The Oregon daily journal., August 19, 1904, Image 4

Editorial Page of lEe Journal
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 1904.
PORTLAND, OREGON.
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
.. ft J ACS. SON
PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
JNO. P. CARROLL
rubllshed every evening (except Sunday) and every Sndy momlm at Ths Journal Building. Fifth and Yamhill
streets. I'ortland, Oregon.
OPPICIAU PAPBR OF THE CITY OF PORTLAND
HOW PARKER HAS BEEN HELPED.
IT IS an inspiring story which National Committeeman
Holman brings back with him from tha eaat and
It is of a piece with the Information which haa con
stantly trickled this way ever 'Since tha nomination of
Parker. That nomination waa another cage in which
hindsight haa supplemented foresight. When tha Demo
cratic convention met it waa a foregone- conclusion that
Roosevelt would be elected practically without an effort.
But after tha nomination of Parker and Davis, when
sufficient time hail elapsed for a little cold and careful
calculation, It waa seen that not only waa there no longer
possibility of a walkover but It waa at once apparent
to all except the rainbow chasers that a close and hard
contest waa ahead for the Republican national party.
The moment Parker waa nominated, although the fact
did not become so apparent until after the nomination
waa made, tha outlook for Republican success waa at
least doubtful In New York. It was realised that the
very circumstances which affected the Empire state
would exercise a profound Influence upon Connecticut,
New Jersey and Delaware and that the nomination of
Davis, an old war horse and able campaigner, put the
border states of the south in imminent peril. A realisa
tion of these things came quickly, but aa the days have
gone by the impression has grown stronger and stronger
that the fight is to be one to the death, with vary good
chances of success for the Democratic nominee.
For the past eight years the Republican party has left
nothing undone to profoundly impress upon 'the country
the lesson or conservatism In its chief executive. Mc
Klnley was the very embodiment of this principle. On
that score it will not be denied that th advantage is
altogether with the Democratic nominee. He Is not ft
man who moves impulsively and he la a man Who has
been thoroughly trained In the fundamental principles
of the law and who regards the constitution with vener
ation. No one doubts If he is elected that the dignity and
beat traditions of the country will he maintained; no
one doubts that the law will be upheld and that we will
have a sane, able and yet, if need be, an aggressive ad
ministration. There is no fear in any quarter of Judge
Parker; there la an undercurrent of fear in many influen
tial quarters of the Impulsiveness of President Roose
velt. Everything that the Republican campaign managers
and newspapers have done in the past eight years, every
lesson of conservatism . which they have sought to en
force, will positively advantage Parker while at the
same time It will bring into closer scrutiny and unlm
passioned measurement every dlsproportloned act which
haa 'marked the presidential incumbency of Theodore
Roosevelt,
These things are being slowly realised and they are
having a deep undercurrent effect upon voters in all
parts of the country In determining their presidential
preference in the November contest. They will have more
and more weight as time goes on' and the two men.
their records and their temperaments are more closely
canned and contrasted.
AN ANNUAL TRAGEDY.
k VERY YEAR the forest fires in Oregon and Wash
ington assume the lurid aspect of a tragedy,
greater or leas In extent, and this tragedy is being
enacted by this element in several localities now, though
as yet it hag not assumed such large proportions aa oh
some former occasions. While, even If the fires now die
out or are checked in one way or another, a great ag
gregate loss will have been sustained, yet on the whole
these states have been fortunate rather than otherwise
thai year so far, considering the season, and the fact
that practically no rain haa fallen for many weeks.
Prevention of such fires is manifestly impossible, yet all
possible preventive means should be taken. These meas
ures do not and will not prevent large and destructive
(ires, but without them the fires might have bean far
greater and proportionately more destructive.
Settlers in the regions adjacent to large bodies of
timber are increasing; their slashings, now dry as
tinder, are numerous, and It is difficult, if not impos
sible, to burn them without danger of the fire spread
ing. No law, no watchfulness on the part of a few
rangers, no appeals and proclamations, will make every
body, settlers, campers, hunters and travelers, careful at
oil times. Something In the way of prevention has no
doubt been done, but there la no other prospect than
that more or less destructive fires will occur annually
Until the forest fires are gone.
But, meanwhile. Just the same, each one In his sphere
should exercise the utmost care in preventing the recur
rence of these destructive fires.
THE CITY MUSEUM.
IT WAS a deserved compliment that Dr. Roland D.
