THE ST7XDAT OREGOXIAX, PORTLASTD, OCTOBER 1, 1922
UttflctjrOrririmtnn
ESTABLISHED BY HEVBT L. FITTOCK
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USCOLN AND K MANCIPATION.
Commander-in-Chief Pilcher of
the Grand Army of the Republic,
In replying to attacks made on the
memory of Abraham Lincoln at
the Richmond meeting of the Con
federate veterans last summer,
properly contented himself with
deploring the effort there made to
awaken animosities that have long
since been forgotten by all but a
few and the attempt to "disturb
the feeling of peace and goodwill
between federal and confederate
eoldlcrs which now prevails
throughout the nation." To have
dignified a venomous assault with
an elaborate defense would have
been vastly to exaggerate the im
portance of the Richmond in
cident, which has been deeply re
gretted by representatives of mod
ern opinion in the south, no less
than In the north.
It Is futile to prolong discussion
of the legality of measures of
"coercion" by which the integrity
of the union was maintained, and
profitless to renew the old debate
over the ethics of slavery. So,
too, the constitutionality of the
emancipation proclamation be
longs to the category of matters
which have been settled,, once and
for all, by the inexorable logic of
events. It is Interesting to recall,
however, that President Lincoln
then relied, not upon his ordinary
powers as president in time of
peace, but upon the extraordinary
power implied by the constitution,
which makes the president the
commander-in-chief of all the
armed forces of the nation in war.
The validity of such a proclama
tion, says an authority on the law
of nations, is hardly to be ques
tioned seriously and never would
have been questioned but for a
natural revulsion from so search
ing an application of the laws of
war in a country which had
hitherto enjoyed an almost entire
exemption from actual warfare.
This and this alone forms the Ibasis
of controversy over the issue
whether the historic emancipa
tion proclamation or the thirteenth
amendment actually accomplished
the freedom of the slaves.
The proclamation indeed bears
on its face the evidence '.hat it
was but a measure of war and
none sought less than did Lincoln
in issuing it to exceed the limita
tion of the federal constitution. It
was issued, not by assumption of
any authority directly intrusted to
the presidential office, hut "by
virtue of the power in him vested
as commander-in-chief of the army
and navy of the United States in
time of actual armed . rebellion
against the authority and govern
ment of the United States, and as
a fit and necessary war measure
for suppressing said rebellion."
So reads tho proclamation. Its ef
fect in the absolute prohibition of
slavery has been reduced to a sub
ject for academic theorizing by
tho overwhelming dominance of
accomplished fact.
Slavery was not, however, abol
ished in toto by the emancipation
proclamation, from the terms of
which were expressly excepted cer
tain counties of Virginia and par
ishes of Louisiana then (in 1863)
under federal control. These, as
tho proclamation stated, were "for
the present left precisely as if this
proclamation were not issued." Its
singular feature was the declara
tion of freedom for slaves on soil
which was not then under military
occupation, which has been held
by some lawyers to lack support
of tho principle that "among the
powers of commander-in-chief,
when governing conquered soil
under military occupation, is that
of freeing the slaves of the in
habitants." These, as has been suggested,
are matters of only technical
moment when set side by side with
the result. Undoubtedly the pro
clamation forestalled foreign medi
ation by armed force, which was
seriously threatened in 1862, and
so permitted subsequent progress
ive application of the power to
emancipate until the time arrived
when military occupation was by
the surrender of the rebellious
forces made complete.
It is significant that temperate
discussion of these momentous
historical events has but served to
heal the old breach, while at
tempts to foment rancor and re
open old wounds, confined to few
quarters, have universally failed.
Two wars in which a united na
tion has participated have obliter
ated the last line of difference be
tween the states.
If department of commerce esti
mates that siiKiir consumption by
the people of the United States will
reach 12,320,000,000 pounds this
year prove accurate, this will not
only make Americans' the largest
per capita consumers of sheets in
the world, but will exceed their
own previous record by more than
one-fifth. Normal consumption,
which has been rated at 89 or 90
pounds per capita in recent years
will be increased to about 111
pounds per capita, and will account
for a large proportion of the world
Increase from a total of 17,500,000
tons in pre-war times to 18,300.000
tons in 1922. As spice consumption
in the late middle ages was an in
dex of national prosperity, sugar
begins to take the place of that
commodity in a modern time, for
although sugar is now regarded as
a necessity, it remains a luxury in
the sense that it is not a prime
requisite for existence. Our own
forefathers in a not-remote day
subsisted on a ration of seven
pounds per capita, and thrived and
grew strong.
SIBGEKY AND MORALS.
The train robber, Roy Gardiner,
who says he wants the surgeons
to operate on him with a view,
to removing something or other
or relieving a pressure at some
point or another so that he will
be cured of his criminal inclina
tions, is putting responsibility on
surgery that he and no one else
has the right to assume. Surgery
has done wonders in - correcting
physical disabilities, and it has
even restored brain function where
the latter has been impaired. But
it has never given ethical direction
to a man's intellectual processes
and there is no reasonable prob
ability that it ever will.
