THE " SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JUNE 27, 1920
7.
WOMAN" QIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONER TELLS OF SUCCESS
Mrs. Helen H, Gardener the First of Her Sex to Hold This High Federal Office Says "Do
Whatever You're Most Interested in to the Limit of Your Capacity" By Margaret Crahan Jones
BT MARGARET CRANHAN JONES. J
ff--vO WHATEVER you're most I
I i interested m to toe limit 01 1
" vnur Mnaeitv." This very
pleasant formula for success sounds
contrary to all the customary rules for
hard work and. no pay, but It has.
brought its exponent, Mrs. Helen H.
Gardener, to the highest position in
the United States government which
has ever been held by a woman.
Mrs. Gardener recently was ap
pointed to the United States civil serv
ice commission, the largest employer
in the world. She is one of three on
the commission and for the first time
the cold letters over one of the doors,
"Commissioner Gardener," trace the
name of a woman.
When Mrs, Gardener is pointed out
to people on the streets of Washing
ton as the first woman civil service
commissioner, the tusual exclamation i
of the observer is, "What ' a little
woman for such a big job!" But that
is because they are of the younger
generation and are not familiar with
a name which is recognized by the
older medical men. literary lights and
"Just folks" everywhere-: '
To be sure, when one enters the
room of Commissioner Gardener one
Is greeted by a vry tiny lady, who,
when she sits at her desk, has to use
a hassock because her feet won't touch
the floor. It takes a very important
little person to impress the inter
viewer with a great sense of capa
bility. Tet Mrs. Gardener gives that
impression without any effort pn her
part.
She is a little pink apple blossom of
a woman. Her cheeks are delicately
flushed, but her finely-carved features
have the stamp of character and de
. termination which causes the casual
passerby to mark her as a woman
of achievement. 'Her hair is white and
waves over her temples in charming
little scallops. Her very steadfast
brown eyes are remarkable not only
for their expression, a seeming to
see not only little things , that most
people overlook, but also very big
things far off that most eyes wquld
never search for, but for their color
ing, which is in delightful contrast to
her white hair and pink skin. She is
Just the type a, miniature painter
would select, only, perhaps, with an
air of a little less incapable softness
and a little more practicality.
Mrs. Gardener's axiom about doing
what one likes best to do might lead
to a life of achievement for every one
who followed her instructions, because
few, like Mrs. Gardener, prefer work
ing for the advancement of humanity
to any other occupation in the world.
Mrs. Gardener would not thus describe
-her life work, but the men and women
who have read her books, those who
have learned her eloquent pleas from
the lecture platform and those who
know of her sincere campaign to
get governmental self-expression for
women through suffrage work would
approve the term.
When Mrs. Gardener was quite a
. - - - - ft . j4 V
I'll V ' - 11 N k..jr I man's, they said.
Ill 1 -f?Y " ' v i""""lu3ai. ' I She believed in a higher education
I I! 1 J fT V "C VSL 'I for both sexe3. and detlded to refute
1 I If ':v J I the propaganda about woman's brain.
lilt . v . .fe 'A 11
a. ' - - ' I
-
Mn. Gardener taklngr oxth of office administered by Jtka T. Doyle, secre
tary of tb. conmnUasion. Secretary and Mrs. Daaiela stand behind ber.
pable of the same mental processes as Few persons will read essays or tb-
Thla woman brlaga a woman's viewpoint to the problems of S 00,000 women ta the elvfl service.
young woman residing in New Tork
City, where she spent 28 years of her
life, she began her work for the gen
eral welfare.
At that time education for women
was not generally believed in. "Women
were hot admitted to the, leading col
leges of the country, and most of them
were not given even a high school ed
ucation. When a few far-sighted per
sons began discussing the matter -of
giving women the same educational
opportunities as were offered men,
many smug pedagogues declared that
a higher education would be wasted
on women because they were not ca-
men. Woman's brain was smaller than
man's, they said.