Grant paid to Mr. I L. Hawkins and the museum in
the city hall which he, mainly, has collected. It Is
Indeed a fine and admirable exhibit, and Instructive aa
well aa interesting to a great number of people, its
lvalue cannot be stated In terms of dollars, though Dr.
Grant, whose Judgment ought to be good, said, he
thought It could not be duplicated for 1100,000. And
these collections of shells, crystals, birds and curiosities
of nature have been brought together almost free of
cost Jo the city, principally by the untiring industry and
admirable liberality of one public spirited citizen. Others
have helped; many have mads voluntary contributions;
but except for Mr. Hawkins Indefatigable and financially
unrewarded efforts the museum would be a small and
Insignificant affair in comparison with what it Is. To be
sure, he enjoys his work, even delights in it, and for
tunately has the leisure and means to enable him to
pursue it; yet the city will always owe him a large debt
of gratitude, and Itself felicitation, cm having had such
ft citizen.
There -are far greater museums of curious things in
older and larger cities, yet we doubt whether any city
of twice Portland's age and ilse has one so Interesting
and valunhle from in educational point of view. It Is
one that can be pointed to with pride, and deserves
more attention than it receives.
Th tlm la near at hand when Colonel Hawkins should
be provided with an assistant, some one of his own se
lection, whom he could. train to take his place aa an
expounder of the museum, and who would always be on
hand for that purpose. The cost of the museum has
been so slight, assuming It to be city property, that the
olty should feel able and cheerfully willing to do this.
THE STATE COULD GET NO MORE.
IN ONE A8PECT of the proposition to raise the city's
assessment more nearly to a full valuation basis the
Oregonlan Is giving itself unnecessary and at the
same time unwarranted concern. iij us '""
issue it gives forth a wail from whose shriekiest register
we extract these two sentences:
The main and direct" and Inevitable consequence of
any considerable Increase of the valuations will be
corresponding Increase of the amount of money
which the owner of property will be called on to pay.
Again, if the total valuation of city and county
should be raised say 60 per cent Multnomah would be
called on for from $160,000 to $200,000 more annually
for the state, and then would pay about' one-half of
the state's taxes.
We violate no confidence In saying that this feature
of the case should occasion no one, not even the Oregon
lan, any undue alarm. For four years now the proportlpn
which Multnomah county pays of the state's expenses
haa been arbitrarily fixed by statute. That amount is
a little over II per cent, to be exact to hairsbreadth,
.8123. Its proportion was ascertained and fixed not on a
basis of the county's valuation, but on a basis which
the expense of each county bears to the total expense of
all the counties. That basis is fixed to Include this
year's assessment. A new basis will be determined next
sear, but it will be ascertained in the same way as In
fhe past and bear no relation whatever to the assessed
valuation of the property In each county.
It Is true the city taxes could be raised even by main
taining the usual levy and applying It to the proposed
increased assessment roll, but the state cuts no figure
in the transaction and could not get a dollar more out
of the county even though the assessment roll in Mult
nomah county were doubled over what it now shows.
At the same time we wish to say that the record es
tablished by the present city administration is scarcely
such as would warrant the people In entering upon any
plan which would place greater sums of the taxpayers'
money at its disposal. We say this, too, while heartily
believing in the proposition that the assessable values
should be raised now nearly to the full values.
IRRIGATION IN OREGON.
THE GOVERNMENT moves slowly In its large
operations, and patience will have to be exer
cised with Its work of reclaiming tracts of arid
land in eastern Oregon. It is possibly regrettable that In
some Instances the operations of Irrigators working
under the Carey act run counter to the government's
projects, or rather prevent work that the government
might otherwise undertake; yet It appears that on the
whole these operations will be beneficial, aa compared
with those that would or might have been undertaken by
the government. In- Otook county alone it is stated that
300,000 acres have been or are ready to be reclaimed, and
other similar projects will bring vastly beneficial re
sulta before the government would have reclaimed these
lands if there had been no Carey act. It Is yet too
early to tell Just how that law ' will work, and whether
the settlers will get their fair share of the benefits; but
there Is evidently going to be a good deal of irrigation,
outside of the government's work, for it will do nothing
where people are operating under the Carey law.
Still the government will probably get one and possibly
more large irrigation projects under way before very
long, the prospect being that Malheur county will get
the benefit of the first one. The Harney county project
has been abandoned, for the present at least, as un
feasible, while that In northern Umatilla county Is still
being considered, thtmgh apparently not very favorably.
