The Oregon daily journal., December 27, 1911, Page 4, Image 4

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THE OREGON DAI3.7 JOURNAL, PORTLAND, WgDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER x 27, 1911.
Lincoln Steffens Defines His Position
. t t n
Says He Is Working for Society's Good
Author Sees in M'Namaras
Men Who Did, What They
Thought Best.
It Is underMoml bwwwn the editors
and Mr. SU-ffViiS that lie is to go where
tho f;icts call him imd leport tliem
freely as he sees und fils tlii'ni unre
BtrutncJ ly the editorial opinions of
the ni-w5iis lit HirvcH :tnd that tho
editors on their part aro to he un
restricted In putting headings on liln
stuff, contriidlctl.ifr and refuting his
facts wiih reports of their own and In
criticising t-ilhor him or his writings.)
By Lincoln Steffens.
(Written for the Associated News
papers. )
The purpose that took mo to I.os
Angeles Is the pursuit 1 should like
to resume row: to Investigate in the
field and report In a Jare Rroup of
(mostly) conservative ne wspap'jrs tho
condition, tin- to ilinys nd th thought
of labor also, the troubles that
result to tin eui lover together with
the reitsoniriK of . ;;iit;il upon them.
My studies in politics and business
have led m lo this, the so-called labor
problem. It is the next step to the
social problem which underlies poli
tics, business and labor, and I want to
go on to satisfy my own mind. But
some of my editors, of whom there
are between 20 and 30, object They
protest that my plan was blown up by
tho explosion of the McNamara case
and that I mjself was considerably
. damaged hv the stick of dynamite
Judgra Uordwell put In my alley.
"The first thing for you to do,'" Bald
my best friend among these woundei
editors, "Is to prove that you are not a
liar."
Hot to Offer Proof.
I don't want to do that. In the
first place I don't think I matter so
much as some people think I think I do.
In the second place I like the rule fol
lowed by a certain public man we all
know well: "Never deny a charge un
less It Is true." And In the first place,
I cannot completely vindicate mysdlf
without relating facts and circum
stances which should not be reported
now. They might Irritate, hurt the
'feelings of some sensitive persona and
jeopardize the experiment to ho made
In Los Angeles. There la more to be
told, of course, but later, when feel
ings dont' run so high. I'd like to get
down to the real things, the things I
went out there to get, the situation
back of the McNamara case.
"But, no," say the editors, in effect,
"you must tell at least enough to patch
up your injured reputation and pre
sent an appearance of respectability."
This can be done with a bit of news
picked up here. William J. Burns has
ceased to work for Los Angeles county.
Two Assertions Disturbed.
Two assertions of Judge Bordwell are
disturbed by this one fact. One Is that
there was no agreement back of the
c--w ..
the News, the McNamara pleas looked swer except the war w have waged, I
like a defeat, like one more good licking shall feel that, though I may be In
I talk,
Lincoln J. Steffens
settlement of the McNamara ease; the
other that I had nothing to do with
that agreement. Now my origlnnl prop
ortion, accepted by Parrow find sent
by Thomas C. Gibbon to Captain
ericks, the district attorney, was that
Los Angeles begin Its move toward an
understanding of labor by putting a
stop, not only to the McNamara and
all other prosecutions, but to all pur
suit of Individuals indicted or wanted
In all these labor cases so far as I.os
Angehs was concerned. And I under
stood and counsel for the defense re
ported and the McNamaras certainly
went to prison believing that this point
was agreed to. And, having It in mind.
when I saw Burns here In New York, I
asked him who his clients were. He
named them:
"So-and-Eo, and so-and-so and until
a few days ngo, Captain Fredericks."
Bald county Had Withdrawn.
"The county of Los Angeles has with
drawn from among your clients?"
"Yes," he said, "Fredericks repre
sented the county as district attorney."
For further verification, let the local,
Los Angeles reporters inquire quietly
whether, besides Burns, all the rest of
the county's "shadows," detectives and
constables are not called In and the of
fers of rewards for arrests called off.
