his cherished violin aside,
went to the front and was wounded
in active service. He obtained his
honorable discharge and returned to
America.
It has never been said, so far as
we know, that Kreisler. during his
residence in America, either prior to
his war service or since, engaged in
any of the disreputable tactics that
were practiced by some of his t-oun-trymen
and many of his countrymen's
allies. If he had been a Karl Muck.
deportation would be too good for
him, and no American audience could
demean itself by listening to him.
But no taint of this kind attaches to i
The temple of silence echoes with
thoughts that will never die;
The heart of the woodland mystery
beats ever beneath the snow;
And the fun flings his crimson stream
ers far out on the western sky.
Like ribbons to tether the snow
sheen to the sentient woods be
low. O. list to the mystic silence that
clings to the breathless hill.
As the butterflies swirl and circle
and rest on the velvet sod;
The brook in Its Icy raiment, waits,
too, and is strangely still.
As the frail white Insects flutter
straight down from the hand of
God.
THE KND OF TUN WORLD.
When but a kid I used to hear
Some preachers fix the day
When we would all go up in smoke
In a most exciting way.
With cocksure confidence they sang
Their "mystic numbers" till the
dawn.
And howled with gladness at our
fate.
But trie world kept bobbin' on.
The French government has de
signed a national costume for men to
reduce the cost of living. It costs
only $11 and there may be a surplus
for export, but some four million
young Americans who have just
chucked a "national costume" will
continue to prefer their own.
his record. Kreisler played a man's The Millerites, and Doweyites
part in the war: he fought for his
country. We cannot condemn him
for that, even though his country
later became our enemy. He had the
courage to fight for his country in
tho trenches rather than under the
shield of neutral hospitality. That Is
to his credit."
And Adventlsts and all
Have told us how some comet's tail
Would get this earthly ball.
Now Brother Porta lifts his voice.
And a chorus chimes, ding-dong!
Though not a prophet. I predict
We'll just keep bobbin" along.
Among the signs which might In
dicate the approaching wind-up of
things terrestrial is the item which
says that Aberdeen plumbers have
voluntarily agreed to work Saturday
afternoons and Sundays during the
cold snap without other than
straight-time pay.
President Wilson's suggestion that
fuller knowledge of American In
stitutions" Is a cure for unrest is
nothing new. But there Is many a
history teacher in the schools who
would like to know how the thing is
going to be done.
It . was a girl mail carrier who
completed her route out of Eugene
when the men on other routes quit
because of the blizzard, a fact that
the latter will do well to remember
f anything ever Is said about "worn
en In men's jobs-
If the end of the world is really
coming December 17, It was unkind
to precede it with weather so un-
preparatory, as it were, for the fu
ture life that some folks most of us
know are destined ' to lead in the
hereafter.
The freezing of the Willamette
river is said by the milkmen to have
a serious effect on Portland's supply
of milk. If It weren't for the fuel
shortage, we'd suggest that they
melt enough Ice for each day's busi
ness needs.
The "mad poet" postpones his of
fensive against Spalato, but there is
no telling where his madness will
break" out next- There Is nothing so
unreliable as a literary fellow en
trusted with political affairs.
know some folks who made them
robes
A J Wo t v-o. i And climbed a windy hill.
."T. . . J f 1anias Clt" And waited there all dav for God
Thefr forecast to fulfill.
But a Uui.gry boy struck home for
hash.
When he "guessed they'd figured
wrong,"
And the mas and pas came trailing
down,
While the world kept bobbin' along.
Jess Wlllard, ex-heavy weight
champion, has been arrested for
profiteering in cordwood. Seems to
have changed his methods. Hereto
fore his profiteering has been done
in solid ivory.
Mrs.
called the local fuel administration
and requested permission that the
Llnwood Boulevard Christian church
might be opened Thursday. Decem
ber 18. for the wedding of her daugh
ter. Miss Guinevere Pray, to Leo D.
Gatlln.
We're sorry," was the reply of the
fuel administration, "but as the sit
uation now stands we cannot allow
churches to be opened during the
week."
"But," Mrs. Pray protested, "It's to
be a big wedding. I have 400 Invi
tations out. It's too large for my I
house."
But the fuel administration was ob
durate. After all, a fuel administra
tion Is rather an unromantlc old thing
anyway.
It's still some time to December 18.
and the coal conservers may yet have
the chance to relent.
There is great consternation, it is
believed, among the bridesmaids and
flower girls.
Mrs. Pray was busr on the very
essential Industry of the trousseau
today, but Miss Pray appeared to
speak for the entire wedding.
"It will be a disappointment if we
can't have it in the church," the
bride-to-be declared, "but If we can't
have It there, we'll have It here at
the house."
And she agreed that to postpone a
wedding Is Very bad luck Indeed.
Kansas City Star.
"If I had thought, when I made
that march, that it would have In
spired anyone to compose 'Marching
Through Georgia,' I would have
marched around the state," is a state
ment credited to General Sherman.
The general was staying at a Wash
ington hotel when a band serenaded
him with the piece, and he is said to
have made the comment to a friend.
The song was the product, in 1863.
of Henry Clay Work, a popular song
writer, who wrote many songs that
were DODUlar in Civil war time. He
was a printer by trade and often com
posed the words while working at
the "case, and wnen ne was setting
up music type he would compose the
music "free hand." "Marching
Through Georgia" is probably unique
among war songs. In ttiat It was com
posed without appearing in manu
script. Detroit News.