On the day that Gardiner en
tered prison to serve his present
extended term, another convict
whose case was reviewed at the
time, received a commutation of
sentence from life to ten years, of
which eight years had .already
elapsed. This other convict had won
favor by years devoted to expia
tion in the best sense of the word.
He made no plea of irresponsibil
ity, no effort to shift the blame
for his misdeeds, but confessed
his wrong and so far as possible
showed by his deeds that he was
on the road to reform. It was
the only way to make good, and
the parole officials who know his
story and have observed his
actions believe that he is sincere.
"Brain pressure" operations
have been tried on criminals, uni
formly without success. Gardiner
is not mentally handicapped, as
his primes have proved, any more
than are the thousands of other
felons who are in prison simply
because they thought that stealing
other people's property was easier
than working to earn money of
their own. The remedy for the
ailmenjs -of- Gardiner- and his kind
is not the surgeon's knife but a
new sense of responsibility and the
patient himself is the only phy
sician who can effect the slightest
improvement. Operation or no
operation, while Gardiner fails to
comprehend this cardinal principle
he does not deserve to be at large.
JAZZ AND FOLK MUSIC.
A college professor says that
Jazz is but the folk music of the
age. An encyclopedic authority
says that "folk music is the out
growth of a people's develop
ment." He describes folk tunes
as "the wild flowers In the realm
of music," as distinguished from
the cultivated blossoms. They
are indigenous, they grow with
out especial care and sometimes
without nourishment. Spontane
ity, as in the case of Topsy, is
their outstanding characteristic,
but unlike Topsy they are rep
resentative of a class. They are
the mode of expression of the
aims and aspirations of the body
of the people, the "common
people" of pre-democracy times.
In a country in which there are
no common people, or where all
are common people, which comes
to tho same thing, folk music
must be presumed to symbolize
the development of the people, as
a whole. '
But before accepting the defin
ition and the disparaging allusions
to our national ideals and aspira
tions that, it implies, we. prefer to
consult the authorities again.
The true foundations of a folk
music, says one, go back to a
remote antiquity. "Folk music is
never the outgrowth of a few
centuries; it requires ages of isola
tion." The genius of its symbolic
character is that it has come up
with the people, carrying with it
all the wealth of tradition that has
marked the progress of the race,
modified from time to time as it
has been influenced by profound
sentiment, but always bearing the
stamp of truth. "VVe get a fairly
clear idea of what the gypsies are
when we listen to their songs, and
the rugged nature of the Scot is
revealed by the tunes that his
pipers play. We should hate to
have a stranger judge us by our
folk tunes, if jazz is the folk music
of America.
If we are a nation given to
dancing between courses at our
dinners, if as a people we habitu
ally regard discord as harmony
and think in terms of trombone,
saxophone and traps, if we cus
tomarily stay up till after mid
night and read the early editions
of the afternoon papers before we
go to bed, then our folk music is
jazz, and all the ages through
which we have thought that we
were developing a national char
acter have brought us to just that.
But if the common people, who
are all the people, are not typified
by night life, high-stepping,
bobbed hair, toreador trousers,
loud socks and discordant noise,
then jazz is no more folk music
than was the ragtime of a few
years ago. The passing phenom
ena of a brief period and the queer
antics of an unrepresentative min
ority of a people do not constitute
character, and a music that leaves
the impression that they do has
failed to achieve the universal
quality that has distinguished the
folk songs of the past.
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PAYS.
An investigation into rural con
ditions in New Tork state which
disclosed that, the annual income
of the farmer who has had an
education in an agricultural col
lege is more than twice that of
the one who has attended only the
district school is but another testi
mony to the growing need of defin
ite scientific equipment in all
modern industry. It puts farm
ing, too. in the list of higher
even "learned" occupations. We
should be inclined to call the
modern farmer a professional
man. if it were not for the in
vidious distinction between the
professions and the trades which
would be thereby implied.
Chemistry, biology, genetics and
various aspects of mechanics unite
with other sciences to make agri
culture the amazingly complex in
dustry that it is in the twentieth
century. But beneath the surface
of these more restricted vocational
aspects of the farmer's calling
runs the .still greater necessity for
education in tho broader sem;e,
for the training which develops
capacity to think. The old rule
of thumb methods are being re
jected as inadequate to the de
mands of a modern age; in the
nature of the business less can be
left to chance and men must learn
from failure through capacity to
study underlying causes. We
should starve as a nation if the
hit-or-miss processes in vogue a
century ago in America now pre
vailed. "
With a myriad of enemies to
combat on every hand, with soil
fertility approaching exhaustion
in those regions where its con
servation is not receiving atten
tion, with plant and animal dis
eases multiplying and with a
growing population making in
creased demands on the resources
of an area that does not expand
proportionately, every resource
that science can marshal and
trained ingenuity suggest is re
quired to keep up with the times.
