The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972, June 21, 1914, Page 14, Image 14

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    THE PREuON SUNUAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SUNDAY i MORNING, JUNE 21. 1914.
THE JOURNAL
C JACKSON
. Piihlloher
l'alllb1 Mtr; ivenltif (except Honderi and
very Bandar tnomlnrf it Tbe Journal Bnlld-
lag. Broadway and Yamt.HI Ms Port land. Or.
Lstered at tba poMofftc at foreland. Or., for
transmission through tba ia.il la as second
, .class matter.
lfcLgPUONUW-Mals T17j Hot A4US1. All
departments reached by ibese nnmbsrs. Tail
operate what department to a want.
IVKkiyA ADVKUTISIMJ UtfUKK I ATI Vg
Haajaala Kentnor Co., Brunswick Bide,
1 2a rtftb Aa.. New y-ora; 121st People
' Was Bids. Chicago.
Mifuaerltitiou twin bf mati o- to suy so
ar lo tba United States or liexloot
.DAILY
One tear.. 18.00 I Cos moatb .S 4S0
TODAY
VM rear.'... ...(2.60 I On moerh JZS
DAILY AND SUNDAY
Osje resf.V IT. SO I One month -8
When You Go Away
.Have The Journal sent to-,
your Summer address.
Our remedies oft in ourselves
do lie,
'Which we ascribe to Heaven;
the fated sky
Olvea uit free scope; only, doth
backward pull
Our alow designs, when we
ourselves are dull.
., Shakespeare. I
THE CRISIS
IN THEIR demand for President
Wilson to back down with bis
anti-trust bills, the . Oregon
bankers said there is no crisis
requiring such legislation.
.There is a crisis. The action of
the bankers is a crisis. Their de
mand that the president back down
is a crisis.
The crisis is the moral temper
of the people in which is .projected
such a protest as that by the bank
ers. It Is a clamor against super
vision) of trusts by a trade com
mission. Though there is far more
stringent supervision Of national
and state banks, it is a demand
that there be no supervision of
even the lawless trusts. It is a
demand that no trade commission
be established to give publicity tc
transgressions of the law by trusts.
If such a demund is not a crisis,
what is a crisis?
It Is a crisis if the voice of the
bankers Is the voice of a consider
able number of the people. The
bankers demand that there be no
supervision and regulation of is
sues of railroad securities. They
demand that the administration
bill to make stock watering a crime
be withdrawn. The American peo
ple are now paying a billion" dol
lars a year in Interest and profits
on watered stock. Is it not a crisis
when there is clamor against a
law to prevent further stock wa
tering. It is a crisis when there is seri
ous claim that, for rear it might
hurt business, there should be no
legislation to compel a dishonest
trust magnate to obey the law.
Since we send average men to Jail
for .lawlessness, why not jail the
heads of a trust for lawlessness?
If the demand that there shall be
orie kind of law for Morgan or
Rockefeller and another kind of
law for a farmer or a laborer is
not a crisis, what is a crisis?
What a crisis it is, if the mood of
the American people is such that
they will permit the camnalirn nnw
carried on by the trusts to deter
President Wilson from going for
ward with his program! It is a
program to protect the peoDle
against the tyranny of market con
trol and price fixing, of stock wa
tering and railnoad buccaneering-
of trust domination and trust law
lessness that has, run riot In this
country for nearly a generation
It is a program to liberate the
piain people of this country from
extortion and injustice by forcing
dishonest business to be honest, and
by sending to Jail the heads of
great corporations who refuse to
obey the laws of the land.
Woodrow Wilson should not sur
render. He should not allow the
great powers of money and com
bination now opposing him to drive
him from his purpose. His fight
Is the fight of the American peo
ple. The endeavor of his pro
gram Is to place all his country
men on an exact equality before
the law, .whether they be trust
brigadiers or streetcar drivers, and
It is a righteous endeavor.
He faces a crisis, ut it Is a
crisis in which party ties will be
torn into shreds through the back
ing he will receive from the
masses of his countrymen, who
are as determined as he that the
government Rhnti n k , , .
to Wall Street.
TELEPHONE GROWTH
rvELEPHONE figures for the
- I United StatPB nnnr.,.
the census bureau, tell an ex
traordinary story Of broirrfiR
.Bulletin 123 brings conditions in
1902 and 1912 into
-wWwV vvuiuait-
on.