She believed in a higher education
for both sexes, and defcided to refute,
the propaganda about woman's brain.
She began to study under Dr. Edward
Spitska of New York, ther one of
the leading brain specialists, of the
world. -She devoted months to inten
sive study of the human brain and its
functions. When" her mentor pro
nounced her capable she began writ
ing her answer, "Sex- in Brain." The
book was translated into eight dif
ferent." languages and was considered
the most revolutionary work on the
subject of comparison of the brains
of the sexes that had been published.
Doctor Spitska and Dr. Oliver Wen
dell Holmes wrote Mrs. Gardener let
ters when th.e book appeared com
mending hr scientific discussion.
Her second book was written, as a
plea fox a Bingle standard for moral
ity for the sexes. She put her argu
ment in the form of a novel, which
caused a tremendous sensation, The
book'went through 0 editions.
"I always wrote .my arguments in
the form of novels," she explained.
stract discussions.'
Later Mrs. Gardener wrote other
novels and stories, each dealing with
some problem - she considered vital.
Her works were not the sort with a
moral. She told the story and let the
reader draw his own conclusions.
At one time she was particularly
interested in heredity, and again ehe
took up study of the brain and hered
itary traits
"I make no claim to being a per
son with a knowledge of science,"
Mrs. Gardener said, in speaking of J
her writing on scientific subjects,
"but I never allowed a book to be
published unless I was absolutely
certain that it was scientifically cor
rect, always submitting my books to
experts before they went to press,
just as. I always submitted books
containing legal references to law
yers." .
Although Mrs. Gardener did not
pose as an anthropologist or sociolo
gist, she was hailed as such when she
went abroad. Medical men and" sci
entists everywhere 'in Europe then
asked her to address their groups.
She spent six yeans abroad and
"a's this form. of writing furnishes I lived in 12 different countries.
imagination for those who have none. I "It was natural that my previous
Interests should lead me to take up
suffrage work." Mrs. Gardener said.
She became one of the leaders, of
the National Woman's Suffrage asso
ciation and held the office of vioe
president. She was known by the
other officers . of the association as
the "diplomatic corps," because of her
shrewd counsel and farsightedness.
Suffrage- women say that she is still
the advisep. to whom presidents of
the suffrage organization, now the
National League of Women Voters,
naturally turn.
"My appointment to the civil serv
ice commission was a great sur
prise," she said. "Of course. I had
lived in Washington oft and on for'
years, and because of my activities I
had a fairly wide acquaintance 'up on "
the hill"
When she was asked why she
thought a woman member of the civil
service commission would be valuable
She smiled broadly. . N
"Don't women have special prob
lems in any line?" she ; asked.
"Wouldn't a woman's viewpoint be
valuable where approximately half of
the civil service employes, almost
700.000 in all. are women?"
One recalls that 'the ZTnlted States
army, by comparison with the civil
service, has only 280,000 personnel.
"It is proper that men and women
should work together to make the
laws and to carry out their provi-
sions." Mrs. Gardener said. "The gov
ernment is Just housekeeping on a
large scale. In the home it takes
both the mother and . the faher to
make . laws for the household: the
same 1 true In government."
Although she did not dream year
ago what her work would be today,
all her previous activities have been
training for what is needed in her
present position. She has to meet
and judge numbers of persons every
day, and thus her study of alienation
Is invaluable. x She has to use diplo
macy, as every person In a high gov
ernment position does. Her contact
with legislators, has given her the
tact she needs. She must Impress
groups of persons when she addresses
them. Her training in giving uni
versity extension lecture courses on
sociology, work which ehe engaged in
upon her return from abroad, makes
it easy for her to drive home a mes
sage from the platform. ,
"I love my present work and find
it, oh, so interesting." ehe said. "I
like it so much that I have given up
virtually all recreation until I 'learn
the ropes.' I have declined all invi
tations to social affairs."