Undoubtedly the farmer who will
succeed best in the next generation
will be the one best armed with
the weapons of exact knowledge
and who best apprehends the
fundamentals of his job. The
ancient method of apprenticeship
served well enough in its time,
but is too costly for present use.
The best evidence that education
is appreciated by farmers is the
fact that nearly without exception
those wh are themselves gradu
ates of agricultural colleges are
sending their sons to agricultural
schools.
EVOLUTION AS A GOING CONCERN.
Sir Arthur Keith, who discusses
in the Nineteenth Century and
After the question whether the doc
trine of evolution Is enduring the
test of time or is succumbing to the
attacks of its critics, makes the
point that the personal factor has
had a good deal to do with the
hostility with which every new evi
dence of its soundness is received
In some quarters. It will not be
forgotten that the phrase, "I am
not going to let 'those scientists
make a monkey out of me," has
passed for argument even in recent
times, and others than Sir Arthur
will have noted that the tendency
to disparage Darwinism in its ap
plication to the lower forms of life
has been by no means as marked
as the protest against the imputa
tion that there may have been a
time when man was not as lovable
or as dignified a creature as he now
is. A curious inconsistency is ex
hibited in refusal to give open
minded consideration to a new dis
closure bearing on the principles
which Darwin made vital, though
he did not discover them, by per
sons who have no quarrel at all
with Luther Burbank and his work
and who concede, the validity of
testimony that animals and vege
tables progress.
Wrong interpretation of discus
sions and heated arguments in the
scientific world has been chiefly to
blame for the growing feeling of
distrust which Bryan and others
have made vocal. Widely circu
lated accounts of the rejection of
evolution by scientists are usually
traceable to this source. Dr. Keith
gives an illuminating example. Not
long ago Dr. H. F. Osborn, an
American scientists of note, created,
on the strength of a molar tooth
found in Nebraska, a new genus of
extinct humanity, which later Dr.
Smith Woodward, a Briton, de
clared to be the tooth of a
Pliocene bear.- "There seems room
for a smile as well as for scepticism
on the part of the public," Dr.
Keith observes, candidly. "That is,
however, because the man in the
street does not know that the body
of English science, as is the case
with the body of English law, has
been built up by the trial of a long
series of contested instances. The
meeting rooms of the learned so
cieties are the law courts of sci
ence; anyone entering when a case,
such as the Nebraska tooth, is be
ing tried, and listening to the ad
vocates for the prosecution and de
fense, finds such sharp contradic
tions between them that he believes
neither and1 expects the 'jury to
bring in a verdict against evolu
tion."
The case that is being tried, how
ever, is not the truth of Darwin's
theory, but whether a certain tooth
is that of an extinct man or an ex
tinct bear. The error in assuming
that Darwin is the defendant is the
equivalent of that which would
assume, on hearing a modern law
suit, that the fundamental neces
sity for a system of jurisprudence
was being questioned. The par
tisans on both sides in the Ne
braska tooth case, were supporters
of Darwin. And to the question
whether it would not have been
better for Dr. Osborn to have kept
the tooth in his cupboard until he
had further evidence, the obvious
answer is that he might have kept
it there a lifetime without making
further progress. Discussion on
the contrary has awakened interest
and has enlisted hundreds of eyes
in the search for further evidence.
The Piltdown skull is but an
other example of controverted is
sues that have vastly extended the
field of research. If Charles Dar
win had done nothing else, his
work would have been worth while
for the spirit of inquiry which it
stimulated and by which the doc
trine of progress was made a go
ing concert. The "Descent of
Man," a work of a scant 80,000
words, still stands as the most
amazing work of erudition in its
time. Dr. Keith, who as a pro
fessional student of the human
body has taken pains to scrutinize
its statements of fact in the light
of discoveries in more recent years,
is impressed by the circumstance
that if a new edition were to be
prepared, few alterations would be
required. though its footnotes
might advantageously be expanded
to several times the size of the ori
ginal book. "In .some instances,"
he observes, "it is possible to ques
tion his interpretations, but on the
whole this classic stands, as do all
of Darwin's books, a remarkable
monument of accuracy, learning,
industry and intuition."
It is doubtful whether the will
ingness to learn which is un
doubtedly chief among the phe
nomena of the present century, and
of which an enormous output of
scientific literature is a local mani
festation, would be as marked as it
is but for the work that Darwin
did within the memory of men still
living. Darwin's conclusions need
not be accepted in all their par
ticulars to justify the judgment
which Sir Arthur pronounces, that
"it was he who first made us
realize that the palace and the
cathedral had arisen from a human
habitation little better than a wind
' screen; everything on our backs.
word in our mouths and thought
in our heads was seen to have its
simple beginnings and its elaborate
history." Belief in the general
soundness of the doctrine of evolu
tion is but a small part of the
change in the direction of human
thought which the man who first
made that doctrine tangible has
wrought.