In 1902 there were only 2,371,
044 telephones in the United
owes; in 1912 tnere were 8,729,
592, a gain of almost four fold in
; ten years. In lan? hA'...
- - AlllUg
eluded 4.900,451 miles of wire; in
1912 the mileage was 20,248,326.
The estimated number of talks in
1I02 was 5,070,554,553; in 1912
the total had reached 13,735.658 -
245.
Usinjr wire, mlleaera an a cttn.
ard, the greatest .expansion oc
curred on the Pacific coast. The
figures are 216.995 for 1902 and
. 2.120.104 for 1912. a i-nln BTT
per cent. The increase In the num
ber 01 pnon.es on me JraciilC coast
THROW OFF THE YOKE
IN PORTLAND, June 29, an examiner from the Interstate Com
merce Commission will begin taking testimony in the Astoria rate
case. Ex-Senator Fulton is to appear for the Astoria contention,
and Everything should be done by Portland people to strengthen
his hand. . . -- . .
Nor should the assistance come alone from Portland people. The
Astoria case Is not a mere Astoria affair. It is not local to Astoria,
It Is a Columbia river affair. It is an endeavor "that concerns the
whole Columbia basin from the mouth of the river to and beyond
the British Columbia border. It Is not a one town endeavor, but a
big movement involving the progress and future prosperity of ft
trade and industrial empire.
Its purpose Is to free "the Columbia river of discriminating trade
rates. It is a plan to take from that river the barriers man has set
up to artificially guide the flow of commerce in certain 'special di
rections. The Columbia waterway can never rise to Its full usefulness with
a part of its facilities shackled by . artificial regulations. It cannot
fully serve the ends of which it is capable until all artificial handi
caps are removed. Ifecan never become the unrivalled route of com
merce nature designed It to be, until all its ports are free ports and
all its cities free cities.
There, is one transportation law that is inexorable. Traffic fol
lows the lines of least resistance? so long as artificial regulations are
not set tip to prevent.' In the Columbia river man has Interfered and
set up a discrimination and denied common point rates on traffic
to the mouth of the river. Its effect has been to cripple the river
route and to throw traffic to other and less favored ports.
Thus, in 1884, the commerce of the Columbia was three times that
of Puget Sound; in 1913, it was one seventh that of Puget Sound.
And the change was in the face ot the fact that the traffic from the
Interior to Puget Sound, had to be dragged over a mountain chain in
complete violation of the law of least resistance, while the traffic to
the Columbia river was down hill all the way.
The truth Is that the railroad rates for the port of the Columbia
river are fixed by the desires and requirements of one corner of the
state of Washington. The trade needs of the great Columbia basin
had nothing whatever to do with the fixing of the rates, and that
is why there is the abnormal spectacle of trains loaded with products
from the Columbia basin lifted 3000 feet and .more over mountain
passes at enormous cost when their true route is down grade along
the Columbia river. : j
There Is extra cost for dragging these trains over the mountains,
and it is a heavy cost. The locomotive that can only draw eight
loaded cars over the mountains can pull 100 loaded cars down, the
river Into Portland or Astoria. Somebody has to pay this extra cost
and it Is not the railroads. The people of -the Columbia basin pay It.
And they pay it out of their own pockets and for the benefit, not of
themselves, not of the railroads, but for the sole benefit of Puget
Sound points and Puget Sound commerce.
It is tyranny that ought to be broken. It Is a trade despotism
that lays a heavy toll on thepeople and- the Industries in a huge
region. of 300,000 square miles. It Is a cost , to the Inland Empire
that has mounted to millions of dollars and that will climb into more
millions it the rate arrangements are not changed.
The hearings to begin in Portland June 29 are the Initial step
in a movement to free the- Columbia r,iver to untrammeled commerce
and to liberate the Columbia basin frdm unjust, discriminatory and
exorbitant freight charges.
It is a hearing that concerns every foot of territory and every
atom of community life from the mouth of the river to and beyond
the Canadian border. It concerns Spokane. It concerns Lewlston,
Pasco and Kennewlck,. It concerns Prosser and Umatilla and Walla
Walla and Pendleton and Hood River .and The Dalles and Golden
dale and Vancouver and Portland and Rainier and St. Helens and As
toria .and every boat landing and shipping point along the way.