But the government officials having charge of the mat
ter are learning. If slowly, and may very likely deter
mine later that some projects are feasible that are not
now so considered. Good success in Malheur might en
courage a greater degree of both faith and seal.
While the Irrigation fund is not expended in the states
and territories In proportion to their several contributions
to it, Oregon Is entitled to liberal consideration in this
respect, having contributed far more than any other
state or territory to the fund, which now amounta to
over $16,000,000, a gain of $10,000,000 during the paat
year. This sum will go on Increasing and carlnot de
crease, because the money expended In irrigation projects
will all be repaid by the purchasers of the Irrigated lands.'
Hence many projects that are discarded now will doubt
less be taken up later. And between the two systems
we may expect Oregon to be made richer by many mill
ions of dollars through Irrigation within the next 10
years.
"Yet these people who are working frensled finance are
for Parker." The Oregonlan.
The "frensled" financiers of whom Mr. Lawton writes
In the magaslne and to whom the Oregonlan alludes, be
long to the Standard Oil combination. It might. If It can
point to a few of them who are squandering their means
or growing hysterical In their efforts to help Parker Into
the presidential chair. It might add a few of the Plerpont
Morgan group of financiers, If any should occur to it.
This is a case In which one fact Is worth a bushel of as
sertions.
From the Glendals News.
A passenger on the southbound train
Saturday morning reached Glendals clad
In a hand-made smile and a slumber
robe, and thereby hangs a tale: The
gentleman, who shall be nameless for
this o'er-true tale, hails from Washing
ton. Hs took a sleeper on Friday night
for the purpose of going to California.
Upon retiring he placed his purse con
taining $ under his pillow, then placed
his clothing In a hammock that Is
stretched along the Inner side of his
berth. The articles put Into the ham
aock Included his pants, vest and un
derwear, end when that task and other
-n Inert ee were completed he opened
wide the windows of his berth and lay
down to enjoy the sleep of the JusL
While he was dreaming of home and
of mother or perhaps of the dally strug
gle for existence, any old topic, the hsm
fnnck became unhooked at one end and
waft blown out of the car wtndow. te re-
every article of clothing named above
pose at the side of the trsck with other
scraps until a section man or hobo
claimed them by right of dlscovsry .
When the traveler became aware of
hlseoss next -morning he was In a plight
good and plenty, his sole remaining
wardrobe being his coat, shoes, stockings
and night robe. The porter bought a
suit of clothing for the unfortunate,
and hereafter one traveler at least will
never again put his trust in a dressing
hammock.
XT n ft
From the New York Times.
New Yorkers have often been celled
"provincial" by strangers, who say that
the Inhabitant of this city think the
entire world Is bounded by the Hudson,
the east and the Harlem river. If a
young servant of Augusts Van Wyrk
is a fair type of th Got
strangers axa certainly
thamlte, the
right This
young man had never left the city up
to his 18th year, and had never evinced
any desire to do so. Then, however
some of his friends prevailed upon him
to taae a snort trip "up state."
ne wenv snout 2 mile After a
week he came back. Former Judge
Van Wyck wanted to know what his
man thought of the outside world.
"What kind of a trip did you have.
John?" he asked.
"Well, sir," replied the youth, "all I've
got to say Is this: If the world stretches
aa far south ' here aa It doss north
It's a mighty big place."
I Small Change
Now .for the mining congress.
Soon It will be mort d' Port Arthur.
Forest fires seem to be unpreventable.
The August weddings are Just aa
pretty aa any.
Little Japan haa become th wonder
among nations.
Grown people aa well aa children like
to see the animals.
Wouldn't you like to have somebody
owe you a lot of wheat T
After all his experience, the sultan of
Turkey should not become easily scared.
But Is not th president going back on
his own advlc about the strenuous
lifer
Kuropatkln has a big country to fall
back on or into if he has a chance to
do so.
The man who played the wheat mar
ket' right lately can afford to take a
vacation.
If Russia learns a lesson of humility,
her losses will not have been altogether
In vain.
Taggart has a notion that he can make
Wisconsin's 13. electoral votes unlucky
for Roosevelt " '
The present csar may be paying a
penalty for some of the sins and crimes
of his ancestors.
There is always a silver lining; If the
crops, are light It does not take so much
work" to harvest them.
Parker could not help his ancestors
having a coat of arms, and perhaps
would not if he could.