But now December seventeenth
Is the reconstructed date.
And Seattle folks are stiff with fear.
Just waiting for their fate.
Now I refuse to take a fit!
I calmly sing my song.
Surmising that on Thursday next.
We'll still be bobbin' along.
"The m day and hour oan no man
know,"
Then why prognosticate?
Just keep your head, and keep your
Heart,
And keep your faith to date.
Rejoice, the Savior now is here!
Imbibe the angels' song!
And when the worlds are bumt-ou;
suns.
You'll still be bobbin' alon:.
WILLIAM STEWARD GORDON.
Paderewski threatens to quit as
premier of Poland and return to
music. He probably finds that strik
ing the high notes in statesmanship
is more difficult than at the piano.
You can fix $24.50 as a "fair price"
for a man's suit or overcoat, but you
cant keep the boys from paying
twice that for a few fancy touches
worth a good deal less than six bits.
The sending rate of wireless jumps
from 10 words a minute to more
than 300 a minute over night, thus
confirming other indications that
we live in an age of speed.
WK OF THE WEST KKKI' CHRIST
MAS DAY.
We of the west are questing men.
Jesting, wild, unresting men;
The trails of the earth have known
our feet;
And we have found the wandering
sweet.
But, laden with spoils of all tho
lands.
Or wearily back with empty hands.
Always, again, when the wanderlust
Yields each year, as yield it must.
To the hunger for home, home, home
again,
Oh, back to the west come the west
ern men!
Back to the west, with its tang and
sun ;
Summer and winter, all in one.
Back to the land that never will
Grow cold and weary and old and
chill
We've bought earth's goods In all
earth's marts.
But it's western homes for western
hearts!
And, with great firs towering where
we meet.
And roses opening at our feet.
Here, in our own. old, hearty way
We of the west keep Christinas day.
MARY CAROLYN DAV1ES.
Cardinal Mercier, the great patriot
of Belgium, says mat ne nas read ume or eignty-two pages, but this
Paris wants to suppress jazz, on
the ground that it is musical bolshe
vism. If the charge can be proved,
it Is as good as doomed in the United
States.
Cuba has put a ban on sugar ex
portation, evidently being of a mind
to do a little profiteering on her
own account-
The fact that the government is
beginning to retire liberty bonds
makes them all the better an Invest
ment. Peace reigns in Paris. The dram
atists and critics are beginning to
challenge one another again.
Even ' under present conditions, it
is a good time to make plans for
with pain o the decision to leave J grew gradually by addition of ono j next season s road building.
TKBROKEX RELIABILITY RECORD
How the Associated Press" Has Won
Universal Confidence.
(From the Service Bulletin of the Asso
ciated Press.)
"Where the fountain Is pure there
the thirsty come to drink." The spirit
of the Associated Press today, as
when it was founded, ia the spirit of
truth, of enterprise and Impartiality.
It devotes itself to public enlighten
ment, to the dissemination of facts,
to serving those ideals of right and
justice and democracy upon which the
American republic waa founded.
Every one of its 1228 newspaper
members and its thousands of loyal
and faithful workers all over the
world vigilantly guard the honor of
the Associated Press and maintain its
unbroken record of more than a quar
ter of a century of veracity, trust
worthiness and achlevement.
The Aseoclated Press believes "ac
curacy" is as Important as "speed. "
It did not announce the armistice
prematurely.
One of the biggest beats of the year
was scored by the Associated Press
on July 9 upon the ratification of the
allied peace terms by the German na
tional assembly at Weimar. In addi
tion to the normal routes out of Ger
many, Philip M- Powers, of the Berlin
office, duplicated his dispatches to
James P. Howe, correspondent with
the American army of occupation at
Coblenz. Howe managed to get this
dispatch to Paris over a telephone re
lay system and thus overcame the de
lavs of the German land lines. From
Paris the news of the ratification was
cabled and Howe's dispatch thus
reached the United States away ahead
i of any other communication.
GOD KNOWS.
Thero's many a sorrow that cannot
be told;
Many a tear drop tho eyelids with
hold. But a smile like a curtain of light
may hide
The sorrows that else might for
ever abide.
He has promised to thee, thy bread
shall be sure;
"That round thee munitions of
rocks shall endure;
Water ne'er falling to thee shall be
given.
As though from the cleft in the
rock It were riven.
"Go bury thy sorrows," He knoweth
them all.
As well as He mindeth the spar
rows that fall.
If thy burdens are heavy or great ia
thy care.
He Is ever beside thee, thy triala
to share.
N. S. KEASET.
THE POET SOLDIER.
When D'Annunzio tuned his lyre.
And hammered out poetic rot
Did he e'er set the world on fire?
'Tis safe to say that he did not
When on Flume he made advance.
There rose a roar that ripped the
roofing,
But allied council o'er in France,
Assured the world that he was
"spoofing."
But when the allies could not stop.
His forward march by any means.
They quickly took another flop.
And wailed "alas he'll spill the
beans."
The question is, will D'Annun",
Attain to fame and world renown.
Will he turn out a Washington.
Or just another old John Brown?
FRANK W. STONE,
i Vancouver, Wash.