Tnere should be representatives from all these places to give tes
timony at the hearing. They should go before the representative
of the commission and show that removal of the Astoria handicap will
be the entering wedge for making the river free, and that in the
freedom there will be stimulation for a commerce which will ulti
mately create a merchant fleet along the entire length of the river,
giving Impetus to production, affording facilities at every landing
place for traffic and driving the region and every point in the region
to a revivified and re-Invigorated development. '
The hearing will be a crisis in the history of the Columbia. It
should be met. There should be a joining of strength and a union
of forces by Columbia river points to throw off the rate tyranny
maintained for years for the sole benefit of Puget Sound and Puget
Sound points.
was from 159,287 to 63,731, or
329.2 per cent, wtiereas the west
south central states made a gain
in instruments of 372.5 and the
mountain states of 371.5 per cent.
Both of these sections, however,
fell short in increased mileage.
The smallest percentage in any
part of the country was in the
states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ala-
v a T:ot iA ,
uauia auu musiBMi, nu,u giuucu
198.9 per cent in the number of
phones and 220.5 per cent in wire
mileage. The number of talks in
that section gained, 75 per cent,
while the increase in New England
states was 171.7, in the middle At
lantic states 166.3 and in the Pa
cific coast states 327.4 per cent.
The Bell telephone system had
5,087,027 Instruments Installed in
1912, about four times the number
it had in 1902. All other systems
reporting an Income of $5000 or
more a year, had 3,642,563 phones,
about three times the number in
use in 1902. The Bell system had
Increased its wire mileage about
five times and the other systems
about four times, Ihe comparative
figures for 1912 being 15,153,186
and 5,115,140.
There were 1916 large systems
In 1912, of which 176 were united
In the Bell group. In addition
there were 30,317 systems report
ing incomes below $5000 a year.
They had 1,228,935 miles of wire
in 1912 and 1,402,844 phones.
There are many Interesting de
tails In the bulletin. In 1912
there was one telephone for every
91 men, women and children In the
country. There were 340,772,803
long distance talks. On an average
each phone was talked into 1875
times. Th total Incomes of the
companies was $255,081,234; total
expenses, $203,754,909; wages and
salaries, $96,040,541; taxes. $12,-411,576;-
Interest, $20,163,000;
dividends, $34,120,809; surplus,
$17,205,516. -
The average number of em
ployes for 1912 was 183,361, of
whom 144,608 were In the wage
earning j grade. Including 94.36C
women. The total assets were $1.
295,670,101. The liabilities in
cluded $586,763,879 in capital
stock and $404,530,236 in funded
debt.
"HERESY AT UNION
UNION SEMINARY, which 'has
furnished many theological
oontroversies, is again con
cerned with heresy. Two of
Its recent; graduates were accepted
by the New York Presbytery, but
protest was made as to their or-j
moaoxy. Answer was made, and
me matter is yet undetermined.
OF TRADE TYRANNY
The controversy has been con
densed into a paragraph:
On of these young men, a Tale
graduate, was asked 1 he believed
Moses saw God on the mount and if
he believed that- Moses trot the pat
tern for the tabernacle from God di
rectly. The other, a graduate of Cor
nell University, was asked If he be
lieved the virgin birth. The Tale
man quoted John: "No man hath
seen God at any time," and as for
the Pattern of the tabernacle having
tee directlv revealed bv God. ha
said that he would not commit him
self to so mechanical a view of in
spiratlon. The Cornell man thought
that he would never have occasion
to preach the virgin birth, sifice ser
mons nowadays were not on such
themes, but he was inclined to be
lieve it.
There is much complaint that
ability is not seeking the pulpit as
it should. The pulpit ought to be
filled by men who are able to
teach, if the pews are to. be occu
pied by people willing to learn.
Perhaps such heresy episodes as
the above account for many vacant
pews.
While It Is admitted that the
question about the virgin birth is
important, as having relation to
the very nature of Jesus, those out
side the churches fail to see the
relevancy of the question asked the
Yale graduate. It was Lincoln
who said:
Over Its altar, as a sole qualifica
tion -for membership, the Savior's con
densed statement of the substance of
both law and gospel, "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all .thy squl, and with all
thy mind, and thy neighbor as thy
self," that church I will Join with
all my heart and all my soul.
THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE
s
T. JOHNS ministers have con
demned The House of Bond
age moving pictures which
were refused permission to be
shown in Portland. The city coun
cil will be asked to create a board
of censors, to pass on such pictures
and to prevent the exhibition of
those declared to be immoral or
suggestive of evil.
It is futile to expect any great
number ef people to agree upon
many questions affecting morals,
but there is a line beyond which
commercialism should ' not be al
lowed to go. No appeal to the
morbid should be permitted, under
the guise of a moral lesson.
Kaufman's book, The House of
Bondage, Is a publication - which
should be read only by parents,. It
teaches only .one great lesson the
danger of parental authority -driv
ing girls Into evil ways from which
they should be shielded. Practi
cally everything else in the book
Is a recital of nasty details.
The book has been widely dis-
' cussed and' the general opinion Is
that it grossly overstates the facts
when the case of one girl is held
up as typical. ..Of all the. girls
who enter "houses of bondage" it
Is prpbable that, even in New York;
few are held in duress. Fewer still
Jump' to prostitution as did the
girl in Mr. Kaufman's book. Even
should the book be true as to New
York, it is not true as to ' Port
land, nor St. Johns, nor many
other American cities.
The trouble with The House of
Bondage -is 'that It does not tally
with the , general experiences of
girls. It. Is not convincing; nor is
it good reading. It servesjta stir
the Imagination of youthful read
ers. It may not stimulate a de
sire by any girl to see the inside
of a "house of bondage' but
neither does It awaken fear that
she might become a victim in the
manner of the girl In the book.
There should be discussion of the
sex question, but It should be sen
sible discussion based upon facts as
they exist. Virtue cannot be pro
tected by exploiting an individual
case which does not check up with
the usual experiences of virtue.
This is not a discussion of the
films forbidden In Portland and
under fire in St. Johns. There
is no pretense in this article at
knowledge of whether or not ob
jectionable features of the book
have been eliminated in the pic
tures. SCHOLARSHIP
I
N HIS commencement address at
Pacific University last Wednes
day W. D. Fenton dealt with an
Important subject In a convinc
ing manner. He discussed "The
Scholar in Public Life," urging his
hearers to take up the -added du
ties of citizenship which education
has imposed upon them. He said
that in men and women of learn
ing, trained In the great universi
ties, rests the hope of the nation.
There Is need of the best citi
zenship In public office, said Mr,
fenton. There is even greater
need of a strong, dominant citizen-;
ship in the commonwealth that
will loyally support and uphold;
sound and stable principles, and
men and women who are willing to
stand for such principles. A para- j
graph from Mr. Fenton's address
is timely:
There la great need for strength of
character, and courage, to avoid the
driftwood. It is no time to go with
the current, ana thereby go upon the
rocks. The country is fundamentally
sound In thought and purpr.se, and
needs only the help of the best lead
ership to be free from the effects of
the follies of the past These follies
are not wholly or essentiallv nolitical
or the- result 6f the ascendancy of
any political party. They are eco
nomic and semi-political and hav
been evolved in great measure by
false economic teachings, sensational
and dramatic leaders, and as re
prisals for alleged or admitted abuses
in the existing social order.
Particular and specific wrongs in
the conduct of business have been the
text and torch to guide the millions
into a common ruin, and the men of
constructive genius and steadiness of
faith and purpose have been over
whelmed in the maelstrom of nas-
sion and prejudice. But the voice of
reason will again resume its con
trol, and the generation of sober
minded men and women now abreast
of these epoch-making times must
meet these grave responsibilities with
courage, intelligence, candor and self
sacrifice. This is a period of reconstruc
tion in our political life. As Mr.
Fenton said, there is Imperative
need of thinkers, men trained in
the fundamentals so thev mav
think clearly. No longer do polit
ical parties attempt to win elec
tions by staging torch-light proces
sions. The great nolitical leader
today must be a man who can
think as well as talk. He must be
able to think clearly because the
people are thinking.
If President Wilson's adminis
tration should end today its great
est monument would be the im
petus which the former president of
Princeton University has- given to
close and logical thinking. The
American people have learned that
statesmanship is better born in the
university than In the mad whirl of
partisanship.