When Admiral Schley gets tired of
everything else be takes his pen In hand
and writes a little history.
The csar could not go to the front
till the boy came, and now he cannot
tear himself away from him.
Hoke Smith has reappeared In print,
but not Importantly enough to Justify
any pun or rhyme on his name.
Perhaps the csar of Russia Is be
ginning to lose some of the faith he so
piously professed to have awhile ago.
Perhaps the Chinese, noticing what the
Japs have done, will, to use a slang
phrase, .take a tumble to themselves.
Governor Hunn of Delaware, having
self-respect left, hss declined, a re
nomlnatlon at the hands of "Gas" Ad-
fllskft
Now. really, isn't the fuss some good
people make over breaking a bottle of
wine when a ship la christened rather
foolish?
Wonder is Uncle Russell Sage doesn't
wish he could swap a little money only
a little bit, of course for some chil
dren and grandchildren.
The kissing bug has made its appear
ance at some of the eastern seaside re
sorts. He wants to be where his per
formances ars in fashion.
If Orover Cleveland should run for
governor of New Jersey and be beaten,
the Republicans of that state would
have something to crow over.
The Japs did not knock out the Rus
sian navy so quickly or completely as
the United States literally settled
Spain's, hut they have practically put It
out of business.
If Mr. Fairbanks should he elected
vice-president, and Mr. Bryan senator
from Nebraska the latter would doubt
less enjoy making some long speeches.
If he could keep Fairbanks In the chair.
Now It is a California millionaire, a
sugar king named Oxnard, who expects
to be elected to the senate on account
of his wealth. But a senatorshlp from
that state may come high, even for him.
The Salem Statesman thinks that
Homer Davenport is now doing soms of
the best work of his life. The opinion,
however, may be prompted by political
bias, and not entirely reliable as an un
prejudiced piece of art criticism.
Some people will think that the ac
tion of O. V. Hurt In refusing to allow
his young son to accept any of the re
wards offered for Creffleld Is an evidence
that he Is also crasy, but the better opin
ion Is that It showed an admirable and
unusual sens of propriety end measure
of delicacy.
While It may very likely be true that
the Democrats, If they had been in
power, would not have reduced the big
grafts of state officials, It remains true
nevertheless that the Republicans have
been in power In the legislature con
tinuously for the past $6 years, and
have not cut off these grafts. Hence the
Republican party must be held ac
countable for them.
WAITED r OR LOM PARTY.
are Bleu.
From the Philadelphia Press.
Towns She's from Boston, isn't she?
Brown I can't tall. She hasn't had
occasion yet to pronounce th word
either."
Towns She's not from Boston, then.
If she were she'd have found the occa
sion long ago.
From the ''Philadelphia Ledger.
A New York public man, large In
body as well ss In brain, during the
session of the legislature lsftt winter,
had to meet a committee In central
New York, but found on starting that
he had only on minute in Utlca to
change from one railroad station to an
other, 100 yards away.
Fearing that his weight would pre
vent him getting to the second station
on time, he telegraphed to the railway
officials:
"Please hold No. t five minutes for
large party on Southwestern Limited."
The conductor and train hands were
all standing ready to assist ths "large
party" on board, when the one solitary
individual came smilingly up the plat
form. "Wher Is th rest of your partyr'
sad ths oenduotor, looking expectantly
down the platform.
"I am all here, captain 140 pounds
without my overcoat. Weighed last
night. Much obliged."
CALVE MAY COMB BACK.
STUDY OF SENATOR VEST
Washington Correspondence of the Bos
ton Transorlpt
George Graham Vest will long be re
membered here, sside from his strong
snd vigorous personality, as the public
man whose passing away waa longest
the subject of speculation and discus
sion. If one were to read the New York
papers for th spring of 189, when the
fight over th ratification of th treaty
with Spain waa uppermost in ths public
mind, one would find the question
whether Vest would be alive on tha day
th vote was to be taken of great prac
tical Importance He seemed to be lin
gering along very near hie end. It
would take several days to get a senator
here from Missouri, if tha governor were
to make haste to perpetuate the lata
senator's Interests by filling the gap
which his death would occasion at once.
On the two-thirds vote which was re
quited in such a fight the death of a
minority member would release two men
on the other side. While senatorial
courtesy goes to the full length In ar
ranging pairs for men who are 111 or
absent. It ceases when a senator passes
out of being. This subject was especi
ally prominent in the Sunday morning
discussions on ths day before the Mon
day when it bad been agreed to take
the vote. If Senator Vest should die.