These things will have been done If my
clause In the agreement which was
made Is kept, and I have no doubt It is.
Anii, with all tho respect to Judge
Bordwell's position, 1 submit that there
Is a better, more impressive reason for
acknowledging both the fact and the
terms of that agreement. Taken by
themselves, as they were presented in
for labor. This was not Intended, and
It !s neither Just nor Intelligent. The
honorable discharge of Burns by Los
Angeles county, goes to show that the
McNamaras got aoma Important conces
sions from the district attorney. It
would help to take the soreness out of
lBtx.r; It would mitigate the ungenerous
congratulations of capital and It might
promote fairer Judgment on the part
of the public if everybody could be In
formed of all the conditions of the per
fectly proper official agreement made
hv the state. But these ate for" the of
ficials to publish, not me.
Another Agreement Made.
Back of this official agreement Is an
other, which I may report. It Is not
official. Neither Judge Bordwell nor
Captain Fredericks would, and the Judge
said he couldn't take any cognizance of
It. But the McNamaras were cognizant
of it: it was among the considerations
that weighed with them In making up
their minds to plead guilty. There are
some 15 to 20 lending citizens of Los
Angeles who are taking cognizance of It.
And I think that, unofficially, tho city
of Los Angeles, If not the United States,
is hound by It.
It's an agreement to listen to labor
nnd to try to come to an understanding,
not with, but of tho point of view, the
grievances, tha wants and the aspira
tions of the, wage workers.
Appeal Is Made.
The need of this, and the best appeal
for It, Is contained in a document which
It l.i time to publish. It Is the second
statement drawn for James U. McNa
mara to present with his plea of guilty.
There were three altogether. The first
was dictated to me by Mr. Darrow. The
second I wrote after a talk with James
B. The third was written by James B.
himself vlth the help of his attorneys,
and that Is the one that was used. But
I think tho second Is the completest ex
pression both of his disposition and his
view of things. At any rate. It presents
the case of labor best. Here It is:
"I plead guilty to the charge of crime
against me, but I do not feel that I am
a crlmli.al. I am member of organized
labor, nnd have been for many years.
The interest of my life Is in the cause
of us working men. And I am one of a
group thut believed In direct action as
the only effective way to fight our
fight. A small amount of dynamite was
placed In the alley back of the Los An
geles Times building, but It was not In
tended to kill anybody. The purpose
was to scare those who had bitterly as
saulted the union. That's all. No one
regrets more than I do the deaths that
resulted.
"And I am not pleading now to save
my life, I would willingly give that
for the cause of organized labor. I
make my plea and this statement In the
hope that better men than I will con
sider the problem of the wage-workers
as a class and show us some better way
than fighting to raise our wages and
improve our condition. You don't want
us to strike; you don't want us to go
Into politics, as we are doing here In
Los Angeles; you don't want us to or
ganize; we cannot afford individually
to go to law and we feel, whether we
are mistaken or not, that we can't get
Justice in the courts. And yet the em
ployers of labor say they cannot raise
our pay. What are we to do? If my
act today brings this question fairly
before the world and leads to any an-
prison, I shall be serving my cause."
reelings Toward, Felon.
Now the court and Los Angeles and
society may not feel that they ran
make a deal with a confessed felon
like James H. McNamara. ' But I can.
I have sat down hip to haunch with
thieves, grafters, reformers, business
men and all sorts of men and women,
and I have learned out of my talks with
them all, that I am not so much better
than they are as I once thought I
was. Not by a long way. ' I haven't
committed any crimes for which I could
be. hanged, but I have committed some
sins fur which I ought to have been
lynched.
I yelped for some years In the pack
of man hunters that had our tongues
out for the blood of somebody to
kill for what we our very selves were In
part guilty of. . And I caught myself,
as John Graham Brooks lias said. But
society hasn't caught md yet. And un
til society has caught me, society can
afford to deal with me as a member
in good standing of the union to which
all men belong. I hove a card. I can
speak for my kind. 1 can speak to Vny
kind, any kind. I have spoken to those
two dynamiters in their prison and I
spoke for society.