MOVIES IN CHURCHES
A'
NNOUNCEMENT is made in
New York that 400 churches
in 400 cities are to be sup
plied with a regular weeklv
moving picture service. Plans
have been completed by a group
of workers in religious and social
Bervice fields. A company is to be
incorporated in time for the ser
vice to begin October 1.
Later the company expects to
produce its own films. It now has
a photographer in Palestine taking
motion pictures; another man is
scouring Europe for the best edu
cational films, and a third Is hunt
ing all over America for photo
plays suitable for production in
churches. Humorous pictures will
be shown and big dramatic feature
films will be included fn the ser
vice. The plan Is to have sixty cen
ters with a moving picture operator
for each center. This operator
will coyer seven cities a week, car
rying his machine with him. The
charge to the churches will be $20
a night. .
A leading eyangelist was once
asked what the people would do
when all the dance halls were
closed. He - replied, "Let them
Play chess." The churches have
found that young people will not
Play chess, and so .It Is that re
ligious workers have come to see
the necessity of providing some ac
ceptable form of amusement.
".Movies In the churches will mark
a distinct advance for religion.
They will be an innovation, but no
more so than was the old bellows
organ when It was installed.
THE IMPRACTICAL
By Dr. Frank Crane. .
(Copyright, 1814, by Frank Crane.)
A gentleman writes me, giving me a
sound verbal trouncing because I am
not practical. ; 1 ,
He Is tired of my ; visionary pro
posals,, my utterly unworkable ldeaa.
The charge he lays at my door la for
the moat part true. X am not practical
Far be It from me!
I hive already defined, and here will
define again, what practical means.
To propose something which can be
accomplished under existing conditions
is practical. ' i
That is to say. eomethinr which can
be done with the men you have, the
convictions you have, the customs you
have and the whole moral and eco
nomic set of things jto work with
which are at hand.
There are plenty of practical peo
ple. Wall street Is practical, and ao
are legislators, governors, presidents
and ao on. Merchants are practical,
and clerks and farmers and manufac
turers, housewives and atenographera.
They have their place. I do no
criticize them. Thia la a free coun
try, and If anybody wanta to be prac
tical, let him go to It.
But I claim my privilege, under the
wings of the great North American
bird of freedom (and long may she
soar!) to be Impractical, if that hap
pens to be my taste.
For what Is It to "be impractical?
It la to propose things which can
not be accomplished under existing
conditions, but can only be brought tr
pass by changing the conditions.
The impractical people do not ask
what is the best thing to do under the
circumstances, but, what is right?
They, would rather follow con
science and reason to hell than go to
heaven just to keep up with the
Joneses.
They do not ask. What has been?
but. What ought to be?
They are not sons of Martha (and
all honor to them!) but sons of Mary,
and are conceited enough to believe
they have chosen "the better part."
They do not bother with doing
things; they would be spoiled if they
did so. For the doers are too close to
things to,, get perspective. ,
The impractical are strangers and
pilgrims. They have no shop, no
home, no place in the system.
They are the bystanders, the onlook
ers. They are the watchmen on the tow
ers of mankind. They do not fight in
the ranks. '
They are poor partisans. .They are
citizens of the world.
They belong to no sect, cult, organi
zation. Institution : nor party. These
accomplish things. The Impractical do
not want to accomplish, they want to
see what is worth while to accom
plish. i
They speak for humanity, and for
no fragment of it. They care as much
for the Negro, the Chinese, the Mo
hamedan as for the chosen people; and
for the criminal, the outcast woman
and the little child, as far the taxpayer
and the college president.
If we were all Impractical, what a
world it would bel Well, If we were
all practical, what a world I
It takes both kinds.
OLD CLAIMS
The old saying that "hope springs
eternal in the human breast" la once
more vindicated by the appearance on
the scene' of a foreign syndicate that
has gathered up the bonds of a num
ber of southern cities, : that have been
repudiated, and on which payment haa
been refused for nearly half a century.