Republican success was assured; if be
should live. It would be a close fight, in
spite of ths number of Democrats who
had flocked to th administration's
standard.
When the senate met th next day
Vest waa not only alive, but present In
the chamber to vote, although he had to
be carried In by two men, and the fee
bleness of his response, so the senators
In the executive session said, was one
of the most pathetlo examplea of devo
tion to public duty aa he believed It
and of th triumph of th mind over
bodily infirmities, that they had ever
seen. His vote on the Quay case was
almost aa important. From those days
until the day of his death Senator Vest
was the merest shadow of bis former
self, with th occasional slight periods
of Improvement but in the main stead
ily falling. He retired from the senste
with the close of the last congress, al
though he kept up his duties surpris
ingly well to the last
For months before he left public life
he could not see to read, and had to
have everything Imparted to him by his
secretary or by members of his family.
And yet when he decided to make a
speech in the senate, aa be did at in
tervals until (he very last, he was "the
old man eloquent" still. On the occasion
of his announced remarks against the
subsidy bill it waa aupposed that he
would remain seated, as Oliver P. Mor
ton, the war governor of Indiana, did In
his later years. But Mr. Vest arose in
his place, and. with both arms resttng
on his desk, over which he leaned heav
ily, he stood during extensive remarks.
His voice was extremely feeble, but the
Interest of his associates In what he
had to say waa so great 'that he did not
hick hearers.
On the subject of his approaching
death Mr. Vest spoke in that same
rough, forceful way that he waa in the
habit of discussing everything. Some
one tried to comfort him a number of
years ago by telling him that he had a
long time yet to live, in spite of bis
feebleness of body, and In support of
that view presented the experience of a
very aged man who was then in public
life toward to years Mr. Vest's senior.
"Don't cite his case to me," replied the
Mlssourian. "They will have to shoot
him on the morning of the resurrec
tion." Mr. Vest wss pre-eminently of a
rugged type, intense in his hatreds add
atrong In hla affections. He was not a
wishy-washy person who sits on the
fence waiting to see th direction In
which the breeses will blow. He had
opinions of his own, often wrong-head-ad
ones, as ths rest of th oountry be
lieved, but he presented them vigor
ously. He was on of the most bitter of
President Cleveland's, opponents. Dur
ing ths latter years of his administra
tion they had no dealings with each
other and none of the Missouri patron
age was distributed by Mc Vest He
was on of ths most intense of sllver
ltes. The latest dsvelopments In ths
party, culminating In ths acceptance by
the democratic convention of Judeg
Parker's telegram declaring th gold
standard firmly and Irrevocably estab
lished, would have been a great disap
pointment to Mr. Vest had be been In
more vigorous health, although he some
months ago announced that It waa tlms
for the democratic party to give up sliver.
There waa a touch of pathos in many
of Mr. Veat's later day speeches, es
pecially wher he alluded to his old as
sociates In ths confederate cause He
had been for some years the last sur
viving members of the confederate sen
ate, and he seemed to regard himself
particularly bound to see that their po
sition on ths great questions of civil
war diplomacy was not misrepresented.
In speaking of th Hampton Road con
ference, not many months ago, he ex
pressed his belief that before long he
should Join the 25 other members of the
little band which had worked together
in the senate chamber at the old capltol
In Richmond. Hla life had been spared
far beyond that of any of them, and he
desired to bear testimony to' the laat to
what h felt sure was their position.
Vest waa equally olear la his expres
sions of devotion to the union. His
biography in the Congressional Record
spoke of his service In the Missouri
legislature, but contained no referenoe
to the position which he had held un
der the confederacy. In speaking con
cerning aome lmprovementa la this city
not many years ago he took occasion to
designate It as "th eternal eapitol of
an eternal republic," a rather vigor
ous sentiment from a man who had
been one of the most foroeful of th
orators of th confederacy. It waa he
who declared, when the bodies of Mass
achusetts troops were sent home from
Baltimore by the ' undertaking methods
of that day, that the "Yankee govern
ment," as hs called It had better ar
range to purchase Greenland's ley moun
tains, as It could get along with no
smaller supply of refrigerating material
If it were to continue that policy with
Its soldier dead.