I LEARNING ABOUT MABs.
The observations of M. Jarry
Desloges, the French astronomer,
on the weather of Mars are worthy
of record chiefly because they
mark a step toward larger know
ledge of the- ways of the universe.
By themselves the French scien
tist's findings cannot be said to be
very impressive.
M. Desloges says that examina
tion of the red planet this year
and comparison of findings with
those of 1907, when Mars was in
nearly the same relative proximity
to the earth, indicates that there
are seasonal changes on Mars just
as on earth, and that in all prob
ability climate varies ' from one
year to another, just as it does
here. At about the close of May
in both years the air in the south
ern Martian hemisphere began to
clear, showing progress from
spring to summer. He marks also
what seems to be physical changes
on the planet, but concedes that
these may be mere atmospheric il
lusions. His most important con
tribution to astronomical . lore, if
it is ' verified, will be his conclu
sion that conditions on Mars are
very much like those on earth.
Communication with . distant
planets remains as indefinitely a
matter for the future as it ever
did, so far as scientific achieve
ment seems to have gone. But it
should not be hastily concluded
on that account that M. Desloges
and his co-workers are, wasting
their time. It will not be forgot
ten that we now know more about
Mars than Aristotle knew about
our own planet west of the rock
of Gibraltar. It is impossible to
forecast what marvels the spirit
of .scientific curiosity may reveal
or to place a limit on the value of
any single newly-discovered fact.
MILLIONS BUT NOT ENOUGH.
The total of savings deposits in
banks of the United States, re
ported by the savings bank division
of the American Bankers' associa
tion as $16,618,595,000 is less im
pressive than the total number of
accounts reported, which run some
what in excess of 30,000,000, of
which 26,637,831 are deposited in
institutions for which official sta
tistics have been obtained. The re
mainder consist of accounts in
banks in non-reporting states, in
cluding all of the south except Vir
ginia and -also a number of states
in the west; of time certificates
which are used instead of savings
accounts in some rural sections; of
patrons of the postal savings sys
tem; and of investments in build
ing and loan associations and other
and similar enterprises. The fact
of importance, however, in deter
mining the extent to which the
thrift lesson has been learned is the
number of individual depositers.
This is vastly more significant than
the total, however great, of cash
held in the names of those who
have something laid by for the
proverbial rainy day.
Thrift has not yet become a na
tional habit of Americans to the
extent that it prevails in other
countries. The figures of the
American Bankers' association in
clude many duplications, as is
shown by the estimate that but
ninety-nine Americans in every
1000 are savings depositors. Eu
ropeans do better than we do. The
Swiss, who are proverbially long
headed in matters of finance, have
554 in 1000, due to the practice of
inculcating the habit even in the
very young. England has 302 and
France 346, notwithstanding the
pecuniary exactions of a great war.
The number of individual deposi
tors, which is about a third of the
number of accounts, due to the
number of persons who keep their
money in more than one institu
tion, still has room for improve
ment, as the comparative statistics
show.
The value of the larger number
of individual depositors lies in the
testimony thus furnished that the
practice of saving is rooted in na
tional custom. It is so much easier
to follow an example than to set
one. that incentives for thrift are
increased when it is indulged in by
groups " and diminished in com
munities in which opposite stand
ards prevail. Saving moreover is
but the forerunner of investment,
whether by individuals directly or
indirectly by the custodians of
'their funds, and it contributes to
stability by giving great numbers
of people a visible and tangible in
terest in the institutions of govern
ment upon which the security of
their investments depends.
The campaign of education for
thrift has borne fruit, of which the
total of more than sixteen billions
of savings is undoubted" proof, but
ought not to be abandoned until
I the number of individual deposi
tors more closely approaches the
standards of Switzerland, England
and France.
FINGER-PRINT IDENTIFICATIONS'.
The holding of an international
convention on personal identifica
tion not only testifies to the growing-
practice of conference but it
calls attention to the strides made
by the science of classifying indi
viduals in the thirty years since
Francis Galton's epochal book on
the subject of finger prints was
published. It is not a long time
as history runs, but it has sufficed
to create the widespread associa
tion of the system with criminal
activities and this has operated to
retard development along - other
useful lines. An important task of
the international convention has
been to devise means to counteract
the prejudice that has constituted
one of the first fruits of the method
in question.
Stigma ought not to attach to a
scheme that promises to furnish
final and conclusive evidence of in
dividual identity and it would not
if it were understood that its need
in ordinary civil affairs is many
times as great as the occasions for
its employment for the detection of
criminals are numerous. Experts
know that society would profit in
many ways by its general adoption,
which is made desirable by the in
creasing complexity of human re
lations. In a former time, when
few persons strayed far from the
communities in which they were
born, when business transactions
were conducted between people
who knew each other, when credits
were limited and travelers' checks
unknown, identification commonly
took care of itself." Conditions cre
ated by fast transportation, by
enormous expansion of commerce
and by the exacting requirement
for security of property as well as
lives are far different from those
of even half a century ago.