These bonds aggregate an enormous
sum. With the exception of Ala
bama's debt, of which no reliable In
formation Is obtainable, the amounts
claimed by the British bondholders to
be owing, are estimated as follows:
Arkansas 8,700,000
Florida 7,000:000
Georgia 12,700,000
Louisiana 6,000,000
Mississippi 7,000,000
North Carolina ?; . . . 12,600,000
South Carolina 6,000,000
West Virginia 15,239,370
Total $75,239,370
These bonds were Issued during re
construction time, and the proceeds
were squandered or absorbed by a
ho'rde of carpet baggers, who took
charge of the south at that time. The
army fend the army followers of the
north had exhausted and consumed the
assets of the south, but this was a
vicissitude of war, which the southern
people had to submit to. The carpet
baggers, who came here after the war,
found nothing tangible upon which
they could fix their predatory hands,
so they evolved the Idea of hypothec
eating the credit of the southern
states, and hawking and peddling it
about, selling it for whatever they
could get In this way multiplied mil
lions of bonds were disposed of in the
markets of the world, and these finally
were assembled in the hands of a for
eign syndicate, as given in the figures
tabulated above. When the southern
people came into their own after recon
struction they repudiated these claims.
They felt and with reason that their
credit was pledged while they were
under duress, and therefore they were
not morally or legally responsible for
the debts contracted. That feeling was
so strong that. In some states at least,
there are provisions in the constitu
tions preventing the repayment of
these obligations. The southern people
acted in a very natural manner, and
are not to be censured for the course
they pursued. They had been robbed
ond pillaged and they refused to pay
the bills.
But in this, as in all things, there
are certain equities tha are worthy of
consideration, and which-will appeal to
the moral sense of our people. While
these bonds were disposed of at a
ridiculously low price, and while the
present holders acquired them at a
much lower price, and for a mere song,
some of the money was expended In
the interest of the people. It was not
all stolen, and that part of it which
went to the betterment of southern
conditions ought to be regarded as a
just obligation. In order to keep the
records straight. : and preserve the
chastity of their honor, the states
owing these obligations should seek
some sort of a compromise. They can
settle these obligations at a trifling
expense, because the present holdere
of the bonds have paid very little for
them, and will accept very little for
their surrender. ' The appeal to the
moral sense of the southern people is
all the stronger because they are se
cure and immune. They cannot be
made to pay one penny unless they so
elect. It Is a question exclusively be
tween themselves and ! their own con
sciences, and if they feel that they
should make some arrangement to take
up these bonds on a reasonable basts,
and thus make clean the slate. It la
aurmised that a great many will be
disposed to do SO. ;
. Stayed In the Bunkers.
From the Tatler.
First Caddie That old gent is a
Judge in the '!gh court.
Second Caddie Then all X can say Is
that If "e Judge gives Tiiaseif a lot
of ard labor. t
I '
MEDIATION BQAgP-PAy 1
DIGGING OLD EGYPT FROM THE SANDS
From a Bulletin of the National Geo
graphic Society.
When the announcement la made
that some exploration expedition haa
rescued from the bowels of the earth
material that reveals the history of
people who lived 3000 and more yeara
ago, few people realise the attendant
difficulties and hardships that are fre
quently undergone for the sake of that
branch of Science. Wallace N. Stearns,
In a communication to the National
Geographic society, at Washington, D.
C gives some idea of this side of the
work in the reconstruction of Egypt's
history.
"These stupendous excavations along
the Nile call for equipment on a con
siderable scale," he says. "Work must
be rapid. December 1 to April 1
marks the working year. Every mo
ment is precious. Every carload must
count. Every shovelful of earth must
be carefully shifted whenever there is
a possibility of a find. Even a basket
brigade ia sometimes pressed Into use.
As soon as some apparently valuable
piece is located, workmen are called
off, experts are sent in; every man 1b
on guard. Carefully every inch of soil
is watched as the last baskets of earth
are removed. Every fragment must
be saved and laid away until every
thing has been uncovered.
"Think of the disappointment when,
for example,, a magnificent statue
comes out headless. Think of the con
jectures as to the whereabouts of the
missing piece and the furore when,
perhaps weeks afterward, the lost is
found. There is an air of hushed ex
pectancy, a suppressed excitement
hovering over, that keeps men up
under the most tense strain under,
which the work is of necessity con
ducted. "At Deir-el-Bahari the debris had to
be carried to an old clap pit in order
to run no risk of covering either tem
Letters From the People
(Commnnlcatlona ent to Tba Journal for
publication in this department aboold be writ
ten on only one side of the paper, ahouM not
exceed 300 words In length and most be ac
companied by tba name and addreaa of tbe
sender. If tbe writer does not desire to
have tbe name published, be should so state.)