His speech a few yesrs ago In pre
senting Missouri's oontribution of the
likenesses of Benton and Blair to Stat
uary Hall was perhaps th best expres
sion of his point of vlsw on ths civil
war Issue with which his life was
chiefly associated. He attacked the New
England attitude toward slavery, ss hs
called it, very esverely. Then he told of
the terrible results of lnternlclne strife
snd neighborhood war from which Mis
souri suffered. "The wounds inflicted
were deep and cruel," said Mr. Vest
"hut today Missouri sends to Statuary
Hall the marbl Images of two men
whos public lives were given to the
cause of free soil and against ths fur
ther extension of African slavery."
Vest then recited graphically the stir
ring events in the lives of Benton and
Blair, who were men of mueh the ssme
rugged type as himself, although on the
other side of the union issue, for Mis
souri, it will b recalled, was rspresent
ed In both congresses during the war,
and Is not regarded by historians ss
having seceded. Concluding, Mr. Vest
said: "Mr.' President these men sleep
together in Missouri soil almost side by
side; and so long as this capltol shall
stand or this nation exist their statues
will be eloquent, though silent, pledges
of Missouri's allegiance to the union."
WHERE ROLLS THE OREGON
From the New York Sun.
Before she sailed from these shores It
waa settled that Mme. Calve was not to
ooms back to the Opera House, although
there was some tslk of her return to
tour in concert, and there was even a
contract provisionally signed. But thssn
are not th days of th capricious prima
donna, nor ths ons whose health Is not
to be relied on. Managers work now on
a businesslike basis and they have even
been known to aak prima donnas to put
up deposits that they may he held to
the damages In case they break their.
contracta Such a demand so shocked
Mme. Calve that th negotiations look
ing to her tour her fell through.
A. S. Coats, D. P.. in the Baptist Union.
Bev. Dr. Costs wss maw years ago pastor
of tha White Temple In Portland. Purina the
all montha Interim between tha departure of
Rt. Dr. Blackburn and ths Installation of
Bt. Dr. Broughar as pastor. Therefore wss
extremely well qualified to writs the accom
panying article:
After St Louis, Portland. After th
Louisiana Purchas xposltlon of 104
the Lewis and Clark exposition of 106.
These great "fairs" in commemoration
of enormous additions to our national
domains serve many good purposes aa
well as not a few evil interests. Among
th former is th opportunity they af
ford the present generation of becom
ing acquainted with the men and forces
that conspired together to give us th
American people
By what has been termed a "stroke
of merest fortune" the discovery of th
Oregon country embracing the present
states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho
was granted to an American clt'.sen.
This discovery waa mad May 11, 172.
when Capt Robert Gray, In his good ship
Columbia, ascended the rivet that fig
ures in Bryant's "Thanatopals" as "th
Oregon," but which has since borne the
name of the predestliied discoverer's
ship. Gray returned to Boston full of
enthusiasm over ths empire hs knew
must lie back of the magnificent river
he had discovered. Thomaa Jefferson,
"chief expansionist" in American hls
tory, at ones apprehended the Impor
tance of Gray's discovery and deter
mined to utilise It In making good his
claim to th Pacific ocean as the west
ern boundary of th United States.
The consummation of th Louisiana
purchase waa the. first step in Jeffer
son's empire-building. The Lewis and
Clark expedition to th Pacific ocean
overland through snd beyond th un
known territory thus acquired was tha
second. This famous exploring party
waa organised soon after the purchase
and started from St. Louis early in the
year 1804, II years aftsr Oray's discov
ery of the Columbia river. Wintering
at Mandan, far up the Missouri river, It
pressed on In 1806 over the Rocky moun
tains, descended a branch of the great
southern affluent of the Columbia to
the main stream, followed this for hun
dreds of miles, with its towering, snow
capped peaks, to the north and to the
south, now for the first tlms seen by
eyes that coutd realise their grandeur,
and on November 7. 1806, greeted the
blue water of the Pacific ocean across
the bar from Astoria yet to receive Its
name.
The attempt of John Jacob Astor to
establish his fur-trading company In
the Oregon country met with Its final
defeat in 1812, owing to the fact that
the British Northwest company had so
thoroughly pre-empted the territory In
Its own interest, sending annually to
London a million dollars' worth of
peltry, then the only commercial product
of the land. From this time on for $0
years ths British fur-traders resred
their palisades and filled their forts
with furs, no American disputing their
rights.