A good deal would be gained if
only the administrative side of the
identification of criminals were
perfected, since crime becomes
more and more interstate and In
ternational in character. The same
phenomena which made expedient
the enactment of a federal law re
lating to the stealing of automo
biles give point to the prayer of
the recent conference that a na
tional clearing house of identifi
cation be established, but this, too,
puts emphasis on the criminal as
pect of the matter, which is a sub
sidiary issue, instead of on the civil
phases, which affect a much larger
number of people. The latter have
their beginning at the birth of the
Individual, when immediate means
of identification would prevent con
fusion of infants in maternity hos
pitals and day nurseries. In child
hood it would reduce the number
of lost and unidentified children to
zero. In adult life it would make
forgery of checks and other finan
cial obligations impossible, would
enable perfect identification in the
use of passports and letters of
credit, it would prevent Imposture
in personal relations and furnish
certain proof, in the interest not
only of insurance companies and
administrators but also of true
heirs and claimants of legacies, in
surance payments and pensions.
These are the arguments advanced
by the advocates ef adoption of
finger print registry as a universal
practice throughout the country.
Compulsory registration, which
carries a certain offensiveness of
connotation, was not seriously
urged by the most conservative of
the scientists who attended " the
conference, although this does not
in fact Involve a more radical de
parture from established usages
than the collection of vital and
other census statistics represents by
comparison with the former incog
nito of individuals. The conference
Is content first to let education do
Its work and found its hope of fu
ture success on the gradual de
velopment of the system through
the pressure of self-interest in in
dividual instances. This increases
as population grows and commer
cial transactions become more in
tricate, and points to the day when
identification of the law-abiding
will be regarded as of equal im
portance with that of men bent on
committing crime.
AN ARISTOCRACY OF BRAINS.
There are at least two objections
in practice to the suggestion made
by President Hopkins of Dart
mouth college, that opportunities
in college should be reserved to
the "aristocracy of brains," and
these are the obvious difficulty' of
ascertaining who are genuinely and
authentically the members of the
intellectually elect and the inex
pediency of shutting the door on
ambition, even if we possessed the
magic touchstone wherewith to de
termine who the aristocracy are.
Both are practical problems, as
President Hopkins himself would
be among the last to deny, and
their complexity he concedes when
he observes that "it behooves all
of us to avoid confusing the sym
bols and the facts of intellectual
ity," and in particular that under
any circumstances it is to be hoped
that we "might avoid confusing
mental gymnastics and facility in
appropriating the thoughts .of
others with genuine thinking."
The overcrowding of the colleges
is no more an admitted fact than
is the universal desire that their
facilities shall be employed in the
ultimate best interests of society
as a whole.
Any sane programme of selec
tion therefore will exclude the
drone and the student who is only
seeking "membership in a social
organization which has a reputa
tion for affording an education,
from which reputation he expects
to benefit if he can avoid being
detached from the association."
So. too, it is incompatible, as Presi
dent Hopkins says, with all of our
conceptions of a democracy to as
sume that that privilege of higher
education should be restricted' to
any class defined by the accident
of birth or by the fortuitous cir
cumstance of possession of wealth.
But also it is inconsistent with
the spirit of our institutions to at
tempt to create a fixed situation,
in which the individual who has
been condemned to it must for
ever remain, or to deny the value
of mere willingness to strive to
reach the top. So much has been
accomplished on the. whole by
patient workers in whom the spark
of genius flickers but feebly, and
so often has the fable of the hare
and the tortoise been proved sym
bolically true, that it is a daring
educator who will affirm that the
world is yet ready to set the boun
daries of an aristocracy of brains.
Pending the day when men shall
be more nearly infallible than they
are now, the theory that intellec
tual superiority and it alone shall
constitute the magic key to oppor
tunity may well be received with
reserve.
In all probability no better test
could be devised for the present
than one which wbuld determine
as nearly as possible the earnest
ness of purpose of the aspirant for
better things. Excepting for the
obviously mentally unfit, who
ought normally to have been
weeded out in the intermediate
grades and who in any evet are
not a major perplexity in the life
of a college executive, the choice
would seem to lie between those
who have a false conception of the
function of higher education and
those who are determined to make
the most of themselves. Ambition
may not be essentially a measure
of brains, nor is the spirit of dedi
cation to service, but the point is
that they are a fairly good standard
by which' to separate the deserving
from the undeserving and that by
recognizing them the best possible
incentive is given for the improve
ment of material too valuable to
be put aside. Tire need of the
world is less for towering intellec
tuals which have a way of taking
care of themselves whether colleges
are provided for them or not
than for men and women imbued
with the idea that even a moderate
'Intellectual capacity is a trust of
which its stewards ought to render
account, and that the direction in I
which it is employed may be as I
important as the particular use to
which it is put. Beelzebub in all
likelihood would have no difficulty
in passing the strictest of college
entrance examinations, while we
are restrained from a too ready
tendency to generalization by the
many plodders in school who later
in life have made good.