And perhaps the most significant
fact that she is the right person for
her responsible position is the atti
tude of Commissioner Wales, who has
been a member of the commission 25
years.
"We have never been so happy in
our work as since Mrs. Garaener hits
been with us," is the way he ex
presses his approval.
PRESIDENT MASARYK AMONG FOREMOST
FIGURES IN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
Ruler of Czecho-Slovak Republic Is Native of Moravia, Once Lived Among New York's Scenes and Mar
ried American Girl While- Over Here. . , -
WHEN Dr. Tljomas Masaryk was
dramatical ly elected first
president of the Czecho-Slovak
republic at the first meeting of the
first ' elected parliament of that
country recently, there was brought
to a culmination what is un
doubtedly the. most wonderful of all
the romantic resurrections of the
great war. Not alone because of this
fact was the election of special in
terest to- America, but because of the
fact that Masaryk was once a New
Yorker, one of the many who. in the
past few years have been shaping the
destinies of the nations of Europe.
Several- weeks before the election
the parliament was set up and a
cabinet was formed with a combina
tion of moderate socialists and
peasant representatives, the violent
part of the opposition being provided
hy 70 Germans. The Czechs or Bo
hemians, as they were called, pas
sionately patriotic, had finally re
gained their ancient country from
the domination and tyrannic rule of
the Germans and Austria. The day
of the election, May 28, the streets of
Prague, the ancient capital of the new
republic, were thronged with cheer
ing, demonstrative and patriotic'
Czechs in their resplendent tunics of
scarlet.
Crowds Surge in Square,
In th& public square crowds
" surged back and forth awaiting the
returns of the election. The encir
cling galleries of the assembly bouse
were crowded with well-dressed men
and women, including diplomatic rep
resentatives from the allied nations
and associated powers. On the floor
were several women deputies and
men in their national costume, in
eluding Slovaks in red and- black
waistcoats and white ehirt sleeves.
" The Germans sat in one block. Dur
' lng the preliminary announcements
hy the speaker, individual Germans
.fiercely shouted protests because he
spoke in Czech, not German. A fur
ther passionate interruption came
during the roll call at the Czech pro
nunciation of German names. One or
two angry shouts in response came
from .other members and the Germans
stood up. raving and gesticulating.
Then, with the president bowing,
the crowded assembly sprang to their
feet and sang enthusiastically the
national hymn. ' Thus ended a most
dramatic historical event.
The man to whom is entrusted the
task of molding and forging that
which in 1914 constituted one of the
least known, in America at any rate,
of the world's oppressed nationalities
at one time not so long ago claimed
New Tork City as his home, although
he originally hailed from Moravia.
During his early stay in this country
he married an American girl. Miss
Charley Garrigue of Brooklyn.
Before coming to these shores he
had worked for a while at a black
smith's forge and had studied at the
University of Vienna, developing into
a scholar ef the first magnitude. His
daughter. Dr. Alice Masaryk, worked
In the University of Chicago settle
ment house for two years and later
lived in New Tork City for the pur.
cose of studying methods in the Hen
ry Street 'settlement. She was also versity Jn the same city. It was this
stimulus, together with, the patriotic
efforts of Masaryk and other Czechs,
which began the wonderful romance
of this little country, which now
takes a place beside its tig, brothers
in Europe.
associated with the 'workers in the
Jan Hues neighborhood bouse.
Dr. Masaryk played an important
part in politics in Austria under the
dual monarchy, but it was not one
calculated to make him popular with
the ruling faction. He was a spark of
rebellion, and frequently his utter
ances occasioned flashes of fire. He
shone brilliantly as a journalist,
teacher, author and as a member of
the Austrian parliament.