In 1882, however, Nathaniel J. Wyeth
of Boston, In another good ship Colum
bia (or was it the same Columbia that
under Capt Robert Gray had given Its
name to t he -river?!, sailed up the ma
jestic stream and anchored opposite
Fort Vancouver, the Hudson Bay com
pany's post near the .mouth of the Wil
lamette river. The coming of Wyeth
was but the prelude to the coming of an
Increasing multitude of "Bostons," was
the Indians henceforth called all Ameri
cans. "The policy of your company," said
Wyeth to Dr. McLaughlin, the agent of
the Hudson Bay company, "Is to keep
Oregon aa a gam preserve a great
English hunting psrk. Mine would be
to fill It with civilised people."
"How can you get them here, Mr.
Wyeth? Even India Is not so far away.
Oregon is In the very end of the world,
a whole year's voyage around Cape
Horn or Good Hope, ahut off by rock
ribbed mountains, deserts, savagea and
the ocean. How can you get them
here?"
"Overland from the United States,"
answered the Boatonlan.
"Yes," said Mr. McLaughlin, "when
you have leveled the mountains, culti
vated the deserts, annihilated distance
then, and not before. No, ne, no, Mr.
Wyeth, If Oregon Is ever colonised. It
will be by England by way of sea. We
shall not live to get over It but our
children may."
Happy to relet, Mr. McLaughlin
lived to see how poor a seer he had been,
and aa a loyal cltlsen did much for
many years to mollify his own forecast.
With Mr. Wyeth came Jason Lee, the
missionary to the Indians. He re
mained, though Mr. Wyeth, outwitted
all over ths land in his efforts to cap
ture the fur trade, finally sold out to
the British company.
The first whit women to cross th
plains were two brides, Narclssa Whit
man and Ellsa Spalding, who with their
husbands came in 1888, not for the furs
of dead animals, but to bring the Word
of Life to very live Indiana Catholic
missionaries were not very far behind.
Two Catholic priests came from. Canada
in 1888 with the annual brigade of Andre
Charlefoux, bringing to Fort Vancouver
the year's catch of peltries from ths
Rocky Mountain outposts.
"Drive away those naked Irlfllans!"
cried the shocked Blanohet, as they
neared The Dalles. "Drive away those
Indians!"
"Holy father." replied Charlefoux,
you came to civilise the Indians. Ore
gon Indians have no clothea If you no
want to see him that way you better
turn back home." But Blanchet stayed
and became a famous bishop of the
northwest.
The missionaries, Protestant and
Catholic, did much In the way of Chris
tianising th Indiana. They were prime
factors In awakening th American po
pie and congress to the necessity of col
onising and so holding tha Oregon coun
try for the stars and stripes. While
Dr. McLaughlin, in 1841 and 1848, was
tolling In England for a British protec
torate over tbe entire Pacific slope,
Jason Lee waa lecturing throughout the
eastern states on the wonderful re
sources of Oregon and the need of more
missionaries to Christianise the Indiana.
In response to his cry for men and
women th Methodist board sent a col.
ony of 68 persons ministers, farmers,
mechanics and teachers by the ship
Law re tree from New York harbor In
1141. This missionary colony settled
near the present Oregon City. 12 miles
south of Portland. Of theae noble and
heroic men and women could Joe
Meek have truly said, ss Lea said
six years before the Whltmen
Spaldlng party. "They are im-
Oregon Sidelights
It has been a great harvesting sum
mer. It costs $14 a day to run an eastern
Oregon combine.
Nearly everybody in Oregon thinks he
lives in the best county.
Pendleton claims to be th moat pros
perous town in eastern Oregon.
The people of Fossil will not allow
a bouse of 111 fame in that town.
Fat eastern Oregon cattle cannot be
sold because of tbe Chloago Industrial
trouble.
Ths Ray dam in Rogue river is caus
ing a good many Jackson county men
to say It
The Oregon watermelons are as lus
cious aa aver, and even a Georgian
doesn't turn up his nose at them. I
A crasy prisoner set fire to the
Fossil Jail, but it we discovered in
time to saws his life and the building.
The Nye oreek portion of the people
of the Yaqulna bay country think of
organising themselves Into a municipality.
While at Elk City J. F. Watts, a
Portland land lawyer, dropped his purSe
with $10 In It into the bay, and boys are
fishing for It
It is learned from the Sand Lake cor
respondent of the Tillamook Herald that
Mias Alice Kays has had a bad told,
but Is improving.