It is undeniable that some method
of exclusion will be forced on the
colleges soon or late. "The funds
available for appropriation to the
uses of higher education," says Dr.
Hopkins with truth, "are not limit
less and cannot be made so,
whether their origin be sought in
the resources of public taxation or
in the securable benefactions for
the enhancing of private endow
ments." This is as essentially true
of a public college as of a private
one; the issue of selection, which
involves exclusion, is likely within
a measurable period to confront
both alike. But inherent brain
capacity, while in all probability a
fixed quantity which it would be
highly desirable to reduce to a
series of. standards in the interest
of purely scientific abstraction, is
so far from being the only desid
eratum . in those chosen to enjoy
the privileges of education that the
very phrase "aristocracy of brains"
and all the denials that it implies
are peculiarly calculated to offend.
"Vitamode" shows both our
ready facility in word mintage and
our credulity in all matters affect
ing the prospect of longer life.
The exponent of a queer theory of
vitality tells the Chicago Society of
Anthropology that the divine spark
"manifests itself in a series of
tenso-laxing movements" in other
words a series of alternate con
tractions and relaxations and says
that he has succeeded in restoring
"life'' to a dead dog, and, presto!
a lot of us begin to believe that,
no matter what happens, we are
going to be snatched from the very
depths of the grave. Unfortun
ately, the process does not yet
offer hope that anything more than
mechanical capacity can be re
stored. Intelligence, which lies
deeper than motor function, baffles
the well-meaning savant. In all
the circumstances "vitamode" does
not offer a pleasing prospect.
Modern living, with its myriad
complexities, makes all too heavy
exactions upon such measures of
intelligence as we now possess.
A new tie that ought forever to
unite the old world and the new is
suggested by the report of A,rthur
Newton Pack, European commis
sioner of the American Forestry
association, who says that tree
seeds from America ure playing a
large part in healing the scars of
war. In France, where more than
2,000,000 acres of forest in one
zone were leveled; in Belgium,
which suffered heavily, and in
England, whose woods were cut
down to furnish props for trenches
and mines, American species of
trees are already growing. A hun
dred million trees in France alone
are the result of the forestry cam
paign. It is nearly a century since
early visitors to the Oregon coun
try called attention to the desir
ability of western hemlock and
pin and fir for transplantation to
European countries a century in
which, if their counsel had been
heeded, an immense wealth In
timber might have been produced.
War, says a Hindu leader, would
alienate 75,000,000 Moslems in In
dia. What are a few more millions
added to the. hosts in all parts of
the world that seem to have been
totally alienated from the idea of
peace?
One way to abate the outcry for
a book censorship would be to stop
writing books i that stimulate it.
Has the author's league, in the
midst of consideration of voluntary
censorship, ever thought of that?
Baby Guy has been declared
officially to be a Stillman, which
ought to stifle a lot of scandal;
but baby Guy's father has been
found guilty of much misconduct,
and the talk simply is switched.
The dangerous experiment of
leaving the near east to its own re
sources to see what will happen is
on the verge of being made again,
and it is a safe prediction that the
usual consequences will ensue.
A German baron proposes that
wars be decided by boxing matches
between the rulers of nations,
which would naturally make the
United States and Senegal the rul
ing powers of the world.
The fellow who always charges
every war to the "interests" might
look into the possibility of con
nection 'between the present near
east disturbances and the map
maker's trust.
Now the "derby" is reported on
the way back. A most useful tile
the derby when one is likely to
be hit by an automobile any mo
ment and land on his head.
Berlin royalists complain that
the ex-kaiser's fiancee is not of
royal lineage. But even an ex
kaiser cannot, in times like these,
hope to pick and choose.
The estimate that a million bicy
cles will be manufactured in 1922
will be the first news to some that
there were that many people not
riding in automobiles.
One thing the country needs is
a lot of workers with the persist
ence of a codlin moth and the
stick-to-it-iveness of a San Jose
scale.
The new army airplane capable
of carrying a five-ton bomb will be
a lot better employed if it is put to
carrying five tons of mail.
Women will lengthen their skirts
as the muddy season approaches.
But when did a thought of utility
ever govern the modes?
Nature is doing its best. A few
more weeks of this kind of weather
will aid materially in atoning for
the shortage in coal.
Life is just one thing after an
other. The Rtrikes are no sooner
settled than the political campaign!
begin to wax warm.
It is the desire of all Americans
that "safety week" may be appro-
priately observed in the Near East. '
The Listening Post.