When the war broke in 1914 he was
one of the leading Czech patriots who
opposed the Austrian rule, and whose
only wish was that his people should
be soon free from Hapsburg rule. Be
cause of his liberal views and the
daring manner in which he was wont
to express himself, the imperial Aus
trial government concluded that, he
must be put out of the way. An order
was issued for his arrest, but before
It could be executed he had fled. His
daughter, who had exnected no harm,
remained behind, but was promptly
arrested because of the activities ol
her father. '
Americans Save Dangbter.
Only the Intervention of some
wealthy American women saved Miss
Masaryk from being accused of dis
loyalty, tried on some trumped-up
charge and subjected to a fate similar
to that which the Germans visited
upon Miss Edith CavelL Instead, Miss
Masaryk was released..
In less than a year after the start
of the world war Dr. Masaryk took
his stand for absolute separation of
the Csocho-Slovak people from Aus
tria and the establishment ef a gov
ernment of their own. From that time
be worked persistently to bring such
a state of affairs about.
When the Czech regiments marched
to the front to fight their Serbian and
Russian brothers, they showed unmis
takably where they stood In the great
crisis. They sang Pan-Slavic hymns
and deserted singly or in mass to the
enemy. In reality, they began a new
era for the "subject" nationalities of
the world. They were the first to lead
the oppressed races toward a hew
conception of resurgent nationalism.
And at their head, leading them on.
was the man who has now been hon
ored and rewarded by them Dr.
Masaryk. . ,
. Prague Ancient and Plctareaeie.
Prague, the picturesque and ancient
capital of the new republic, is situat
ed on the two banks of thd Moldau
river, and is about 150 miles north
west of Vienna. It is unique inasmuch
as nine bridges span the river in dif
ferent parts of the city. -The city has
been greatly Improved in appearance
during the past few years. It has been
famous, however, as an educational
center since the middle ages. When its
university was one of the leading In
stitutions of higher learning in Eu
rope.
During the middle part of the 19th
century a stimulus was given to the
intellectual life of the city because of
the struggle for supremacy betweer
the Germans and Czechs. Prague soon
became the center of Czech culture",
and its university had an attendance
almost treble, that of the .German, unl
CITY PLANS ARE DESIRE
World . Legislation Advocated to
Prevent "Hideous Deformity."
MONTEVIDEO. World-wide . legis
lation to stop the "hideous deformity"
of streets, parks, gardens and plasas
and to beautify "all cities was advo
cated at the first congress of archi
tects which has just closed its ses
sions here.' . , -
Representatives were present from
all South American countries, as well
as from the United States. The con
gress in proposing legislation for the
adoption, of regular plans and the
location of public buildings and mon
uments, recommended the continua-
tion'of the system of uniform squares.
Classes in "urbanization" in universi
ties and special schools of architect
nre were also proposed, a resolution
stating that these were indispensable
fer the culture of the people.
Emphasis was also laid on the need
of construction, with government aid,,
of cheap and hygienic homes for la
borers in industrial sections. The con
gress urged also that there should be
established in each country a "na
tional - bank for the construction of
economic houses" with funds contrib
uted by employers and capitalists.
AMERICA LOSES CONTRACT
Kngllsh Firm Gets Belgian Order
for Locomotives.
LONDON. A British firm has Just
secured from the Belgian government
the major portion of a contract for
390 locomotive eBglnes which was on
the point of. being wholly placed in
America, according to announcement
in the press. An order has been placed
here for 200 large locomotives, it is
stated. The contract involves the. sum
of 21,000,000 and it is claimed-that this
is. the largest for this type of engine
ever placed in the history of engi
neering. It was reported a few weeks ago
that the Belgian government was in
the market for 750 locomotives. Later
it was announced that contracts for
150 of them had been obtained by two
of the leading American locomotive
manufacturers, with an option for
50 more, at a total cost of $11,600,000,
or $58,500 for each locomotive.
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GRACE BARSTOW IS "JAM GIRL" TO
- SOME, BUT ARTIST TO OTHERS
Painter of California Landscapes First Becomes Famous Locally as Producer of Sweets From Fruits of
' Own Orchard at San Jose.