Seeks for the Cause.
I may be presumptuous, but before
you judge me, listen to what I know,
how 1 reason about It and what I
promised the McNamaras In your name.
1 know that there is a group or labor
which Is Incensed to the point where
they have adopted the policy Of dyna
miting and which proposes, If that Is
stopped, to resort to sabotage; the gen
era) spoiling of goods In the making.
I reasoned that If a group of labor was
exasperated to that degree .of despera
tion, there must be some cause for it
that can be found and dealt with. And,
since the McNamaras were of this group,
which hoped thus to call attention to
their complaints, I said that I believed
that If they would plead guilty, and so
convince labor, capital and society, of
this big fact, I said that I believed that
the pursuit of Individuals would, be
stopped and tho search for the cause
of their troubles, and ours, might be
really begun. In other words, my prom
ise was that we'd change the question
from "Who did it?" to "What's doing
it?"
That, then, was the substance of the
unofficial agreement back of the Mc
Namara settlement. That's the main
part of what Is meant by "the Los
Angeles way" of tackling the problem
of labor, generously and afresh and with
good will. That's the agreement back
of Los Angeles' promise to call off the
detectives. That's the local "comprom
ise with muredr" which ought to be
made a national bargain. The McNam
aras are carrying out their part of it.
Captain Fredericks Is evidently doing
his share. W. J. Burns understands,
and he promised me he would do his.
The committee appointed at the last
large meeting of leading citizens In the
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce,
stands ready to hear the case of la
bor when the hate shall have abated
a bit. And I will do mine; I will
get and from time to time report the
point of view, the grievances, the wants,
the thoughts and the aspirations of
the wage-workers and their employers.
If society, which means you, will only
listen and Jrjr to come to an under
standing f both sides; not with them,
but of them, and bo get at tha truth
which lies, I think somewhere In be
tween the two, about where you and I
He.
Piano Bargains.
Here are some fine piano bargains,
Chlckering, smalt upright piano, $60;
Stelnway, ebony upright piano, $140;.
Weber mahogany piano, $265'; Fischer
oak upright piano, $50; Gabler piano,
$40: Stodard rosewood piano, $3v; Hlm-
ball mahogany piano, $70. Terms o
suit the buyer, ivotiier & cnase, sii
Washington street.
WAREHOUSE OR LIGHT MANU
FACTURING FLOORS, for rent in new
brick building now under construction
at Hood and Baker streets. Each floor
has 8500 square feet. Rent reasonable.
Apply to A. L. Fish, care The Journal.
$5 will place an upright piano In your
home; a few dollars each month will
keep It there. Kohler & Chase, 375
Washington.
Hair Health
If You Have Scalp or Hair
Trouble, Take Advantage
of This Offer.
We oould not afford to so strongly
endorse Rexall "93" Hair Tonic and
continue to sell It as we do If we were
not certain that it would do all we
claim it wilL Should our enthusiasm
carry us away, and Rexall "93" Hair
Tonic not give entire satisfaction to
the users, they would lose faith in us
and our statements, and In consequence
our business prestige would suffer.
Therefore, when we assure you that
If your hair is beginning to unnaturally
fall out or If you have any scalp trou
ble, Rexall "93" Hair Tonic will prompt
ly eradicate dandruff, stimulate hair
growth and prevent premature bald
ness, you may rest assured that we
know what we are talking about.
Out of one hundred test cases Rexall
"93" Hair Tonic gave entire satisfaction
In ninety-three cases. It has been
proved that it will grow hair even
on bald heads, when, of course, the
baldness had not existed for so long
a time that the follicles, which are the
roots of the hair, had not become abso
lutely lifeless.
Rexall "93" Hair Tonic is vastly dif
ferent from other similar preparations
We believe that It will do more than
any other human agency toward restor
ing hair growth and hair health. It Is
not greasy and will not gum tho scalp
or hair or causo permanent stain. It
is as pleasant to use as pure cold water.