Br DeWItt Harry,
A CANADIAN exchange recalls
four years ago when the Maple
Leaf corps were driving through
the last remnants of the concrete
fortified line in the north of France.
It serves to bring back remem
brance of our padre of that last
drive. ' The battalion had been 1"
straight months in action with but
two five-day Iperloda of rest. As
a fantasmagoria come back thoae
scenes. Bits and snatches of high
elation and dismal depression. What
daya what a life so close to death!
The padre was the connecting link
to keep us prepared to meet our
maker.
Men lasted an average of three
months with the battalion; padres
five. He was the tenth one in serv
ice with the unit, in 48 montha. He
was near 60, not like his younger
predecessors, but his heart was in
the work. With all that he was a
tremendous responsibility for the
men of the battalion, for he did not
know war and was continually get
ting into some tight place that re
quired some daring in extrication.
The padres could not deliver
much "gospel pap." they were more
"cheerio" ' boys; tried to keep the
men's spirits up. The men needed It
after a continual how of over four
years. The padre came about the
last battle of Arras, the Jumpoff
through the four miles of pill boxes,
concrete forts and wire. He con
sidered his duty to be In the thick
of things.
Lying one night on the bank of
the Canal du Nord. a kilometer in
front of the front line, two platoons
heard a terrific uproar on their
right where the metaled Arras
Cambral highway crossed the canal.
It was 'the padre. He had decided
to visit the outposts and took the
most direct route, down the wide
paved road. The Jerry outposts eaw
him and. not taking any risks,
opened up. The streams of bullets
from half a dozen machine guna
poured In all about him. rlchocheted
from the hard road, knocked his tilt
hat off. punctured his gas mask and
penetrated his uniform at several
points, but he came blithely on.
A scout went back and ap
proached the side of the road like a
snake and called the old man off
and got him to lie down. "Gott im
himmel what dumb hounda thoae
Canadians were." He was not
touched and when he was lead back
and told how close he had been to
his maker, he only smiled. He had
proved that he could "walk right
Into' it" like the boys he was serv
ing with.
LANDLOCKED.
I would go yachting, O heart of
mine;.
Out where the spume flies free.
You are continually sailing the
. brine
When next you must go take
me!
1 would go with you rebellious
thing.
I tire of the Inland, too.
t long for the combers that roar,
and fling
Circles of white on the wide deep
blue.
Give me a day for a talisman,
heart
Under a creaking boom
A day in the wind where the pulses
start
A charm against dullness and
gloom:
An amulet potent to hold In my
soul.
In the length of the years to be;
A day that can never be caught for
toll.
O heart when vou go take me!
JOSEPH ANDREW GALAHAD.
Five men were seated around
a table In a hotel in a brilliantly
lighted room intent upon the vary
ing chances attendant upon 62
plecea of cardboard. They were
eagerly scanning five of these
squared pieces of paper, discard
ing and drawing, betting and bluff
ing and doing everything consonant
with the national game of draw.
The tables and walla of the room
were covered with rugs, tapestries
and carpets worth a king's ransom.
A rug covering the greater part of
the floor was of exquisite design
and color. The soft effu'.gent raya
of sunrise, with the brilliant colors
of an Oregon sunset seemed to
blend harmoniously in the rug's
scheme of color. The myetery of
this display was explained when it
was stated that the apartment was
a sample room being used by a
traveling salesman for a large Im
porting carpet concern.
One of the party looked en
viously at the magnificent specimen
of the weavers art that lay
stretched upon the" floor and evi
dently thoaght how it would grace
his mansion. Raking in a pot of
generous proportions he felt opu
lent and in a moment of abstraction
turned to the itinerant merchant
and expressed the purpose of buy
ing a rug.
"How much would you be willing
to pay for oner' the drummer
asked.
"Three or four yes, I would go
as high as $500." In a tone, every
intonation signifying sarcasm, the
rug dealer aald;
"The rug you're spitting on Is
valued at 15000."
e
Noticed your Initials story in the
Listening Post. You forgot Harvey
A- Thatcher, lieutenant of de
tectives. Harvey recently went into
a store to buy a hat. He chose one
and the clerk aaked him what
Initials to put in It. H. A T said
Harvey.
"Hell, said the clerk, "anyone
would know It was a hat."
HARVEY.
"Mama, cows are just' like us,
ain't they?" the little girl chattered
at Salem.
"Oh, no. dear." patiently replied
the mother, "eowa are animals."
"Don't any of them stay on the
farm?" little wonder then asked.
"Of course, there are lota of them
there, dear."
"No, no. mama, they're juat like
us. They all came o the state fair."
He came up the tank in a
smother of foam. Two fair and
shapely young things watched his
speed.
"Some of hla ancestors mua have
been fish." said No. 1.
"Yea." agreed No. 2, "his father
was a bloater."