BT FAITH HUNTER DODGE.
THE "Jam Girl" is her nickname at
home, because a girl at home and.
a prpphet in his own country
never receive all the homage due
them; a "Bouguereau" they called her
at the College of the Pacific, because
of her wonderful talent in painting;
but ome one, I think it was Leon
cavallo, gave her the title which has
stuck when he dubbed her the "Girl
Stradivarius." "
In her San Jose garden Grace
Barstow earned all three titles. Her
mother tells how from twisted fig
trees and sturdy apricots in that gar
den she gathered fruit which she con
verted into marmalade and Jam. win
ning first priezs at county fairs.
Then she sat before her easel and
painted landscapes which breathe the
breath of California, hillsides flaming
with yellows and burnt blues, bricks
and oranges; these alone would have
given hex fame. But visions of greater
things came to "Grace Barstow in her
wonderful old garden.
When she was a very little girl. Just
learning to play the violin, she got
the idea "from where. I don't know,1
she says that she could make violins
herself. The beautiful wood of the
great redwoods growing just outside
the garden fascinated her always.
"It seemed to mesmerize me," she
recalls with a far-off happy look in
her eyes. "It seemed to want to make
music like my violin. And often we
would take turns, the redwoods with
the wind playing through their leaves
and branches and I with my little
violin, singing the same' songs. We
had wonderful duets and splendid
times together. Even the birds Joined
in and the early morning beard
strange orchestral harmonies."
She was only eight when her brother
had a complete work bench made for
her and set it up in the corner of the
garden. There were two strong vises
on it ."for vises," she contends, "are
virtues in violin making." Together
brother and sister scoured the town
for tools and accumulated chisels.
saws, mallets, planes, clamps, calipers.
ebony keys, purfling "and glue and
varnish. There was even a very sue
cessful varnish made from the gum
of the fig trees in the garden for
this girl, like Amatl. tried everything
in her little violin factory.
Her grandmother then saw that the
project was a serious one. so she sent
to Europe for pine and maple wood
enough for several violins. There were
months of steady, grinding work with
a very good teacher. Then the first
violin was finished.
Out in the garden under the fig
trees it sang Us first sweet notes at
dawn; and a nightingale came out
and, answered It.
But a little girl-neighbor borrowed
it to practice on. And brought it home
with a cracked back.
The girl violin-maker went to work
again, this time alone; and progressed,
she admits, "through many trials and
triBulatlons."
"It seems that almost everyone who
makes violins has to get a certain
number of freak ideas about shapes,
sizes and thicknesses of instruments
out of their systems," says Miss Bar
stow. "T tried them alL But my chief
obsession wag to use the wood from
my own trees. With that exception
I finally settled down to conventional
lines, those established by Stradivarius
and Amati, and did my best to make
good-toned violins. '
. "But as Montaigne says of Aristotle,
"he will still have a hand in every
thing, I could not withstand the
temptation to busy myself with the
unconventional woods. I tried our
California redwood. The first results
were terrifying. "What! Do those tones
come blowing through the tiny pores
of the redwood, down through' the
ages, from life byond the glacial pe
riod, when human man was perhaps
not yet developed from the ape?. Is
it the voice of nature speaking to us
from the days of old? This, you can
imagine, was my own secret question
and my brother's open comment.
"The garden, at times, besides weird
noises, wpuld give a general appear
ance of awe-inspiring chaos the sort
that causes a gopd housekeeper to de
velop brainstorm. Shavings, shavings
everywhere, shavings which had a
monster grip on the rug spread out
under the work bench, shavings whieh
eould not be beguiled by a busy
broom. -
"In spite of which there-'"' reat
deal about violin mats' .ich is
nice and poetical ever, J except
the glue pot. Somehow t odor of
romance simply does not linger round
pans and glue pots. And the clothes
pins which clamped on the purfling
were more useful than ornamental!