Th St. Helens Mist predicts "a first
class wedding" there soon. Did a bride
or bridegroom ever figure la any other
kind of a wedding?
C W. Kahler, a Jacksonville lawyer,
who died lately, left 'an estate of about
$50,000 to his brothers snd sisters,
having no children.
Tom Tweedy, who lives near Cayuse
station, nine miles from Pendleton, has
$,800 acres of wheat that la yielding
nearly 40 bushels sn acre.
Of $0 Umatilla applicants for teach
ers' certificates, only two failed. George
B. Marquis of Athena stood highest,
9814 per cent and Mrs. Florence Kelly
of Milton, second, 84 7-1$ per cent
The Corvsllls Times estimates the
total product of ohtttlm bark for the
Wllllametto valley this year at 250
tons, or about 20 carloads. It Is now
worth 5H cents a pound at Corvallls.
Doubtless the time will never come
when the fishermen down the river and
thoss up ths river will agree as to ths
closed sesson, or methods of fishing.
The legislature cannot please them all.
Salem Statesman: Salem's street
railway lines, with the new loop, will be
able to handle a third bigger state fair
crowd than last year. And the indica
tions are that they will be here to
handle.
A Dalles bootblack has been on a trip
to St. Louts and many other eastern
cities, accompanied by his wife, which
shows that a man can make and save
money -at the bumble occupation of
shining shoes.
Pat Radlgan of Antelope, is the right
kind of a worker for Oregon He has
Just returned from a trip to the eastern
states, and brought with htm four
vigorous, industrious young Irishmen,
not long over from the old country, and?
whom he made to believe that Oregon
was a better place for them than an
eastern state.
Lebanon Express-Advance: The
sound of a chicken In distress caused
lira Asa Baker to grab her 22-caithre
gun and rush Into the orchard where
she saw one of her barnyard pets In
the claws of a hawk. Just being carried
into the top of a tree. The hawk was
knocked off his high perch at first shot,
and the wounded pullet, too badly torn
by the hawk's talons to recover, wss
killed and served for supper.
Sheriff Brown of Baker county, who
was re-elected last June, thus explains
why he Is now enforcing the antl
gambling law, though he did not do so
before: 'Two years ago on legal ad
vice I decided that the law could not
then be successfully enforced against
the nonaction on the part of the munici
pal authorities. This has been changed
recently by the action of Sheriff Tom
Word of Multnomah county, who has
demonstrated that the sheriff, a state
officer, can enforce the stats laws re
gardless of the action of municipal au
thorities. Furthermore, I have been
requested by the leading clttsens of this
county to take this action."
migrants that the Hudson Bay com
pany cannot drive out"
Today an Indian In Oregon In as rare
a sight as an Indian in Chicago or In
Boston. Three scourges have swept
them away pestilence, th whit man's
vices and the white man's bullets.
The missionaries bullded better thsn
they knew. To them more than to all
other men and forces combined we owe
it that today this great northwest em-
Elre Is American territory. Let the
ewis and Clark exposition of 105 dula?
commemorate this fact.
Portland, Or.
OOT. WATTEMOH CO
From Collier's Weekly.
Louisville, Ky., hss the fortune to be
the home of sn oracle which works
with impetuosity and without cessation,
and turns out In a month a larger vol
ume of unclear but highly colored wis
dom than proceeded from Delphi in the
entire history of Greece. Colonel Wat
terson is a prophet, a seer, a python, an
aruapee. a fountain of eloquence, and
a Joy forever. Many men are logical:
thousanda have clearness and measure:
but no Journalist living today gets s
much excitation Into hla pen as the good
colonel gets every day without effort
Into his. His style is gusty and full of
whirling leaves. His thought Is never
pale. When he takes up his brickbats
and turns his attention to "Teddy" or
the Smart Bet, everybody is delighted,
van those who are the target. Person
ally we enjoy more keenly being sworn
at by tbe colonel than being praised by
other writers. He Is hsppy himself, and
the cause of hspptness In other men.
He never made a hslf-way statement.
He never failed to call 'a spade a damned
shovel. He keeps us awake. He makes
life richer. He Is gay, buoyant. Inspirit
ing. Why ask him what he means? He
furnishes so much thst to demand pre
cision In addition would be to show but
sorry gratitude to a prodigal nature.
We celebrate th colonel. May he live
and proaper. It Is rare to find a news
paper writer whose disappearance would
leave a gap.