"Discussion Is the greatest of all reform
ers. It rationalises ererythlng It touches. It
robs principles of all false aanctity snd
throws tbeni back on their reaaonableness. If
they have no reasonableness. It ruthlessly
crushes them out of existence snd seta up Its
own conclusions In their stead." Woodrow
Wilson.
A Prohibitionist on Tour.
Sacramento, Cal., June 20. To the
Editor of The Journal Since my de
parture from Portland. April 23, I have
visited a great majority of the towns
and cities of eastern Oregon, eastern
Washington and Idaho, and am now in
California. Everywhere I find the
Prohibitionists exceedingly active, and
the hoped-for destruction of the liquor
traffic a chief topic of conversation.
In this state it Is claimed that Prohi
bition would destroy $700,000,000 worth
of property, and without liquor rev
enues the state 'would be bankrupt.
State Controller John 8. Chambera this
morning publishes his report of the
sources of the revenues of California,
and it discloses the fact that of the
$63,838,000 to be paid Into the state
treasury the coming year but $2,986.
595 la derived from the liquor traffic;
therefore, to an outsider It does not
appear that. If all the people of this
great state should immediately con
clude to abstain, the state Itself would
become a mendicant. And the very
claim of the publicity agents of the
liquor element is proving a boomerang.
It is opening the eyes of the people to
the fact that, if their claims have any
important foundation in fact, the com
monwealth has tied itself up to the
whiskey people, and the sooner tbe
shackles are broken the better.
In the correspondent columns oi
The Journal I read that Prohibition In
Oregon would mean tbe destruction of
that state's hop fields, a statement
without an atom of foundation of rea
son. If not another gallon of beer
were ever brewed In Oregon, not a hop
vine would be destroyed. The product
of the hop fields would continue to be
THE NEXT LETTER
ple or tomb. This precaution doubt
leaa saved the eleventh dynasty temple
from burial beyond any hope of resur
rection. Anyone who took part In this
work will never see any dust worth
mentioning elsewhere. At a distance
of 60 yards a visitor would hear a
terrible hubbub, seeing nothing but an
impenetrable haze of dust, from which
would presently emerge a tram, visible
at 10 yards, operating under the direc
tion of a dust Imp almost Immedi
ately followed by another. Over the
high embankment would plunge the
loads, and the train, once started,
rolled all day ceaselessly on Its double
track, save for the noon hour of reat.
"America has joined hands with the
old world In prosecuting this work.
Wonderful are the results attained.
Every student of history and litera
ture, every student of the Bible, is
vitally concerned in the confirmations
yearly coming to light from the sands
of Egypt. There is need of haste. To
extend the arable district of Egypt is
an economic necessity. Accordingly.
the British government has erected at
Assouan the great dam, whose 95 foot
head has sent the waters of the Nile
back over great areas of hitherto dry
ground. Already a dozen temples have
been flooded, and ere long will be for
ever lost to sight. Already beautiful
Philae. at the head of the first cata
ract, is gone. The soil Is becoming in
filtrated, and the stores of treasures,
especially the papyrus manuscripts,
are being ruined, even before the wa
ters cover the ground above.
"However, through the geniua of th
engineer Egypt is being born again.
In her awakening the land of the
Pharoaha Is again to play a role among
nations. Art and sentiment have been
sacrificed to her commercial welfare.
The gain to Egypt, through the con
servation of these life giving waters
in a rainless land, is estimated at $15,
000,000 annually."
marketed, as they ever have been, in
the east, and the hop buyers represent
ing the eastern market would continue
their activity among the hop growers,
just as they are active now. One
would think, to read some of the let
ters published, that the people of Ore
gon, less than a million in number,
swilled down the entire brew from all
the hops grown in the Willamette val
ley.
But again we are told that, if the
state goes dry, eastern brewers will
boycott the Oregon product. It has
long been contended that the liquor In
terest does business on a "rule or ruin
basis." This alleged "boycott" would
confirm the truth of the assertion,
and in Oregon, as in California, if the
destinies of the state are entirely in
the hands of the distillers, brewers and
manufacturers of wine, the sooner the
bonds are dissolved the better.
H. 8. HAKCOURT.
The Ragtime Muse
-3-
Widows and Orphans Preferred.
The wldder and the orphan, now.