Our faith In Rexall "93" Hair Tonlo
Is so strong that we ask you to try It
on our positive guarantee that your
money will be cheerfully refunded with
out question or quibble if It does not
do as we claim. Certainly we can offer
no stronger argument. It comes in two
sizes, prices 60 cents and $1.00. Sold
only by The Owl Drug Co. Stores In
Portland, Seattle, Spokane. San Fran
cisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Theoddre jr., Fireman.
(Doited Press Leased Wire.t
Ban Francisco, Deo. 27. Fire that
threatened destruction of Henry F.
Bowie's home and $200,000 worth of
oriental antiques, was extinguished last
night by Hlllsboro's hundred million
dollars volunteer fire department."
Among the firemen were Theodore
Roosevelt Jr., Richard Tobln and
George Howard.
"Prize Beauty" Must Stand Trial.
(tTnltfd Pra Leaned Wire.)
Ean Francisco, Dee. $7. - Despite her
husband's willingness to "forgive and
forget." Mrs. Ruth Smith, Denver prise
beauty, who took 11900 of his money,
left htm several weeks ago and is now
under arrest in Los Angeles, must-stand
trial for grand larceny.
CASTOR I A
. For Iafanti and Children.
The Kind You Have Always Bought
Bears
Signature
Annual.-
learance Sale
Entire Stock of Suits Divided
Into 3 LOTS Every
Suit in the House Included
$25 to $35 Suits now 1 S.4S
$38 to $45 Suits now 25e4-f
$48to$62Suitsnow
Included in the lot are our strictly tail
ored models in. navy blue and stylish
mixtures, also many novelty suits
A Few Higher Priced Suits at V2 Price
Every Article in the House Reduced
Suits. Coats Raincoats, Dancing Dresses,
Street Dresses. Waists. Furs, Etc.
The Bartholomew Company
Washington at Tenth Street
0
Sale
' ' " 1 .. i ;
J - ' ' ' I
ifo 9
Great
.Annua
Clearance
IS NOW IN PROGRESS
tj The great volume of holiday business has so far exceeded our expectations, and the inroads made upon our lines by an unprecedented fall busi
ness in general have been so heavy that we find ourselves with hundreds of odd pieces on hand which must be disposed of in order to effect a
complete adjustment of stock before January inventory.
A Sale That Is Different
i This is a sale that is entirely different from the yearly clearances of furniture featured elsewhere different, in fact, from any tale we have
ever held or will be in a position to hold again, inasmuch as it involves furniture less than a year old, which was installed in our new building
April last, direct from Eastern markets; but broken lines have no place in a great establishment like ours, and, even though the pieces scheduled
to go are worth just as much today as they were when first bought, the question of profit must be waived.
Use Your Credit During This Great Sale
tj For those who have homes to furnish, this is a golden opportunity. The fact that prices are reduced far below the regular values does not
curtail your privileges of credit, and selections made from sale goods may be paid for at your convenience the same as at original pricings.
Parlor Furniture
I Three and four-piece Suits, Davenports, odd Chairs of period
styles, Tables of exclusive patterns, Gold-Leaf Cabinets, Music
Cabinets.
Bedroom Furniture
IJ Brass, Wood and Iron Beds; Dressers in oak, mahogany, walnut
and white enamel; Chiffoniers, Bedroom Rockers and Chairs, Dress
ing Tables.
Dining Room Furniture
Buffets, Tables, China Closets, Serving Tables, Diners and Arm
Chairs, several complete Matched Suits in high-grade designs.
Kitchen Furniture
Solid Oak Kitchen Cabinets, Kitchen Tables, Chairs,
Utensils and Dishes, as well as Hardware of almost all kinds
for household use.
Library Furniture
J Bookcases, Magazine Racks, Massive Library Tables in Mission
and other styles, Morris Chairs, Leather Couches, Mission Chairs
and Rockers.
A