"Yes, and one day I remarked to
my mother that I had to sandpaper
my neck. She was quite aghast, until
I discovered the reason for her dis
pleasure and explained that it was my
violin neck which needed the opera
tion."
And these prosaic hurdles "back to
earth notwithstanding, Grace Barstow
went on dreaming of a redwood violin
with low, vibrant, mellow tones and
exquisite harmonies. "Redwood is too
soft," was the verdict of every one
who watched her brave attempts; and
the redwood she was using was too
soft. But out in her grandfather's
fence for her garden is a part of
Judge Rhodes' - estate and Judge
Rhodes was her mother's father she
found a rough old slab of redwood
which had been aging neary 60 years
in the Caifornia sunshine. She tested
it and found it hard and ripe and
beautifully grained. From that old
slab she made the bass bar and sound
ing board of the violin she is holding
in the photograph. This she calls her
violin No. 6 and it is her favorite; she
has played on it hundreds of times
in public and before the "great" of the
land.
But to this day the audience she
loves best though It never claps it
hands is the row of redwood trees
and eucalyptus Just outside the gar
den; the fig trees and the apricots in
the orchestra seats and the birds
which warble and trill their approval
from the leafy galleries.
Other violins have followed this one,
violins with redwood tops and deep
voices like the voice ef the cello,
violins with entire sides of redwood
and tops of maple with ingeniously
fashioned inlays and scrolls. "Every
one. p ihem has Its own personality,'
affirms their maker, "as plainly
visible to me as the characteristics of
human beings."
But the violins are all packed now
in big cases. Grace Barstow and her
mother are preparing to leave the
fine old home and the historic garden.
They are going south to live . in a
great, new home being built in Los
Angeles next to the home of Grace's
brother, now an attorney,, whose
avocation, by the way, is playing the
cello in duets with his sister and her '
violin to piano accompaniments by
their mother.
The trees seem to understand. The
eucalyptus sheds its perfume softly
like a censor in a temple; the red
woods moan and the pepper trees bow
their heads disconsolately; the wind
sighs through the leaves and branches
of the twisted fig trees. The bullfinch
and the lark sing through the morn
ing light; the swallows twitter dis
mally at noon, and in the starry hours
of the night the nightingale trills its
saddest song in the old San Jose
garden.
CAR SYSTEM DISLIKED
Plan Outlined to Facilitate Com
merce With Mexico.
SAN FRANCISCO. Abolition of tha
present system whereby Americans
shripplng freight in through cars to
Mexican points are required to put up
a bond for the safe return of the cars
and also pay (0 cents a day for the
first 30 days the ears are in Mexico is
being sought by the National Rail
ways, of Mexico, according to R. M.
Campos, its western agent.
The National Railways proposes to
facilitate commerce with Mexico by
absorbing the per diem charge Itself
and having the Mexican government
put up the bond for the safe return
of the cars, Campos said, P, Fontes.
general director of the lines, and L.
Valdes, the general freight and pas
senger traffic manager, are in the
United States now, he stated, attempt
ing to adjust the matter with the va
rious railroad companies.
The plan they are seeking to have
adopted was in force in regard to in
terchange of Mexican and American
cars before the revolutions began in
Mexico, aecordlng to Campos, and the
Mexacin railways still offer this con
venience to Mexican business men
shipping into the United States.
Woman Riveter Hakes Record.
London Sphere.
Miss Annie Tobey, an operative in
the electrical shop at the Portsmouth,
England, navy yard, won a contest
for women riveters recently when
she drove 164 copper rivets ipto bat
tery boxes in two hours. Machinists
said this was a record for women.
Novelist's Beart Is Toa-ehed,
- London Sphere,
John Galsworthy, the famous Eng
lish novelist and dramatist, was once
a keen sports m, but for many years
he has never toucned a gun. Watch
ing a dying bird one day, he suddenly
found sport ugly and gave it up forever,
1