- Their praises we must shout 'em;
We'v got to have 'em anyhow,
Nor could we do without 'em.
We sell 'em watered railroad stock.
These bulwarks of tbe nation.
And then they help us stand tbe shock
Of each Investigation.
In times of trouble, suct-L-aa these,
A tower of atrength weflnd 'em;
We get down on our corporate kneea
And boldly hide behind 'em!
We self 'em aharea in aerominea
And aqua pur a venturea.
And then -we cut up monkeyshines
With rich bonds and debentures.
The public must pay dividends
On all such air and water.
And these investments it defenda
As "sacred" when they totter.
If prosecutor should attack.
For shame he'd be a bidder.
For we are standing bravely back
Of Orphan and of wldder!
He Knew.
"Willie, can you repeat the shortest
commandment? "It has but four
words."
-Yes, sir. TKeep off tho grass.' -
IN EARLIER DAYS
By Fred Lockley.
At the reunion of the Indian War
Veterans recently, I fell into talk with
Sol Durbin of Salem. Mr. Durbin is a
veteran of Cayuse war.
Survivors of the Cayuse war are get
ting .pretty scarce," said Mr. Durbin.
"I am the youngest of the Cayuse war
veterans in attendance this year.
There are only- four of ui. Charley
Bolds. Si Nelson. Bill Stlllwell and
"We started for Oregon In the
spring of '45. After wasting a lot of
time and enduring considerable hard
ship trying to find a road by 'Meek's
cutoff," we finally got to The IAiles.
Our family combined with T. Vault,
the Tetherows, who later settled on tho
Luckiemute In Polk county, and with
old man Owens to build rafts on
which we took the wagona down the
river. We hired Indians by giving
them shirts, beads and other trude
goods, to take the- women and chil
dren down the river In their canocn.
"We drove our -cattle down along
the south side of the Columbia river to
within 10 miles above the Cascades,
where we swam them across the river.
"Just above the cascades we brought
the rafts ashore on the north side of
the river. We rut a road for about
seven miles, and putting the wagons
ashore we drove to a point below the
cascades. There we were met by the
Hudson's Bay company boats, who
took us to Linn ton.
"We took our cattle on the north side
of the river, passing Vancouver, and
swam the Columbia river at Hauvie'a
Island. We drove the oxen on up to
Linnton. There We hitched to our
wagons and went on up to Wheatland,
where old man Matheny was settled.
He had come ax-ross the plains two
years before. We crossed the river on
bis ferry and settled,, on Mission bot
tom, on the place adjoining the "Beers
place on the south. Father bought the
640 acre claim from Dr. Elijah White.
"When the word came of the Whit
man massacre Sam Ooodhue and I
went down to East Portland to enlist.
A company had already been formed.
They elected H. A. O. Lee captain, and
on the 9th of December, wlt'iin about
10 day a of the majmacre. they wete
on the way. Nesmlth made them a
speech at Oregon City, presenting them
with a flag that had been given by
the women of Oregon City. That same
day on December 9, 1847 -the legis
lature passed a hill authorizing th
governor to raise a regiment of volun
teers. "A proclamation was Issued by Gov
ernor Abernathy to raise 600 men. The
men were required to furnish their own
hordes, arms, clothing and blankets, for
which tl.ey were to receive a receipt
from the commissary general. Then
the companies were to rendezvous at
Portland, and what is npw East Port
land, on the 8th day of January, 1848.
"Cornelius Gilliam was made colonel
of the regiment. He had come out to
Oregon In 1844. He waa a preacher
lu the Free Will Baptist church. He
had taken up a ranch on the.Luckle
mute In Polk county.
"With something over 200 men. Colo
nel Gilliam went to Vancouver, and
from there to what waa called Fort
Gilliam, near The Dalles. .
"I was in Captain Maxon's com
pany. From Vancouver we went up on
the north side of the river to the Cas
cades. There we ferried over snd
went up to The Dalles on tbe south
aide of the river. Along about tbe
last of January something over 100 of
us under Colonel Gilliam started for
Deschutes to punish the Indians.
The Woman's Page
The Journal each evening pre
sents a number of striking
features. Many of them are
of exclusive Interest to wom
en; others are of general
appeaL
They all are worth while. Cul
tivate this daily feature
page; you will find It proflt-
able,.