The Day.
Br (irsrt K. Mall.
A stooped old man. dressed all tn
palest gray.
Goes down the road and creeps
across the hills;
No power on earth can make him
pauae or stay.
Nor anyone relieve him of his II'-
No human force can halt his sure
retreat.
The whole world can but pause and
see him go.
The soul grows faint at times, as
with defeat.
When he goes out to lands we do
not know.
Each unkind cut, each wound no
skill can heal.
These are his lot he comes not
back to plead;
The bruisea that were his ha still
must feel.
The hearts that bleed because of
him. must bleed.
A stooped old man, dressed all tn
palest gray.
Goes out to meet each twilight,
with his park;
He climbs the hills and sadly goes
away.
With pain and grief and trouble on
hia back.
WONDF.R.
I wonder where our mlnda would '
8,
If you were here with me today?
In what eweet. strange untraveled
land
Our minds, like children, hand In
hand.
Would aeek the truth, the way!
We would stand where the hoary
aalnt
Came frowning down from Sinai's
height,
Miat wrapped, within a Ood-bullt
cloud.
With angry thunders breathing
loud
Upon our trembling sight
Or we would watch while Israel's
king
His loyal soldiers round;
Water from Bethlehem's sacred
spring,
Poured as a holy offering
To God, vpon the ground.
And I would follow, dear, with you.
The winding rptral of your
thought.
Till, far below. In lustrous heat.
The life lay, glistening at our feet.
That love and light had brought.
My eyes would e- with, yours, my
dear.
And in my hetrt your own would
stray, .
And earth and heaven would be our
priz-.
With all the treasure of the sklea;
If vou were here with me today!
MARY ALET1IKA WOODWARD.
' THE AUTUMN TIMK.
Oh, the autumn time la coming!
Don't you hear the beea a-hummlng
Aa 4hey gather In their stores
'while yet they may?
For they know that winter weather
Soon must house them altogether
So they make the most of every
passing day.
Oh, the tree with fruits are laden.
And each bleHsed man and maiden
Kinds a pleasure in the rustling of
the leaves:
Wavy corn In fields before us.
Ytllow. red and brown leaves o'er u.
While the barns are more than
full of garnered sheaves.
Over mountain, hill and valley
Gorgeous colors seem to rally.
Glorifying every bunh and vine
and tree;
In the woodland nuts are fulling: '
From the thicket birds are calling:
Autumn upeaks to us from every
thing we see.
Oh. If we could only hold II!
And to weary hear's enfold It!
This sweet cltflrm that rnmes with
autumn's fragrant air!
Rut the winter time la coming,
When the bees will teaae their
h u in m i n g
So we'll make the moat of autumn's
treasures rare!
, CARRIE B. ADAMS.
I UOMM'H.
Some day I hope to travel
To a new and better clime;
And yet I often wonder
If I'll have a better time.
The sun will shine no brighter
In the place I hope to go.
And the flowers will be no sweeter
Than the ones that now I know.
Will there be a wood enchanted.
Fragrant with the pines' cool
breath ?
Will there be a aun-flecked brooklet
In that land of after-death?
Will there be a wood bird calling
To hia mate upon the bough?
Will there be a gold-haired young
ster Such as one that I know now?
Will there be a mlst-clud mountain
Rising up to greet the sun?
Will there be a friend's warm pres
ence When at lant the Journey's done?
Why. my brothera, this is heaven.
And it'a made for u to share
To live in friendly fashion
A life that's true and square.
KELSEY OUILKOIL.
IK A FELLER DOWN AND Ol'T.
If a feller"a down an out.
An' feelin' kinder blue;
It s time to "stop, an' look, an"
listen."
An' do some thlnkln' tool
A feelin' blue don't make it right.
It only makea It worse;
The guy what wears the longest
face.
Ain't the guy whats got the purse!
An" what you needs and needs It
now.
Is air. yes sir: freah air!
Look up and kinder breathe a hit
Did yer know the sky waa fair?
Ar' did you aay 'twas ralnin' yet?
Aw shucks. Where's your humor
of man?
An' where would you be if It never
ruined ?
In the desert a diggln' san'.
Say feller, yon ain't down and out.
You only thinks you are;
No matter what the trouble la.
You're better off then some by far!
FLORENCE R. WILLIAMS.
THK PICTt'BK.
A decayed land, spaceless, hor'ron
less. Crammed with the huks. led hu-k.
black husks
Of castaway thoughts a land Im
bedded In mint!
Where rlouria beat upon grey and
And black boata in mangled heap
atrew
A glutted shore with new dehrla
While in the background, factoi.
HinokeMacks
Lurch long rythms of rmoke blackly
To the heart throbs of sooty, dull
faced, grimy men
With gnarled flnsera
A few gtanc-d tdiy. yawned and
turned
To join the multitude n blowing on
knot.
KATHRYN EASTHAM.